# Colorado Trail Explorer — Colorado's Official Trail Map

> Colorado's official trail map for discovery, offline navigation, and outdoor activity logging. (iPhone/iPad app by State of Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/colorado-trail-explorer/id1435737776 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [State of Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology](https://appshunter.io/developer/1447566713)
- Category: Navigation, Travel
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.30/5 from 234 App Store ratings · 85 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.4 · 135 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-10-30
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/colorado-trail-explorer/id1435737776/reviews.md

## What is Colorado Trail Explorer?

Discover and explore Colorado’s unique trail experiences with the Colorado Trail Explorer. Available for free, COTREX offers the most comprehensive trail map available for the state and is built atop data from over 230 trail managers.

View trails by allowed uses on the map, browse featured routes, download offline maps, record trips and notes in the field, complete challenges to earn badges, and share your experiences with the community. COTREX is your gateway into Colorado’s magnificent outdoors. 

■ DISCOVER TRAILS & FEATURED ROUTES

– Browse or search to find trails and Feature Routes that match your activities or interests.
– Change activity type to dynamically filter trails on the map.

■ OFFLINE MAPS

– No cell coverage? No problem! Download maps ahead of time for a continuous experience that doesn’t depend on your network. 
– COTREX offline maps are lightweight in size and easy to download. 

■ RECORD TRIPS & FIELD NOTES

– Capture the details of your outdoor experiences by recording Trips.
– Go beyond simple photos by taking and classifying rich Field Notes along the way. Choose from 45,000+ classifications that include trail conditions, species, rocks and minerals, historic places, points of interest, and much more.
– Seamlessly sync activity recorded on your devices with the web. 

■ COMPLETE CHALLENGES TO EARN BADGES

– By recording and classifying Field Notes, you can complete Challenges and earn Badges for your profile. 

■ SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY

– Inform and inspire the entire COTREX community by sharing your Trips and Field Notes publicly or submitting Trip Reports. 
– View activity feeds for all users or just the ones you follow.
– By sharing your experiences, you also help to inform trail managers about current conditions on the ground. 

■ ABOUT COTREX

The Colorado Trail Explorer endeavors to map every trail in the state of Colorado in support of the Colorado the Beautiful Initiative. COTREX connects people, trails, and technology by coordinating the efforts of federal, state, county, and local agencies to create a comprehensive repository of recreational trails for public use. 

This project is led by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Department of Natural Resources, but is only made possible through partnerships with organizations at every level statewide. COTREX represents a seamless network of trails managed by over 230 land managers.

■ DISCLAIMERS

[Battery Life] We do everything we can to make the app low power when recording, but GPS is notorious for reducing battery life

Terms: https://trails.colorado.gov/terms
Privacy Policy: https://trails.colorado.gov/privacy

## Key features

- Comprehensive trail maps
- Offline map downloads
- Trip recording
- Field note logging
- Challenges and badges
- Community sharing

## Chart rankings

- #209 in Top Free · Navigation (US App Store)

## What do users think of Colorado Trail Explorer?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🗺️ Comprehensive trail database with official trail information
- 💰 Free app with no subscription required
- 📱 Offline map functionality for areas without cell service
- 🎯 Snap-to-trail route creation feature
- 📊 Detailed elevation profiles and distance tracking
- 🏛️ State-managed data from official trail managers
- 🔍 Excellent for discovering lesser-known trails
- ⚡ Works well on older/budget phones
- 🎨 Clean interface and intuitive design
- 📍 Accurate GPS tracking and positioning

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent bugs and stability issues
- 🔄 Slow developer response to bug fixes
- 📍 Outdated trail and satellite data
- ❌ Missing or inaccurate trail closures
- 🚫 Trails on private/closed land causing trespassing issues
- ⚙️ Pinch-zoom too sensitive, causes unwanted map rotation
- 📱 Landscape mode not supported
- 🔐 Password reset functionality broken
- 📊 Mileage tracking inconsistencies
- ⌨️ Keyboard covers input fields in trip descriptions

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Password reset email links non-functional
- Keyboard covers trip description input field
- Trip trim function throws 'Undefined is not a function' error
- GPS signal locking issues after iOS updates
- App crashes when zooming on map
- Screen timeout during trip recording
- Mileage tracking significantly off from actual distance
- Current location icon disappears intermittently
- Spacebar non-functional in trip description field
- App crashes with filter functionality
- Account creation email character limit validation error
- App won't open after updates
- GPS tracking inaccurate during guidance mode
- App requires screen to stay on for trip recording

**Most requested features**

- One-handed zooming (double-tap and drag)
- Apple Watch compatibility
- Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration
- Private land overlay
- Trail difficulty ratings and color coding
- Game unit and wildfire layers
- User-submitted trail reviews and photos
- Friend location sharing on map
- Garmin watch compatibility
- Trail condition crowdsourced reports
- Landscape mode orientation support
- Navigation/turn-by-turn directions
- Ability to copy coordinates without URL
- Screen-off recording capability
- Easier offline map downloading (bulk/drag selection)
- Trail running activity category
- Dispersed camping overlay
- 4WD/Jeep specific trail filter

## Recent user reviews (10 of 85)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/colorado-trail-explorer/id1435737776/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Great app, but some trails missing?

*2026-06-06, version 1.7.3*

Really useful app and in many ways superior to AllTrails.  One thing I find curious though is there are many trails that seem to be missing.  For instance, the trail to the top of South Arapahoe Peak isn’t here.  The keyhole route up Longs Peak is likewise MIA.  Not sure why the omissions, but I love the app otherwise.

### 5/5 — So Helpful on the Trail!

*2026-05-31, version 1.7.3*

This app is your best friend in the backcountry.

### 3/5 — Meh

*2026-05-26, version 1.7.3*

I wonder why they thought people would need a special separate app for the same information that is in the major trail maps out there making this just a waste of data storage. Three stars for a nice try.

### 5/5 — THE CO Trails App

*2026-04-28, version 1.7.3*

As the official app for trails in CO, what more could you ask for. Real time updates to trail closures and regular updates coming straight from the source.

### 1/5 — Password

*2025-08-16, version 1.7.2*

Won’t reset password. I get the email but it does not lead you to password reset. App works good just don’t loose your password

### 4/5 — Good, but disappointed with developer

*2025-06-02, version 1.7.2*

This is a good app, and a great alternative for Colorado residents who don’t want to pay a subscription for a commercial app. I still prefer AllTrails for the kinds of hikes that I do, but still cross-reference with COTrEx from time to time. Both apps have both false negatives and false positives in terms of trails. It is a bit disappointing for a CPW-sanctioned app to be missing trails that clearly exist in the real world (and aren’t just social trails), and to generally be outdated.

My biggest disappointment is the slow turnaround time on bug-fixing, all too common in software development these days. I reported a bug more than a year ago about the keyboard covering the bottom of your Trip description, and even submitted a screen recording illustrating the issue. A PM immediately responded saying they would get it fixed. More than a year later, and I still have to use the website to type Trip descriptions, despite the app having received multiple updates in that time.

### 4/5 — Compass heading is way to sensitive to pinch zoom

*2025-04-26, version 1.7.2*

Title.
 I often finding myself spinning my map in circles rather than zooming in out. Slightly annoying when I have the orientation how I want it and I pinch/pull my fingers in a slight enough way to rotate the map.

### 3/5 — Needs one-handed zooming

*2025-02-17, version 1.7.2*

Pinch-to-zoom is difficult without using two hands or setting the phone on a table or some other surface. Almost every other map app has a single-finger way to zoom in or out.  For example, in Apple Maps, tapping twice, and without lifting your finger from the second tap, allows you to zoom in by dragging your finger up and zoom out by dragging your finger down.
Google Maps, GaiaGPS and AllTrails all have similar functionality. Would love to see it come to this app.

### 4/5 — Good trustworthy app but

*2024-12-04, version 1.7.1*

Satellite layer is at least 4 years old. Needs updated.

### 5/5 — Best app for exploring Colorado, some UX issues

*2024-10-01, version 1.6.2*

Please please please reimplement one handed zooming. Literally every other map app under the sun lets you zoom with one hand/one finger. This causes such headache for me. I am perpetually trying to tap and slide to zoom (due to muscle memory since Apple Maps, AllTrails, Google Maps, Trails Off-road all working this way), but en up selecting random things and messing up my navigation.

## Frequently asked questions about Colorado Trail Explorer

### What is the Colorado Trail Explorer app?

The Colorado Trail Explorer app provides the most comprehensive trail map for the state of Colorado. It allows users to discover trails, download offline maps, record their trips, and log detailed field notes about their outdoor experiences.

### What are the key features of the Colorado Trail Explorer app?

Key features include discovering trails and featured routes, downloading offline maps for areas with no cell coverage, recording trips and classifying field notes with over 45,000 classifications, completing challenges to earn badges, and sharing experiences with the community.

### Is the Colorado Trail Explorer app free to use?

Yes, the Colorado Trail Explorer app is available for free. While the core functionality is free, the app does have in-app purchases and may display advertisements.

### What kind of information can I record with field notes?

Field notes allow you to go beyond simple photos by classifying rich details about your outdoor experiences. You can choose from over 45,000 classifications, including trail conditions, species, rocks and minerals, historic places, and points of interest.

### How does the app help with navigation in areas without cell service?

The app offers an offline maps feature, allowing you to download maps ahead of time. This ensures a continuous experience that doesn't depend on your network connection, making it ideal for areas with no cell coverage.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.7.3 — 2026-03-17

Stability Improvements

### 1.7.2 — 2025-02-04

The map now shows restricted areas for snowmobiles when in snowmobile mode

### 1.7.1 — 2024-12-02

- New Avalanche Forecast Overlay
- Stability Improvements

### 1.6.2 — 2024-10-01

Stability improvements

### 1.6.1 — 2024-05-06

- Wildfires and Prescribed Burns are now on the map
- Stability Improvements

## Apps similar to Colorado Trail Explorer

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Avenza Maps: Offline Mapping](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/avenza-maps-offline-mapping/id388424049) | 4.8 (127,094) | Free | Navigation |
| [onX Offroad: Trail Maps & GPS](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/onx-offroad-trail-maps-and-gps/id1475112177) | 4.4 (9,471) | Free | Navigation |
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## More apps by State of Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology

- [myColorado®](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mycolorado/id1447566714)
- [CPW Mobile PDF](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cpw-mobile-pdf/id1592514747)

All apps by State of Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology: https://appshunter.io/developer/1447566713

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*