Gaia GPS: Mobile Trail Maps Customer Service

I’ve used Gaia for several years. In the wilderness it’s great since you can download maps for offline navigation & use low power mode- no cell signal, Bluetooth or wireless eating up power. Really full-featured. Maps available are extensive including NOAA marine charts for sea kayak navigation. Everything works perfectly as you’d expect. Maps are up-to-date and detailed. Very easy to use. I like the routes feature a lot where the app follows the footpath as you plot your course. I have stumbled over a couple of problems. Twice the app has unexpectedly quit on me deleting my track up to that point - a simple app restart fixed the problem but lost my tracking data up to that moment. And yesterday hiking in Europe in the Bavarian Alps up Sonnenkopf I found a misplaced footpath which led me into an unnecessary bushwhack but first time this has happened to me. This second error is certainly a map source and curation issue. I don’t know if and how Gaia curate their OpenStreet maps but there is clearly improvement that would be helpful. Otherwise, this is a terrific tool generally much better than Google maps and other alternatives for trails, footpaths, marine. Less cluttered with ability to easily switch from map to map with overlays, satellite, contours, units change, best local hikes etc. The four concurrent overlays permitted is usually adequate though I’ve found myself wishing I had another one. Browser features are good too. Worth the money for premium.

While taking a new way from Colorado to Utah I went through a dead zone where my navigating app dropped completely with no signal to accurately follow my pre planned route so I resorted to my compass and map and proceeded to follow what it looked to be the appropriate way on the map and have in mind all of these while a Thunderstorm is raging in the background. So after my soon to discover erroneous choice and 27+ miles later of Offroad muddy rainy and lighting strikes all around… I must admit even so I love off-roading being alone in a remote area under these conditions was a bit intimidating. Well short story this route came to a holt because of a lock gate. Realizing my mistake I turned around and had no choice but to drive back through the storm I was hoping to out run so needless to say the area was beautiful but the storm was making it a bit harder to appreciate at the moment. After what it seemed a while of negotiating wet obstacles under lighting and Phone Alerts to seek Higher ground I made it back to the main road this time deciding to make a quick right and seek shelter while I figure out my next move. I drove maybe a couple hundred yards and I remember I had previously downloaded this region map on GAIA so I loaded it and YEAH ! here where the answers I needed, clear marked mapped routes and completely offline. So here it is Gaia thanks for saving the Day !!

I am an avid outdoorsman, private pilot, recreational fisherman, big game hunter, etc. and I have used a hundred different GPS/mapping/geolocation/topographic maps over the years. Gaia is by far the best all-in-one map app I’ve ever used BY FAR. Used free version for a while and decided to upgrade to paid version and it is money well spent. This app has literally hundreds of overlays from cell service coverage to 24 hour weather forecasts to private landowner information to USGS topo maps to VFR aeronautical maps. I couldn’t recommend this app more highly to anyone who spends any amount of time in the mountains, or boating, or hiking, camping, cycling, kayaking or big game hunting. In my humble opinion this app is indispensable for outdoor enthusiasts of any kind. Probably my favorite feature is the map overlays — you start with a solid base map like Satellite imagery or OpenStreetMaps and from there you can start stacking other maps on top of it with varying transparency. I also like the trip recording feature, which you can trigger from your Apple Watch and it will record distance traveled, elevation changes, average traveling speed, and even show you a cross section of the ascent/descent changes made on your trip. I honestly can’t say enough great things about this app…you’ll just have to download it and see for yourself.

Gaia's accuracy even when I have zero service is pretty dang impressive. It's often spot on perfect but even when it isn't, it's not far off. At the very least it's always close enough for me to find my way. It also seems to have a bigger database of trails than any of the other apps I've used. Reviews of trails written by other users have always been helpful and led to some great gems and tips on what to expect for a given trail. The feature I personally love the most is the trail tracing feature. You can create two or more waypoints and Gaia will generate a trail path to get you to your destination. It's particularly dumb proof for those of us who are map challenged, and I loooove that it includes a distance estimate. It helps plan my endurance, meals/snacks, time allotment, and expectations. If you want, you can break a single hike into several waypoints so you can know about how long each leg of the trip is. This can help line up your map trail so you can know when to expect obstacles, challenges, route changes, or noteworthy milestones listed in user reviews. For example: "4 and a half miles in there's a really dicey scramble up steep shale. Take your time and be careful!" I *never* write reviews, so it's saying something that I'm impressed enough to write one at all. 11/10 would recommend.

Update: love love this app on the phone. Also that it will run on our truck GPS which is wonderful when we are doing a driving point count in the field for a raptor survey. No more propping the phone up so partner/husband can see the next turn while input data on the tablet. The maps come over way too big on the watch face and it makes it hard to really use it when all I can see is about maybe a square acre and can’t really see what it’s doing or even find the track half the time because if I touch it, I can’t make the screen smaller.I would you rather use the phone for detail plus my phone has a big battery back on it so I don’t run out of juice if I’m in the field all day. it would be nice to just have the stats on the watch and forget about a map. This app is an awesome mapping program for the iPhone, iPad and even the computer. We even used Gaia GPS to hike in southern France, Including the Pyrenees mountains along the France Spain border and in Canada’s national Parc Pucaskaw on the north shore of Lake Superior We use the app for all of our volunteer work for the Forest Service, BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, NPS, and Idaho Fish and Game. We subscribe directly through the Gaia GPS website. With a battery juice pack to extend the battery on my phone, there’s plenty of juice for a 200 point count, plus navigating back to the truck and back to pavement, and inputting the data, so I can email it when we have cell service.

I got this app about 10 years ago and I have loved it the upgrades have continued to improve it very well. I would not go with any other app out there I have tried other ones like x hunt and I did not like it. It is years behind this app. You get the personal property lines and public with this app, lots of layers that you can overlay and download. My entire family and extended family got this app too and they love it as well. Don’t waste your time or money with one of the other apps. This one is the way to go. Best app available. And I use this all the time not just once a year while hunting. I use it for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, snowmobiling, horse pack trips around the farm... the tracking ability is very accurate and doesn’t drain my battery. I turn off my cellular data and all that and use it to track and it goes all day with out killing my battery and I have a 3 year old I phone. This is the only app that I would recommend especially because I have tried about 20 other ones over the years and this is the one I stick with. The subscription is worth every penny as well. Don’t worry you get your money’s worth with this app. They have an amazing app.

I use the Gaia iPhone app almost exclusively to plan my adventures, and I rely on it constantly while hiking to stay oriented and on plan. It gives me the peace of mind to tackle trips I would otherwise not feel comfortable attempting. For planning I use the app literally hours each day: route creating, adjusting, recreating; adding waypoints for important, interesting things to note while hiking; relying on the included interactive trail lines and the various map layers to design accurate, safe trips. It is by far the most important tool in my hiking toolbox. Even though I’ve gotten quite good at using the app, I’m continually finding new and amazing things it can do. For instance, I’m planning a backpacking trip to Denali where backcountry camping is regulated by zones and quotas. The National Park Service has a wonderful paper map that shows these zones. I found that their website allowed me to download a data file of the zones and to my delight I discovered the Gaia app easily imported them along with included metadata. What an amazing planning feature. I have many other examples of how I use the app but will save them for future reviews. Don’t think twice: buy the pro version and use it, use it, use it.

I have been a power user of GPS devices and digital maps since the earliest handheld GPS units long before smartphones. I’ve used them extensively for exploring and hunting throughout the western US, Canada, Alaska, and a little in Africa and Europe. I’ve used most of the popular mapping apps. Until Gaia came along we had to rely on a certain app to obtain land ownership status which is important for hunting and hiking access in the western states. But the other app was weak in so many other ways. Gaia solves these problems and much more. The suite of map layers is unparalleled. Game management units, USFS, roads and trails, satellite, numerous topo maps, private and government lands, parcel ownership data, Nat Geo Trails Illustrated, and much more. It’s all there. And exceptionally easy to download and use. Super stable and simple to use. The tracking function works perfectly. Sharing of waypoints and tracks is simple and reliable. So many thoughtful and useful features. Gaia is simply a brilliant outdoor activity maps and GPS app. Regular updates make it better all the time too. Premium subscription is worth much more than it costs.

I’m quite pleased with the iPhone version of this App. However, I like to search for and set up hikes on the iPad version, and this version has bugs. I’ve submitted tech support requests to deal with one or more of these, and am met with absolute silence. Especially since I’ve paid for the Premium version, I certainly expect better. The biggest technical issue I have is that I can search for, and find hikes for which summary info is displayed in the (left) sidebar, including a Preview Map. When I touch the sidebar map, a pop up appears asking me whether to display on the Main Map, Expand the Preview or Cancel. The Preview will expand if that is chosen. However, when choosing Display on Main Map, the area of the trail/hike is displayed by NOT the route of the hike. This fault makes the iPad version of Gaia GPS almost useless for any detailed planning. I’ve repeatedly asked for help with this from Tech Support and get absolutely no response. Conclusion - Don’t bother with the iPad version of this App! … Since posting this review and two weeks after posting my tech support request, I finally had a response. It did not resolve my issue, but at least it was a response, however, late.

Let me start by saying I use a Premium Subscription and absolutely love this app and use it nearly daily for both work and recreation. I does so much that it has become a must for use with my fieldwork. My only complaints are the randomized coloring when importing tracks and the was area shapes are created. Using this app professionally, I often need all of my shapes to be specific colors or all one color. Often I can just quickly adjust them in the app, but when I have projects with hundreds of shapes this is no longer a viable option and is very frustrating. Simply allowing bulk adjustment would solve this problem for me. The second issue regarding creating areas is that often when I try to move the dots that adjust the area, it grabs the screen and tries to move it instead... sensitivity issue maybe? In any case, these issues are not deal breakers... I love this app and will continue to use it, but hope that these two simple things will be addressed in the future. I know I’m not the only one that would like to see this! Thanks for a great app!!!

I love this app because it doesn’t drain my precious cell phone battery and works great on airplane mode. We just finished a 4- day climb of Mt Whitney and Gaia performed so well! It oven had a map of the fires on the other side of the sierra ridge that I had downloaded before we left Whitney portal. I was able to photograph many locations along the trail and correlate them easily to their locations on the map. I love this aspect. There are a few improvements like making the photo UConn a little smaller and making the relationship between the map, the compas heading, and the direction of travel more intuitive, but it was probably me doing weird things like angling my phone up in the air etc etc Lovely app thanks!!! Had my topo map but never used it because Gaia was so good. This is the first time I’ve used it for an extended trip away from cell phone reception and I found it to perform better than expected. For over a year I’ve been mainly using it to record day hikes and keep track of my biking and running and hiking workouts.

I love the GAIA GPS app.I heard about it one time when I was hunting in Idaho. A guy told me about it and told me how you could download maps. There’s absolutely no service where we were hunting in Idaho but he had download it all the maps and was able to charge his phone using a solar charger. Pretty cool that’s where I first heard about it and I’ve been using it ever cents it was about 2015 when I first started using it. I will say it has its bugs here and there but it’s, really long way. I haveSaved Way points for my favorite hunting spots and it’s pretty awesome every year I go back and there are still ready to go. I even got my dad to start using itAnd we hunt in the same area. It was very easy to share all of my weight points with him and so he had all of our history. A lot of times I will take pictures of landmarks and it saves it as a waypoint. I pay for the premium features so I get the hunting maps and all the other good maps that come with it. I have used onyx and other apps and I prefer the GAIA app.

I really enjoy using this app I like to be able to go alone and I have been able to go farther past my skill level just by being confident I could always get back. Looking at doing the enchantments this year solo and I am so excited to not have to depend so much on others. I’ve also been able to find “the end” of my prior hikes and connect the dots in a way that would have required way too many maps and Gaia can always let me see how to put it all together. I have hiked regions for years with a desire to mentally map in a way that this gives me freedom to get back on trail. I wish when the battery died there was a way to continue the trip from where the device powered down. I love the create route but wish it would default in hiking mode without WiFi but over all my complaints are minor details for how much I’ve enjoyed being able to ID mountains correctly in the view and connect the dots instead of rely on speculation. Very much an upgrade to my ability to go farther and feel smart abt it.

I really want to love Gaia. In my opinion it was super ahead of its time when it first came out, but slowly, it wasn’t unkept properly and things really took a turn for the worse when Outside Magazine took over. I’m hopeful that with this new update the user experience will improve and it won’t just freeze. Unfortunately there are other options that work just as well if not better for cheaper (check out OnX Backcountry). I still refuse to use Gaia for “mission critical” search and rescue and wildland fire operations - for that go with CalTopo or Avenza every time. I can’t risk my downloads being lost or random glitches. But in my opinion the user interface is much simpler and easier to use, so for backpacking, hikes, mountain biking, and showing friends where trails are, I will continue to go with Gaia. I think that the devs got the message - especially now that they have removed some of the Outside Magazine branding. Please keep the free user features - it’s great to be able to send a friend a track that they can view without logging in or paying.

I have been using other utilities with roadmaps to plan bike routes on trails and always become frustrated with the inability to make the trace through the trail. GAIA GPS does this and much better, and on the phone. I think its the best App out there for any off-road biking, hiking, backpacking trip planning, easy to use and need nothing more than a GPS enabled phone. I purchased the Premium license when I saw how easy and practical it was to use. My son went on a weekend camping trip in the Appalachian Trail here in Maryland, and things went south with the wind and driving rain. He had to stop and called me to rescue on a Sunday morning, all he did was to mark a trial connecting the nearest road and send me the coordinates. I plugged them into my NAV in my car and it took me exactly were he exit the woods. I’m definitely sold. I’ve made an entire library with future trips in the GAIA GPS Website, it’s all integrated. I plan to continue using this tool for all my outdoor trips.

This is a great tool for offline backpackers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts with an easy to use interface. I used the app and purchased a subscription for the offline features since I was going on a weeklong journey in the Montana Wilderness and wanted to keep track of my location without needing a map and compass. It offered great features on the desktop version that allowed me to make a detailed track to follow that included elevation gain and milage. I put specific locations for campsites and possible water stops along the way. While following the trail, it was surprisingly accurate to where I was and offered several topographic map styles, each varying in download size. I was also able to share the map with my partner before the trip so he'd know what to expect. Overall, seeing the map drawn out put the whole journey into perspective of how deep in the Wilderness we were. I would highly recommend it for anyone in a similar situation.

I have been a wildland firefighter and a guide for a wilderness therapy program (I used maps a lot in previous jobs!) and now I backpack and adventure in my off time and absolutely love this app! The options for waypoints, taking pictures, routes, topography and off line ability show me where I am on the map is amazing. I even upgraded this summer (when wildfires were seemingly everywhere) to add the layer of hot spot detection. *I did not use this to decide where to hike during the fires, simply just to see where the fires were- very dangerous to be anywhere close to the forest fires as they can shift directions at anytime! Gaia is great because roads and routes change all the time and great to have an updated map (though not always perfect- but the closest I have seen). I have thought about buying a separate hand held GPS, but having this app negates that need. 100% recommend this app- it is free for basic things and you can pay for an upgrade if you want.

I’ve been using GAIA to map my rides for a couple of years now. I use it to note where I’ve been, and to mark places I’d like to go, rather than mapping out routes beforehand. I like the detail available in the layers of maps available, (just purchased membership so as to be able to download and utilize Canada backroads layer) the ability to run the app while phone is in airplane mode, and the relatively low power use in that mode. I’ve ridden across the country west to east and back again, and from south to north, and largely off-road. And have records of each day’s ride. I use it to map mountain bike rides and bicycle commutes, and keep multiple parent-folders current with each ride. I also like being able to share a link to my rides with family and friends. I know there are features I don’t use, but feel confident that their use would be pretty intuitive given the ease of use I experience with the features I do use.

👇🏼My favorite feature is the historical 1900 and 1930 maps, which premium users can overlay atop modern maps with adjustable translucency. 💡⚠️ In the Great Earthquake of 1904, San Francisco, the North American and Pacific Continental Plates abruptly shifted SO violently, THE ENTIRE CITY SUDDENLY MOVED 💥20 FEET💥 NORTHWEST*, in 60 SECONDS!! ↖️💥🌉🏙↖️🏢🌇🏬↖️🏙🏘💥↖️ 👀😲😱 (*according to the Point Reyes brochure from NPS, as Point Reyes island marks a visibly obvious split ↔️on the Pacific Plate perfectly along the San Andreas Fault↕️ across from the NA Plate.) Here’s the awesome part: I used Gaia GPS to overlay the 1930 map over the 1900 map of the San Francisco area AND SURE ENOUGH, all the lines and everything appears shifted a bit to the north!!! Incredible!!😲😲🗺👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 The possibilities of what you can do with this app are endless, especially on an iPad. It makes Google Maps look like a children’s toy. Like the emperor said: “Now witness the power of my fully operational battle station.”😁

Downloaded the app and tested it for off-road motorcycle. The automatic tracing of a route over existing marked trails is an awesome feature that makes planning the route considerably easier than with Google Earth or Garmin Basecamp. I downloaded satellite image and usgs topo maps of the area I was riding in so I didn't need to rely on having network or not during the ride. Battery usage was reasonable and it can certainly last for 12 hours or more with every app turned off and airplane mode. The website is fairly good too. Only small complain is that the web app folder system is a little convoluted - it's not obvious at first where things go at first. The mobile app occasionally crashes while managing files, yet nothing was lost. Compare to a Garmin gps unit the only limitation is the device's gps accuracy and recording rate but it's no issue for off-road riding/driving, likely not an issue for hiking neither.

5/8/22 Update with comments on new Map Pack feature. Still a 5* app. I wanted to provide some feedback about Map Packs. I think there’s a ton of potential here and I’m using it as my daily map layer function. I wanted to comment on a few things: -I think you need to allow a horizontal scrolling of your various Map Packs and Overlays when you summon the Map Packs feature. Right now it feels like too many clicks to get to what you want. -I really like that the Map Pack button is at the bottom. Mostly because its easy to get to on large phones plus the animation comes from the bottom so it makes sense to have the button down at the bottom. -Right now it looks like the Overlays, when you add them, adds them at 50% opacity. It would be great if you could control the opacity in the settings or somewhere -The animation for the Map Packs layer slider window pop up needs to be smoother. Right now the Map Pack window just kind of “appears” when you click the button. Would be sweet to have a smoother animation when you open and close it. The bottom bar kind of jumps back up without much animation either, would also be nice for this to look more fluid Hope this is valuable! I know its in beta and will likely get better with time. Hopefully you guys stick with it though because this is going to be awesome!

I have been backpacking for several years now and always use this app to map/plan my routes. It has been the most useful trail app so far and works amazing even without a membership and without cell service. This is the first and likely only app review I will ever write. But this app deserves it. How it saved us: Two friends and I just completed a 2 day 20mile loop backpacking trip and planned to take a 3 mile trail back to the trailhead, should have been simple. But no, the trail was not maintained and should be closed (we’re calling the ranger station to report this). We had to bush wack then eventually the trail completely disappeared when we were on a cliff that had been burned from a fire 3 years ago. We were forced to go down this ashy cliff and hold onto broken/burnt trees while we desperately tried to find the trail and not slip. This app is 100% the only reason why we made it back to the trailhead. Even with the trail gone, this app showed where the trail should be in relation to us and how close we were getting to the trailhead. It was a terrifying experience and we all feel lucky that I had this app to guide us out. Without it we likely would not have found the way out and have been stuck in the forest. Makes you realize how important it is to have something like this. This app is a MUST have for anyone who goes on trails. You never know when a trail may not actually be there and you need to find your way back. Sorry for the long review but we are all so thankful for this app. I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you for making this.

Been using this app for several years. I pay for the annual subscription and it’s worth every penny. I use this app for trail running and backpacking mainly. I have and iPhone and when out in spotty cell service areas I turn my phone on airplane mode and this app works great as long as you have the maps downloaded earlier. Having the gps app on the phone gives you the modern touch screen and convince that the other dedicated devices (garmin) are still struggling to replicate. The phone is something I already have and the battery in my iPhone last a long time. I also like being able to use the app on my computer and plot/estimate plan hikes and runs. It will give you distance and elevation which are things I like to know before going out on long runs in areas I never been. I can’t say enough great things about this app, it’s great!

PROS: I have been using the app to find trails to ride my dirt bike on. The app does a great job in that it distinctly marks different types of trails and has shown me trails I would have never know otherwise and has taken me way off the beaten path! CONS: One feature that I believe is completely necessary is a Map Filter. For example, if I want to view only Double Track Roads / Unmaintained Roads, I should be able to filter my map to only show those roads. It would make finding new roads a lot easier , since currently you have to visually sort through lots of different roads/trails. Another problem is that a lot of landmarks and trails only show up at a certain zoom level .For example, I have been using the app to show me less popular waterfalls. Once again a map filter for waterfalls would be fantastic. In addition, most of the smaller waterfalls only show up on the map if your map is set at a zoom of 2000ft or more. This means you will have to painstakingly search by panning through the app at 2000ft which is way too zoomed in. If I could see all waterfalls that exist at a 2 miles scale or larger , that would be great ! These downfalls are what’s keeping me from paying for the subscription since it does not appear that the subscription gives you access to these features ! Hopefully this review can inspire an update! I’d love to hear from a developer ! Rick C.

One of the best mobile apps hands down. The app has easily saved me from getting lost several times. It might have even saved my life. The interface may not be the most intuitive but once I got used to it, I was fine. The app has ALWAYS worked without cellular service. I’ve used it in this manner over a dozen times for a total of about 30 days in two countries. The key is to download an area map to your device before you leave cellular coverage and load it when you are ready. It’s also helpful to establish known waypoints before but no biggie if you don’t. Two negative observations some of Colorado’s 14ers are listed at the wrong altitude and if you cache equipment and use this app to waypoint the arrow that shows your location to the waypoint will continuously move location even though you are standing still. It still, in my opinion, a 5 star app!

Gaia gps is my go to tool when it comes to finding or creating biking,running, or hiking routes. I gave it 5 stars because of how convenient the many different map layers are.I am a huge trail and nature guy and I was tired of using standard maps that missed so much trails. Well Gaia gps took care of that problem, in fact Gaia gps has not missed one trail in my area and has helped me discover ones I never new existed. It’s also helped me successfully navigate my routes and unfamiliar territory easily and without getting lost. I am thankful for the very existence of this app. With all that said there is one problem. When I use the create route function the map becomes laggy and difficult to use. this is the one thing keeping this app from being totally flawless. So please on the next update patch this issue.

Have been using this for about 6 months now on well over a dozen horseback and dirt bike trips in the backcountry with minimal to zero signal. Has come in very handy on a few trips where we were not familiar with the trails and Gaia kept us on the right path where I would have certainly gone a different route costing us hours trying to figure out where we were. Will be using it for hunting season starting next month to identify private and public land borders. Very easy to use and much more intuitive than Onyx in my opinion. Someone was able to share multiple files of trip routes in an area that is full of dirt bike trails that are not identifiable on any map. Having the pre-recorded colored routes is an exceptional feature to be able to find trailheads and stay on the route. And now I can share my routes of trips with others. A recent update provides color codes for trail systems all over with what mode of transportation is allowed: horses, mountain bikes, hiking and dirt bikes/atvs. A couple weeks ago we used Gaia to find some horse riding loops up in the mountains. Even where there is absolutely NO cell phone signal Gaia will still track my every movement down to just a step or two. Extremely accurate and so helpful. I originally paid for the basic service of $20 but upgraded to the $40 subscription for all the other features. Well worth it! The accuracy and confidence of knowing where you are when you’re in the back country and unsure of which fork or turn to take is immediately worth the $40. Ive been scouting out places for deer season and have been able to easily identify public lands and access points in areas mixed with lots of private land. The map clearly shows all property lines and owners. I’ve reached out to customer service and they are responsive. I’ve seen regular updates to the app. I’ve logged in on my home computers and my account saves all my data like waypoints and trails routes. Very nice to use the maps on a large screen when doing research in new areas for trips. All-in-all I’m very very pleased with it and hope more people find it so we can share fun routes and trails among others.

I currently run the free version off this app but plan to pay for it after it saved mine and two others lives! Other than keeping us on our trail and knowledge of elevation and topo lines it contained our exact coordinates when things got hairy! An unexpected snow storm rolled in on us and lasted a little over 48 hours and full on blocked us in on a trail that was hiking access only. We managed to get cell service at the top of a cliff and send out our gps coordinates from the app and as soon as the storm cleared we were evacuated safe and sound with minor symptoms of hypothermia. Had I not had this app we would have been in a far worse situation just waiting for them to find us as pinging our phones lead them to believe we were two mountain passes over. I never thought a silly map app would be something I relied on so heavily!

I have been using Gaia for about 4 years. It is the best app available for making routes and marking spots on the trails. You can take photos while on a trail and the pictures will be placed on your maps exactly where you took the pictures. It’s not too difficult to learn. You can easily import or export your tracks/routes to share externally or you can even share your routes within the app. I would and do recommend Gaia. I started with the free version and then the first level upgrade and am now using the premium 5 year subscription version. You can find discount codes on several overland forums. The free free is perfect because it let me try it out before I committed to the full purchase. Try it and I am positive you will love it as much as I do!

Gaia has enabled me to adventure so far beyond my natural comfort zone. I love it and live by it. It has saved me from getting lost countless times, and maybe even spared me a few existential crises along the way. I've paid for the subscription for many years. I am a loyal fan. I really really don't want my adventure GPS app integrated in with social media. Like at all, ever. This is a tool I depend on for my life. I know I can disable auto sharing in privacy settings, but I'd prefer a button to basically remove the entire social media module entirely. I don't want to have to remember to go back in the after every update either. This isn't All Trails. It doesn't need social media integration. This is a real, hard core wilderness survival navigation app. Lean into that!

I have been using Gaia for about three years now and could not be happier. I have used it with great success for recording hikes, runs, skis, and climbs. It is a great navigation tool. I have found it vital for reaching obscure trailheads, retracing our steps down Mt. Rainier and Nevado Tocllaraju in total whiteouts, and choosing the safest routes for winter travel. There are hundreds of downloadable layers such as slope angle, snow depth, snow/rain/smoke forecasts, recent satellite, and many, many others. You can map out routes and set waypoints, set areas, overlay .gpx files. The applications are endless. The subscription also comes with an account for Outside+, which has numerous interesting films about climbing, skiing, and other sports. Gaia is the best of the best. Any reviews with less than five stars are simply wrong.

This is in my opinion the most accurate and easy to use GPS app I used so far. Nice to record the trails and make pictures for future exploring.

I have found Gaia to be an incredibly useful app for our kayaking adventures in Ontario. Some areas are hugely complicated to navigate due to islands, inlets, points, etc and Gaia has always come through.

Find this a super easy platform for Offroad riding from Canada into Baja. Highly recommended

Gaia est le plus efficace à date après en avoir essayé plusieurs… - Efficace sur CarPlay - on peut partager des waypoints facilement - on peut créer des zones - un allier important pour ma chasse et randonnées - on peut prendre des photos et les consulter sur la carte - de plus en plus populaire au Québec - on peut monter des dossiers pour regrouper des routes, tracés, photos car lorsque l’on en a beaucoup, ça peut devenir mêlant, donc dans les dossiers c’est parfait - pour la chasse , l’heure du lever et coucher du soleil, super pratique - les maps sont multicouches et beaucoup de diversité. Pour moi la version Google Earth et Gaia meters est la plus récente et plus précise pour ma chasse. Ça vaut la peine ! 👍

This is by far the the most reliable hiking app I’ve used. Excellent quality and accuracy.

The app is great on the phone, but when plugged into Apple car play, it’s struggles to auto-rotate, stay following, keep the compass on screen and update position. It seems the interface is unresponsive sometimes within Apple CarPlay, for example the recenter button doesn’t really work for me, maybe 20% of them time. Would be nice to see a similar interface like on the phone, in Apple car play. A reliable follow function with auto rotate would be very beneficial.

J’adore planifier mes sorties de moto hors route avec Gaia …simple et extrêmement efficace

It is disappointing to pay the same price for premium, yet not get access to 3D maps using the app on iOS.

Gaia has proven as a powerful tool for printing physicals of various top maps. Has relatively good integration with different layers and is easy to maneuver. Still needs pairing with other platforms as occasionally the roads and lines are missing. Would still recommend pro version for backcountry planning and plotting.

I like how you can just take a picture for way point to find your way back. Saved me a few times in the bush

Dope shi

The app is very easy to use if an old man can use it anyone can 😆😆.

I’ve been using Gaia for a year now and I’m at the point where my frustration level with the app has reached a tipping point. It seems like each time I open it I find another bug. A few days ago it stopped uploading photos correctly. Some don’t appear on the route where they were taken even though they appear in the My Photos section in the app with the correct GPS location. Before that, Gaia was displaying false elevations for routes I created. Additionally, it continuously displays erratic dips to zero elevation in route elevation profiles. Furthermore, once you have navigated to a folder and create a route while in that folder, instead of saving that route by default in that folder Gaia will save it in the previous (last) folder that was opened. This may not be a life saving issue but it’s an annoyance. You have to be vigilant to make sure you manually verify the save-to folder each time you create a route. I’m sure there are many more bugs to be found but I’m not going to be wasting any more time finding them. My experience with Gaia up to this point makes me question if I should be relying on it in the backcountry. The team at Gaia may need to step back and do a deep dive on their software quality. Quite frankly, I cannot believe Gaia has the gall to charge what they do for a subscription. They claim it supports their efforts to continue their product development. Based upon my experience, their “development” appears to be regressive and the app doesn’t warrant its cost.

Firstly this app is useful and it’s convenient for what I need but seems so far behind alternatives like OnX when it comes to a clean and intuitive user interface. Almost like comparing DOS to modern day Windows. If I didn’t already pay for this one I’d switch, but since I have it, I’d like to help make it better. There needs to be better graphics in general and more customization options for waypoints when you click on them. It also really bugs me that you can’t just select waypoints already on the map… you have to click near it and it drops a giant new waypoint, and then it brings up nearby points and you can select your pre-saved waypoint below... good lord that’s unnecessarily complicated. PLEASE, get rid of the waypoint with one click.. it’s such a bad design. At least make it a selectable option in settings? I get the intent but it doesn’t need to be THAT easy to add a waypoint. Adding a waypoint SHOULD be a long press on the map, or just by using the (+) button - not just a simple click on the map, that way people can just tap on pre-existing waypoints/pins/trails and bring up their information without having to constantly clear out a newly placed pin every... single.. time I click on the map. This seems like such a simple fix and would make the app about 1000x better and less annoying. Thanks

UPDATE: Gaia now by default makes a public “outside” profile for you to share your tracks. Run away! And for the follow up to my previous technical issues: I’ve reached out to support and it’s confirmed that my gripes aren’t misunderstandings or issues, just facts I don’t like (eg, you must have live “tracking” on continuously in order to know how far along a route you are; gone are the days it can just do it by location w/o tracking- I think they’re tryna compete with strava or all trails or something by harvesting your data and draining your cell battery) ORIGINAL: Ever since the purchase by Outside, Gaia seems to work less and less. I’ve used Gaia GPS for 10 years and was in the initial round of paid subscriptions after a year grace period. Now, there are more/new features, sure, but core functions don’t work. For example, downloading offline maps. I’m paying $60/year for this and I can’t download Gaia topo because the downloads just get hung up because I already have a few other layers. So I end up just zooming in and scrolling over my whole route at home as a means to download maps. Super janky. For the price, I expect it to just work. Another example is how many times I have to hit X to get out of a nested submenu after a new submenu pops up. It’s entirely maddening, esp out on trail.

I really don’t get it. Yes it is nice I guess for casual hikers and short walks that the watch application can sort of be independent of the phone. Sort of as you have to have a route on the phone and have the phone to transfer that route. Not great even for this case. For serious backpackers the watch app used to be a great tool before the company sold out and the new application was written. I assure you the watch battery is only going to last at most a couple hours running this application. But the phone it will last hours and hours and can be plugged into a battery while still recording your track. If you would like to put that phone into your pack and monitor that active long running route from your watch. Well. Hmm. You used to be able to do this but not with the current application. Don’t get me wrong I am not asking for the sort of stand alone features to be removed. I am sure there are groups that love those features though really the built in Apple apps have you covered there. But give me the ability to also monitor my active route on the phone from the watch.

I was so ready to make this my new main GPS trail app, but there were a couple of features that I was surprised to find were absent when using it. 1. It doesn’t tell you how many miles you have left of your hike. You can see the total miles and how far you’ve gone, but not how much you have left. I don’t want to have to do arithmetic during the middle of my hike, and I usually forget to start tracking my hikes until an hour or so in, so it would be inaccurate anyway. This is a basic feature that I need to be added in order to make this my main app. 2. Showing where you are on the total elevation profile of the hike, during the hike. I can see the elevation profile when I set my route and I can see a profile of the elevation I’ve hiked so far, but not the elevation that’s coming up. All trails has this feature (there’s a lot wrong with AllTrails but this is one of the best features of it IMO). This would help with timing stops along the hike. I wouldn’t need this feature to make Gaia my main app but it sure would help.

The only reason to keep paying for this app is so you can be part of the class action lawsuit when people start dying in the backcountry because they relied on Gaia. Imagine using this app as an outdoor professional, relying on it for life saving navigation and safety in the backcountry. Now imagine you absolutely need to use the app to coordinate a rescue, but in a typical situation when you have basically no cell service because it’s an app for the backcountry. You open it up, and now you have to create a log in for a failing magazine in order to use the app that you already pay $60 a year for?! Ridiculous, incredibly frustrating, and for a product people use for safety?! Absolutely inexcusable. Once you manage to create a magazine company login and you finally get the app to open, it is entirely non functional. Downloaded maps just show as all black. Full 5g internet, expect over a minute waiting for a map to load. Zoom in, crash. Literally unusable. This app will get people killed. People rely on this for safety and it does not work. It’s the Pieps avalanche beacon of navigation apps. The developer owes it to the community to remove this app from the store.

While I really enjoy this app, I’m dismayed that a feature that’s only available for premium subscriptions doesn’t work as it’s supposed to. Premium users are supposed to be able to download maps and offline routing data so they can not only view maps when offline, but also snap to trail when planning hiking routes offline. Regrettably, this feature does not work which is a major disappointment. After downloading a topo map and offline routing data for a given area (e.g., Oregon) as a premium user, I can snap to trail anywhere in the downloaded area while connected to the internet. However, if I put my iOS device in airplane mode and try to snap to trail in the same area(s), all I get are straight lines that don’t follow the trail. Please evaluate and fix this feature, or stop promoting it as available for premium users. I primarily paid for a premium plan for this feature and to find out it doesn’t work, after considerable testing and debugging, is quite frustrating and disappointing. I have submitted 3 technical support requests for this over the past 6 months and the issue is still not fixed.

I’ve used this app since 2017, it was great but the developers are ruining it. The app crashes on my iPad with the latest update. I do not want the social media integration. There should be a way to opt out of it. I just want a reliable navigation app, my life depends on it. Why when I want to save a track: - must I first choose an activity? - Then I have to remove the useless “cute” already filled-in unwanted track name, “Sunday Morning Hiking”. If you must add this useless fluff then give us the option of opting out otherwise I’m finding a different navigation app. UPDATE: the developers were able to address the problem on my iPad which was Apple security blocked the app for sharing user information. The response to my other complaints refers to the “drawer” which has nothing to do with my complaints. Again, I am asking - remove or allow users to opt out of unwanted fluff, i.e. forcing us to choose an unnecessary activity category, useless track names in the way of the users’ track labels. Just provide a reliable GPS app.

I’ve used Gaia for a number of years and generally am satisfied with the interface and ability to plan trips on a desktop browser. But the downloading of offline maps is horrendous. Just absolutely awful in almost every way. First of all, it takes ages. We’re talking hours, days maybe, for a few megabytes of data. That much data should take a few seconds by today’s data transfer standards. But to make matters worse, the feedback you get from the app is unreliable at best. It’s very difficult to know for sure if your download is even happening at all, let alone when it might complete. So you’re out traveling, maybe you haven’t downloaded every leg of your trip yet because of storage space or a flexible itinerary. You know you’re about to go out of service and need to get that next map section. What do you do? Sit in a truck stop for a few hours, a few days, hoping that data comes through? Pitiful.

I have been a loyal Gaia Premium subscriber for several years. I love the app's map options and the routing function and other functuonality have improved significantly over time. I seldom leave negative reviews, but unfortunately this is likely my last year subscribing due to consistent lag in live tracking while using Gaia in my car or motorcycle. The location lag (delay in showing where you are in real time) makes the app unuseable for it's purpose. The issue persists after I've exhausted all recommendations from Gaia help, and Gaia/other overland forums indicate I am one of many with the issue. I use an iphone 15 with up to date ios and the latest app version, though I have seen this problem reported across platforms. This review is my last attempt to get a message through to Gaia to address this, and warn others who may be weighing the price of the yearly subscription. Still an excellent app if your intended use is walking or hiking.

I’ve been using Gaia for a while now. Some for hiking, some for overlanding and dual sport, and some for Backcountry Enduro biking. For the most part the app is ok. It’s simple to save maps and record tracks and easy to download GPX files from 3rd parties. But it’s missing some of the most critical and simple functions. At first I simply couldn’t believe what it was missing, but after watching Gaia tutorials and spending time on blogs, I’ve learned it truly doesn’t have them. For example, when route planning you can’t see the distance between waypoints! Unbelievable. On our motorbikes we have limited fuel, so I need to be able to plan for that. I literally have to use a physical grade-school ruler on my screen to estimate distance between waypoints to plan for fuel stops. It’s also very difficult to adjust a route later. Anyway, the app could be great but falls miserably short for route planning. Currently planning an Idaho BDR trip and Gaia simply won’t work. Currently looking for a better solution.

Ive been an avid user since about 2015; and a Pro subscriber. Over the past few years, functionality is being slowly lost. Features being removed, or just far more clunky design and slow response. The slow responsiveness sounded like it was fixed by the 2022v7 info, so I updated. Now, IT CRASHES EVERY SINGLE TIME WITHIN 20 SECONDS. No matter what screen its on. I could barely send a bug report and it took me fifth attempt! Still no word back and Im a paying user who uses this for SAR. Our team has been playing with CalTopo lately, and so at least I have that, but a lot of my data is in Gaia. DO NOT UPDATE TO 2022v7!!!! UPDATE: Still no word from support, but being literally useless I deleted it. Did a complete fresh install and reloaded my data from my gpx files. Was a huge PITA but seems to work…so far. Still has a lot of functionality loss I prefer classic Gaia when it was about good maps and mapping features not this new social media type ap. Stop copying AllTrails and give us the old school FUNCTIONALITY.

Gaia GPS is a great app and I love being able to organize waypoints and maps into folders. I also love the Gaia Topo map as it shows details that local hikers have put into OSM, such as tent sites, leantos, outhouses, stream crossings, etc. I have paid subscriptions to both GaiaGPS and VwRngr. GaiaGPS is missing two critical features that VwRngr has and I use almost daily: 1. No way to quickly measure distance and elevation from current location to a given location. This is very important for choosing rest stops and water breaks. Efficiently choosing breaks has a *huge* impact on the day’s progress. If I pan the map around, VwRngr immediately gives me crow-flies distance and elevation delta to the point under the crosshairs on the center of the maps. This is sufficient for me to quickly estimate route distance and time to get to that point. GaiaGPS does not have an easy way to do this without a lot of squinting and mental math. When it’s 20 degrees out and falling snowflakes are messing with the phone touchscreen, this is downright painful and tortuous. 2. No way to easily update downloaded maps. VwRngr has a feature to “update map data” for downloaded maps. Trails are being rerouted all the time, leantos get moves, details get added to OSM, new trails are built. Right now I need to delete downloaded maps and download them again. I active hike and recreate in numerous areas and this is very tedious. VwRngr for the win. Cheers, T.

I appreciate having received a developer response that some of the shortcomings outlined below are being addressed. I’d still go with Gaia over the others, and I’d still say there are some needed QOL additions. Some things I believe need work: Poor organization of trips - why have folders and then display every prospective route in the “folders” view? Why no bulk add of multiple routes and waypoints to one folder? There’s no way to see your waypoints on an elevation, such that your waypoints for overnight camps appear in the elevation view. This matters because you can’t get accurate mileage from one camp to the next when planning routes. The only way I can find to do that is to make separate routes for each day, which is fine, until you go to look at the “folder view” and find it filled with 30 or 40 separate routes from various prospective trips. There doesn’t appear to be an “out and back” option to create a full “out and back mileage” and elevation profile - the best you can do is create another point somewhere near the origin. But you can’t put the final point directly on the origin, because doing so grabs and moves the origin point. Multiplying is easy enough, but other apps have this feature, and it’s a nice add. I have used other apps, and each has its own shortcomings. All this said, Gaia is easier to use than others, and it gets the job done.

I had been a Gaia subscriber since 2015. At that point it was an industry leader and profound innovator in backcountry map technology with offline capability. I used it for Search and Rescue as well as personal backcountry pursuits. Unfortunately, especially since being acquired by Outside, it feels stagnant and clunky compared to its competitors, like OnX or CalTopo. Whether it’s deficits in ease and accuracy of route planning, poor use of 3-D technology, it’s unreliability integrating various file types from the web, or weak map tech for winter backcountry pursuits, Gaia - who was once an innovation leader - is now being left behind. It now feels as much a social media product (like AllTrails, but not as established) as it is a navigation product. I guess what should you expect? The innovators behind the original app have long been replaced by Outside Magazine appointees whose imperative seems to be generating brand traffic and cash flow rather than improving a product that once was the best in the business.

We’ve had a paid subscription to Gaia for years and were happy with it for backcountry hiking, but now would definitely NOT RECOMMEND! When we recently went to open the app, it said we had to log into a related Outside account, which we did NOT CREATE. It said by logging in we would be “more secure,” which is laughable, considering that we had nothing to do with its creation. However, we had to log into this account in order to get to the Gaia app, where all our data was mapped. What if we arrived at a trailhead without cell service and were not able to log in? We would not have been able to navigate our trip, which is a safety concern (as well as disappointing). In addition, when we checked our privacy settings on Gaia, they had changed to public! When we checked our Outside account (again, which we did not create), our private information was there! This is unacceptable! We just want a map that works, and that is all, but that’s apparently not the case anymore. Unbelievable.

This app was THE BEST for many many years. I was a huge advocate. But… they recently had some sort of snafu with the iPhone app and lost much of my saved data including many of my saved photos. They no longer have good tech support like they used to when they were smaller, and so it has taken well over a month of piecing things back together to finally figure out just exactly how much data they lost. DO NOT think that your data is safe here with this service. Back up everything somewhere else including photos, maps, tracks, and routes if you think you may want to refer back to them later. The app works fine in the moment, but don’t bother saving anything or you might be sad like me later. ☹️ All good things must come to an end. Update 2 months later - They had another problem and the app lost all my downloads… again! This time it took them over 3 weeks to get back to me. Since the buyout by Outside this app has really gone in the toilet. Super bummed. I used to love this app and company.

So I decided to make a quick download and try out the free trial for premium for my hike out chaffin creek in the bitterroot’s in Montana today. I always use AllTrails or OnX but had to delete OnX due to storage and AllTrails new update doesn’t allow offline maps on the free version (used to have little loophole if always get around by clicking on navigate and toggling on the map over to my location). Anyway, the trail for chaffin creek today is completely off so much so when we were wondering which way to go, Gaia led us even farther off trail. On the map the trail is a straight line in one spot which was weird in itself but I went for it. We went way off into thick brush *on the other side of the creek. Yes, we missed the creek crossing terribly so I tried AllTrails and got a glimpse of our location and the trail and realized how far off we were. Really don’t understand all the hype. The app just waisted 30 min of bushwhacking. The current location arrow is also not accurate as it constantly jumps around misleading you.

I can’t tell you how sad I am that this app, which I placed so much hope in, failed to live up to simple expectations. The problem? After starting the recording where data of my hikes or trips would be retained for analysis later, I found repeatedly that the app would either pause automatically (no input from me) or completely crash. Of course, this discovery would be made only at the end of the hike or trip, so all data I had hoped to retrieve was not there. There is no indicator in the app double checking whether or not I did indeed intend to pause or stop the app; rather, it paused and was silent about it and I was unaware this was happening (or I would have taken corrective action). On the fourth instance of the Gaia app pausing in and of itself which of course included the loss of data I had anticipated collecting, I decided it was not dependable or trustworthy. I had already paid for a full year of use for the app, but I will not, sad to say because I had such great hope for this app, renew.

I have been using the old GAIA GPS app for almost 3 years now for all my navigation needs as a bush helicopter pilot, and it has been spreading like wildfire to other pilots and clients who spend time in the bush BUT for some reason the old app has been discontinued and the new one has a number of problems which make it impossible to use. Firstly, they decided to use grey writing, grey on white background, possibly the worst contrast ratio of any colour combination. Try reading that in a bumpy vibrating aircraft in bad weather (which is when you need it most). Secondly they were so close to having the all round best GPS app ever made, all they needed was to listen to the forums and add a few features that people were requesting, and keep it going, instead they discontinued a winning app and make new inferior version?? Why? What happened... That being said, the addition of back roads maps is brilliant, thank you. I will take full advantage of this map until they finally make the old app seize to function, and I will no longer be a customer

This used to be the best GPS app. I have had it for years. Over the last year I have developed problem after problem. At this point I’m paying 50 bucks a year for something unusable. I have contacted support they are aware of my issues but have no timeline on when they will be addressed..that was months ago. Every update I’m excited it might be fixed and every update in disappointed. Every email I receive about added functionality infuriates me more because they are adding stuff and not fixing the issues.

This map service have few map functionality for Canada and offline maps, which is the number one reason we would pay for a second map on smartphones, is not supported. Wish this was clarified before I paid for the subscription. Essentially useless as I need it when I have little to no signal or line of sight to satellites during heavy winter storms.

I installed the app, try to create an account… “invalid email”. Tried using auto fill and manually typing it several times. It’s not invalid but the error insists it is. I’ve never used the app or heard of “Outside” before. Just in case it was acquired by another site I had an account with, I tried to reset the password. “We sent you a link to reset your password”. No, no you didn’t. So my valid email isn’t valid and your password reset function doesn’t work. I suppose that’s all the Gaia trial I needed. Sure as hell wouldn’t be putting any faith it in to plan anything outdoors if it can’t get basic account setup correct.

With Outside’s acquisition of this app it seems to have gone to pieces. Most fundamentally, despite having a subscription I can’t sign in or even change my “forgotten” password. Useless piece of junk.

The subscription syncing between the apps doesn’t work and it tries to trick you into buying the same subscription when you have it on another device using the same account information.

ALL of the Metric topo maps provided in the free AND premium subscription are corrupted, the contour lines are not accurate, cross bodies of water, and so on.

Why exactly did you need an extra pop up request to access my data talk the time after I limited access to when using the app only? Extra creepy guys. Pretty sure I knew what I was doing.

Giving me away to Facebook, Google, and other personal info harvesting entities? Nope. I’m heading elsewhere...

I could hardly justify purchasing the subscription service, but this app is getting punted now after the massive price hike. Greedy. $116 a year now? What the heck!

I used to enjoy this app; it was a bit glitchy and slow but otherwise got the job done. But why in the world is there now a social media feed in my GPS app? Why is it the first thing that comes up when I open the app? Who asked for this? I wish companies would just relax and stop making everything social and just focus on developing a good app and fixing their bugs. I’m switching to caltopo and cancelling my premium membership for Gaia.

Been using the app for nearly 8 years now. Sure, the layout wasn’t perfect and the map downloads took forever, but once the maps were on your phone it was reliable. These new app improvements have completely ruined the app. Every time I try to use the app it wants a login which is not possible when you don’t have service (hence downloaded offline maps). I try to download new maps and not only is it still slow but it fails every time. I’ve tried logging out and logging back in, deleted the app entirely and downloaded a fresh copy, everything but it’s still broken. I’m on an iPhone 15 Pro connected to 1GB download speed wifi and nothing downloads, map thumbnails are blank, premium map layers don’t work. Stop focusing on integrating social media features and fix the core functionality for your loyal paying customers.

My iPhone reported this app was tracking my detailed location even when I was not recording a track and had manually “closed” the app. Very uncool. Not sure if it was a bug or not, but it clearly didn’t match the app’s published policy.

Requires account… no reason you should need an account

I’ve used Gaia for the past year without hitch until a few months ago when it no longer allows me to get past my correct credentials. I’ve tried contacting both the Gaia and outside customer support but have received zero response. Very disappointed. Uninstalled both useless apps!

The app updated recently and I can’t find the map anymore! Just a useless feed of posts about outdoors and backpacking… Where is the map?

Just realized my privacy has been grossly violated. Found that ‘Profile’ and ‘Activity’ privacy settings had automatically been set to Public/Everyone. This appears to have happened after a recent update. I have been using this app for a long time, have made tons and tons of tracks and pins — intended for my private reference — and to find these had been automatically set to public visibility was a truly disgusting discovery. Public visibility on an app like Gaia GPS should obviously be exclusively an opt-in decision. I have been such a fan of the Gaia GPS app, have recommended it to so many people, but this has fundamentally changed my opinion of the app. I will be looking for alternatives, as continuing to give my money to a company so disrespectful to users’ privacy feels gross.

I have used this app for months without a problem. Now I am locked out until I log in to outside.com, and as far as I know I do not even have an account to log into. In any case, when I try to obtain access by resetting the password, all I get is an error message. Stay away!!!

The Gaia app is really good and have been a subscriber for a couple years. Looks like the price increased substantially here to the point where I need to question the value.

I use Gaia primarily for backcountry snowboarding activities and guiding work. I have noticed that this year since some updates, it appears that the app has became much slower to load maps, tracks and waypoints. It also appears to have a lot of bugs that just wont show certain items that were previously saved… hopefully this gets fixed soon as this is the best app that I have found for the tasks at hand.

I used for many years the previous Gaia app. Then, I thought of upgrading to the subscription-based new one. What a mistake! It’s full of unwanted extra subscriptions, the app works very poorly, often doesn’t even want to open, it’s slow and unreliable. It was essentially useless during my recent trip to Nepal, fortunately I kept the previous app ( free!) and used it successfully. I sent a message to the customer support, they didn’t even consider replying…

Meanwhile issues with Apple CarPlay, which haven’t been addressed for a very long time, are still present. Not to mention, no new features have been released for this mode since CarPlay was first implemented into the app.

I have used and loved this app for a few years now but it has become glitchy and unstable. App crashes, lengthy start ups, gps glitches etc… It has gotten so bad I have had to use my garmin watch as a back up tracker while doing any activity. I am so invested in this app that I want to keep using it but I feel I have to consider an alternative. Please Gaia, fix the basics before adding new features!!!

The app will freeze, and sometimes even stop starting when mobile coverage becomes spotty. Pretty much a deal breaker for an app that is supposed to be used in the bushes.

I downloaded this app in hopes of navigating trails in Taiwan. The trails were there but everything was in Taiwanese. No issue if you can read Chinese but it would be helpful if there was a setting that allowed for translation to the language of your choice. For this reason I chose another app to use.

Why when I’m downloading offline maps it takes 5 business days for 200mb! My internet is very fast but it genuinely takes sooo long to download anything in this app i have to wait for an hour then go hike.

Their rainbow logo isn’t the only reason I’m Deleting this app. They’re charging more money($25 more per year for me)for their “premium” overlays but removed a lot of the satellite maps. So you pay more and get a worse service. And their updates have a rainbow flag logo and I’m Tired of having who people have sex with shoved in my face daily. Good for you for being gay or whatever letter of the alphabet you call yourself. I don’t feel the need to have stickers on my car describing where I put my weiner, why do you?

I paid almost $75 for this not to work. Super frustrating.

New update and now cant save routes for free cant slide finger on elevation and see location on path used to be possible before but not anymore

Nothing works properly or easily. You have to constantly google how to do stuff, and even then it frequently doesn’t work. Confusing interface. Needs massive simplification to get the basics right.

Hidden in the new update for the app, they made it so adding and saving trails is now a premium feature. I, along with many others I know are incredibly disappointed with this and the fact that it didn’t seem to be mentioned in the update. This app used to be great for saving hikes on your map but it is now hidden behind a paywall. I was a huge fan and used to share this app with all my hiker friends and family. However, due to this ,I along with everyone I recommended the app to, will be deleting it and no longer recommend it. Its just not worth paying that much. Shame. Was a great app, very disappointed that this happened.

I really want to like the app but it’s incredibly buggy and slow. Downloads take hours or fail completely without notifying me, and features of layers show up and disappear at random. I keep wanting it to improve but after a couple years it hasn’t, will likely cancel my subscription. While I’ve been writing this I’ve been trying to download an offline area that is less than 1GB, I have had to restart the download 3 times as it freezes at random, and at this point the download has been taking an hour to complete.

Other apps provide the same, some even more. But this app also works fine. Worth the download.

I have used this app for many years and love it, however a lot of map layers are not offered in Canada and the maps are becoming quite outdated vs apple and google maps.

Emailed the company July 25th and still no reply from them.

I used Gaia for example on canoe trip in NWT of Canada to track hikes and each day we travel to new camp via canoe and it NEVER kept a single track = BRUTAL

Seemed to work well but then it’s the only gps app I’ve use so can’t compare. Did the job well for what I wanted but unfortunately I got logged out and didn’t use it for quite some time. When I logged back in the app was no longer free. I don’t use GPS enough to pay for it, I just used it to mark areas/locations on our property. Another disappointing thing was that you now have to log in through another companies website to use it and then find this particular app on there. Not very impressed at all.

It used to be a great app, and now they are bought out and you need to sign in and make an account. Never had to do it and now all my maps are gone. I hate there website with dozens of pop ups and they use cookies so they follow me where ever I am on even in my emails. Screw you guys. I will delete this app