onX Backcountry: Trail GPS App

• Backcountry Premium — $29.99/year ($2.49/mo) (derived from the IAP title)
• Backcountry Elite (AS) — $99.99/year ($8.33/mo) (derived from the IAP title)

Last verified 31 Jul 2026

4.8 6113 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5This app saved my toes!

   Tried this out when backpacking Big Bend for the first time. Ended up getting snowed into a mountaintop campsite with a historic amount of snow. This app gave us the confidence we were going the right way to return to the base when we couldn’t see any trail or tracks at all and needed to get down in time to prevent frostbite. The tracking works remarkably well and the UI is fairly intuitive. Also seeing the difficulty gradient along the trails is very useful for planning and decision making. My only suggestion would be to make it easier to access and view stats on previously tracked hikes. The only way I could find to access them was by tapping on the path on the map, but sometimes I had hiked the same segment many times making this an imprecise way to find precious data.

   Bennnnio · 31 Jul 2026

2. 2/5Don’t ever use if you don’t have cell service

   This silly hiking app logs you out randomly and you can’t log back in without cell service which is nuts. Use AllTrails unless you want to get lost in the woods if you rely on this app. Plus it is constantly throwing menus up when all you want to do is check the map but no, it needs to give you options you don’t need when you just want to check where you are. I can’t believe they made this app so you can’t see your downloaded maps if you don’t have cell service so you can’t login to use the features that keep you from getting lost in the woods. Just got lost because of this app. I’m actually writing this review (my first review I’ve ever we in my life) in a spot that has cell service as I just used AllTrails to find my way back to where I should be because this app may look great but in the field if you can’t use it without cell service it’s completely useless. Make sure you have other map apps when this one logs you out and won’t let you use your downloaded maps. Too much time spent on making it look good instead of making it work. I’m going to play with it for a few more days but it’s already gotten me lost on the first day I used it so it doesn’t look like I will be using it much longer.

   Lost in the wood · 31 Jul 2026

3. 1/5Great backcountry app but NEEDS an Apple Watch app

   ***update 12/22- Best app features completely ruined. I loved using this app before as I could easily pull it up, look at the map and instantly see slope angles on the trail that I was on and also if there was a featured route there. The great part was the featured trail didn’t obscure the slope angles of the trail. Well, now it does. So if the trail is a featured trail, you CANT see the slope angle of the trail in the map. You have to open the trail description and slide across the map to see slope. This is a horrible update. In order to see slope angles on the map you have to disable showing featured routes which then takes away a decent feature. This update in my opinion was one of the worst ideas ever. Love this app, I’ve used all the others (Gaia, AllTrails, Caltopo etc.) and love OnX. The map layers are great and detailed. The 3D map is cool although currently limited in terms of which trails support 3D but I’m sure will increase over time. The desktop and iPad apps make it really easy to plan out a trip and then easily transfer and pull it up on the phone app. The trail difficulty overlay right on the trail is amazing so I know exactly what my elevation gain looks like while on trail. Only feedback is we NEED an Apple Watch app, the other major players have one and it’s a really useful thing to have so I don’t have to always take my phone out. To have the ability to see offline maps or tracks on the watch would be great, especially with the new watch Ultra and it’s nice size screen! Overall great app for being in the backcountry!

   Dan_Johnson2 · 31 Jul 2026

4. 2/5Severely Limited App

   Updated review. On second day using app, the server that controls login crashed and couldn’t use the app. I’ve been trying to plan some hikes and this app just has nothing on the alternatives. You can’t navigate between waypoints. Unless a user has uploaded a gps track, the “trails” on the map are pulled from a general USGS database and lack topo and difficulty. Because it’s a new service there are not a lot of reviewed trails. I am going back to my other apps. This one is not ready for prime time. Initial Review. Just got the app. I also use Trailforks, MTB review, and Gaia (all paid versions). This app is geared toward hiking only. It lacks trail reviews, trail photos, and any other intel that I find helpful in planning an adventure. Great to see that a trail is in the Gunnison NF, or that the Gunnison nF is 1,000,000 acres but I ask you, how does that assist me planning a hike? It does not. Clicking on a trail marks that spot on the trail and highlights the trail. It’s a bit of an awkward functionality. Again show me trail reviews, trail conditions, user photos. Also what’s the point of an app that only shows information for a single use - hiking? All the other apps I use are multi use. So far disappointed.

   Mexico Magico · 31 Jul 2026

5. 3/5Good app, falls short of competitors

   I recently used the free trial of this app for a short backpacking trip. It has some nice features, and it is a good tool to have for hiking, but there are a couple features that need to be improved. First of all, the way trailheads are downloaded for offline is weird and inconsistent. Sometimes you click on a trailhead and it says “Error loading content” and other times it works fine. Also, why is the elevation graph on the trail details not available offline? Second is the tracking. Ok AllTrails, I can link my track to a hike, then I can view elevation gain and mileage remaining, as well as where I am on the elevation graph. This information would be nice on a trail instead of just having to look at the map and guess. Third is the lists/saving feature. It feels half completed. When I click the bookmark inside the trail details page, it doesn’t ask me where to save it, it just highlights the bookmark. Where does it save it to? I never found out during this free trial period. Fourth is the lack of clear trailhead closure or parking fees. I am aware of the access issues box that says the trail may be closed sometimes, but AllTrails puts the word closed in the title and clearly labels fee areas or pay to park trails. This app is good at fulfilling basic mapping requirements, and it seems to be great when planning routes off of any marked trail, but there are better apps for this price they are charging.

   bloksskywalker · 31 Jul 2026

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