CalTopo: Backcountry Mapping

• Free

Last verified 31 Jul 2026

4.8 7164 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Fantastic no-frills toolkit for all-around backcountry navigation

   The broad range of layers provided, plus the ability to dynamically “layer layers” and cache maps for offline use, makes this my go-to navigation resource for backcountry planning and navigation. Includes super detailed place name and trail/road info missing from many other map apps. Accurate slope angle shading is a literal lifesaver during avalanche season and weekly satellite data is awesome for estimating snow cover. Only wish that the NAIP satellite data layer came with a little more detail - I usually combine with Google Earth when planning trips for better landform visualization.

   andy legrunge · 31 Jul 2026

2. 4/5Great information but the app is lacking

   1st off, I love CalTopo. I have been using the web version for years and have been a paid member for a while now. The amount of information available in CalTopo is unmatched in my opinion. The only problem that I have with the service is with the interface, especially the app. It is quite slow to load data and seems very buggy. I have to constantly force shut down the app and occasionally restart my phone for it to load things more quickly and properly. It got so annoying that I paid for Gaia to test it out because their app looks great, is quick and responsive pulling data up almost immediately. Unfortunately, while they have most of the data CalTopo has they don’t have all of it so I continue to use CalTopo. I’m really hoping they will get things sorted out in the future. It’s still worth the money bury very frustrating to use at times.

   Abrehm · 31 Jul 2026

3. 4/5Myriad Features but…

   CalTopo is mostly awesome as it has myriad features for route and adventure planning as well as team and search organization for SAR work. It has extensive tools for gathering detailed information you may not have known existed in mapping programs such as the time of day that the sun will shine on a particular aspect, the estimated time it will take you to complete the objective you’ve planned, and very recent satellite imagery so you can check whether that high-country trail you’ve been psyched to run is melted out yet. However robustly featured the preeminent CalTopo is, it would benefit from certain upgrades and then truly be a godly mapping tool: a “snap-to-trail” route building feature on iOS, 3D map view in iOS, route preview, and a recreation layer with all of the hikes, trail runs, bike trails, backcountry ski routes, etc. that are popular. Ascendancy is within your reach CalTopo team, make it happen.

   SanJuanShadow · 31 Jul 2026

4. 1/5Removed my prior review somehow.

   Application uses the old image based instead of vector based graphics. This means that a single zone about one third the size of an average state and two other much smaller zones added up to downloads around 70GB. And to make matters worse these took a full day to download with some coming down quickly and others taking as much as 5-10 minutes for a single tile. To make matter worse the loading of the maps from disk is slow and choppy. Though the map details seem fine for what they are. The actual data provided while hiking is very minimal. Distance, and net elevation change is about it. So you have no idea how much elevation change actually happened throughout the trip. As a comparison Gaia (which is now owned by a less than trustworthy company and is far too much money a year for the least expensive option) allowed me to download about 1/2 the country as one zone and most of California as another for a total of about 10 GB of disk. They download in about 20 minutes with no slowdowns. And they load very quickly. They actually so more useful information and map detail that the much larger downloads from this application. Tracking a hike tells me distance amount of elevation rise and fall and net. Average speed average speed moving time moving total trip and time stopped. It also shows on a bar graph the speed over time and the elevation change over time. So while I don’t like the other company nor the new pricing, I am afraid that I will have to not use this application as it simple does not let a minimum requirement.

   Rokair · 31 Jul 2026

5. 4/5Must Have CalTopo Account to Use

   Original review: This app is not usable unless you have a CalTopo account already - meaning you literally can’t get past the page that says the name of the app. This was not clear based on the app details provided. Edit to respond to developer: I see the app has been updated. I downloaded the newly updated app and this issue has been resolved. Not only can you create an account where you would expect to be able to create an account within the app, but they’ve included options to use Apple, Google, Facebook and more (which I personally appreciate). My initial rating has been updated pending further review of the actual functionality of the app.

   Binginging · 31 Jul 2026

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