# iHikeGPS : Classic Topo Maps — All USA, USFS, Southern Canada > Offline topographic GPS navigation for outdoor activities in the USA and Canada. (iPhone/iPad app by James Associates Inc..) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ihikegps-classic-topo-maps/id351499175 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [James Associates Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/351499178) - Category: Navigation, Travel - Price: $4.99 - Rating: 4.40/5 from 59 App Store ratings · 88 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 12.0 · 12 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2010-02-12 - Data updated: 2026-08-27 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ihikegps-classic-topo-maps/id351499175/reviews.md ## What is iHikeGPS? Unleash the navigation potential of your iPhone or iPad with iHikeGPS! Turn your device into a high-performance GPS receiver equipped with USGS, US Forest Service & Canadian topo maps. These Classic topo map quads often have valuable back country details that vector maps in other hiking apps don't show. Even in remote areas with no cell signal, iHikeGPS ensures you always know where you've been, where you are, and where you’re going. Experience the ultimate hiking companion, offering unparalleled Track recording, Route navigation & accurate Estimated Time of Arrival. One Low Price! Everything included. No sign-ups, ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases. Completely respects your privacy. Discover the limitless possibilities of iHikeGPS while hiking, backpacking, biking, geocaching, camping, sightseeing, 4 wheeling, skiing & hunting. Recommended as the top choice in “Essential Gear for Safe Hiking”, it's a must-have for outdoor enthusiasts. TRACKS, WAYPOINTS & ROUTES Record Tracks as you hike, even in the background. View them on the map with a Trip Timer & Odometer. View elevation graphs of your Tracks & Routes. Show date, time, % grade, average speed and the area inside a closed path. Mark Waypoints precisely using topo or satellite maps, place names or addresses, geotagged photos, or by projecting from a known point. Get the elevation from a Digital Elevation Model database. Set a quick GoTo Waypoint or a full Route to see the heading, direction, distance, elevation change & Estimated Time of Arrival at your destination & intermediate Waypoints along the trail. Be warned when you leave a Route you were following. Create customized Routes using Waypoints, recorded Tracks, or imported GPX, KML or TCX files. Advanced Route editing. Send Waypoint, Route, Track & Map List files to other apps and other people via AirDrop, eMail, Messages or iCloud Drive. View the sun & moon positions and rise & set times for any date & place. TOPO MAPS AT NO EXTRA COST US Forest Service FSTopo 24K maps USGS 24K maps for all states, Guam, Puerto Rico & the US Virgin Islands USGS 250K & 100K (63K for Alaska) maps for all states National Resources Canada 50K maps for all areas south of 50° latitude. For Alberta, British Columbia & Newfoundland coverage extends to 54°. Download using WiFi or cell service. Our maps are optimized to download faster & use less storage memory. Store up to 2200 maps to use in the wilderness without cell service. These beautiful richly detailed offline topographic map images stitch together for seamless coverage across map boundaries. Print & Share map images overlaid with Waypoints, Routes & Tracks. Measure distance and direction between any 2 points. USE THE UNITS YOU PREFER Miles, Nautical miles or Km Feet or Meters Degrees, Degrees/Minutes, Degrees/Minutes/Seconds, UTM or USNG-MGRS °True or °Magnetic SUPPORT Comprehensive Help in the App Online Manual on iHikeGPS.com Email developer: lwjames@iHikeGPS.com WHAT OTHERS SAY “I am VERY impressed!!!…It pretty much blows…, my previous fave GPS app, out of the water. Your track recording features, fast map downloads, and well thought out interface make it a real winner.”-John in OR “Perfect for anyone camping, fishing & hiking, it'll provide great detail when you need it the most…for anyone who takes the great outdoors seriously”-David's review "iHike is the best user interface ever."-Larry B “Thanks for a wonderful and inexpensive app! I see my climbing buddies using expensive subscription apps that don't seem to be better.”-Charles DEVICE REQUIREMENTS Use iHikeGPS on any iOS device even if you don't have a cellular data plan. iPhones & WiFi+cellular iPads support full navigation. WiFi-only iPads can view maps, but require an iOS-compatible external GPS receiver to show your location & record tracks. Join thousands of satisfied users who rely on iHikeGPS for their outdoor adventures! ## Key features - Offline topographic map display - GPS track recording - Route planning and navigation - Waypoint creation and management - Elevation graphing - Sun and moon position tracking - Distance and direction measurement ## Chart rankings - #170 in Top Paid · Navigation (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 88) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ihikegps-classic-topo-maps/id351499175/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2026-02-19* It is easy to configure and use. I have used it over 15 years. Solid and dependable. Internet is only needed to download USFS and/or USGS topographic maps of your choice, which are stored on your iPhone. All operating features are completely useable in Airplane mode. Waypoints, GoTo, Tracks, Routes. Multiple Waypoints shown on your map screen. Help info is stored on your device. ihikeGPS is the Winner! ### 4/5 — Works great except *2025-06-23* Why would all my downloaded maps disappear in a fall? Seems pretty strange, I’m hiking, phone thinks I fell and my maps are deleted. That needs a fix. ### 5/5 — Lots of choices *2024-08-24* This app allows you to do many different things. The help menu that’s available in the app can be confusing, at least for me, however in you look up the app in your browser, then you can scroll through the menu and find what to do. I wanted to delete some track segments and using the info in the browser version I was able to remove just the segments I wanted and not the whole track. ### 4/5 — Good Navigation App *2024-06-22, version 9.4.8* Have used this in the backcountry with 24k USFS maps with great results. There is one feature that I wish this app had: Folder structure for Routes and Waypoints. Dealing with dozens of GPX files and Waypoints would be easier if there was the ability to create folders/subfolders for organization instead of the current flat file system. ### 1/5 — Not useful *2024-02-18, version 9.4.4* Good screenshots but bad resolution. Not good for hiking or anything else. ### 3/5 — Confusing maps approach *2023-12-26* I downloaded this app based on favorable reviews. But so far it’s confusing. I’m a GIS professional and programmer so don’t think it’s just me. I downloaded a few 24K maps near me, then downloaded a few 100K maps surrounding those. Then I wanted to download some 24K maps within the areas of the 100K maps. So far I have not found a way to do so. Tried various taps and buttons but no luck. Maybe once you’ve downloaded a coarser scale map you cannot also download a finer scale map of the same area. I also can’t zoom out very far— pinching out only zooms out to a pretty local scale, so can’t see the context. EDIT: I see the developer wrote a rather snippy reply to my review. Guess I must have touched a nerve. I'll admit that I did not thoroughly read all the Help material before posting the review, though I did consult it more than the average user would have. I mentioned that I hadn't found a way to download a 24K map in an area where I had already downloaded a 100K map. That was based on the instructions to tap the page in order to download a map. Subsequently I did find how to download the 24K map after you have another map for the same area. But it's not obvious: click the "Map List" tab along the bottom, then click the "+" icon at top left, then tap "Satellite Map Locator", then zoom/pan to where you want the new map, then tap the "+" in upper right, then tap the "Add USA 24K USGS Map". Whew. The approach for maps here is completely different (not "a little different") from any of the other GIS/GPS apps I've used (which is quite a few). It's not because it's raster vs. vector based, since other GIS/GPS apps also use raster/tile based maps. I guess my bottom line is that if you're willing to put in some time to learn the quirky interface, the app can be useful for limited areas of travel. I still wonder about zooming out, though--I can't zoom out beyond a radius of about 3 miles with the 24K map view enabled, or around 20 miles with the 250K map view. **Developer response:** On the main map screen if you try to view a map for an area for which no map has been downloaded, iHikeGPS automatically displays the map download screen so you can choose a map to download. If you ask to view a map for an area for which you do have a downloaded map, it will show that map rather than automatically displaying the map download screen. Since this user doesn't see the map download screen automatically displayed, he makes the hypothesis that perhaps he can't download another map with a different scale for this location. That hypothesis is completely wrong. There are many ways to bring up the map download screen to download the map with the scale that he wants. The way that iHikeGPS demonstrates during its first-use onboarding process is to tap the Map List tab and then tap the blue Add Map button (+) in the upper left corner. Perhaps being a GIS professional and a programmer, he chose to skip the onboarding process. Another way is, on the main map screen, tap the Mark button then choose the New Map New Scale action.  All major iHikeGPS screens contain a Help button. Tapping it would have lead to detailed on-screen instructions showing how to accomplish what he wants to do. Help directly from us is just an email to support@iHikeGPS.com away. That would have made a lot more sense than posting this review, which I hope he will kindly remove. iHikeGPS with its raster maps may work a little differently than some other GIS apps using vector maps, but a little time spent learning what it can do and how to do it will pay huge dividends. ### 3/5 — Confusing maps approach *2023-12-21* I downloaded this app based on favorable reviews. But so far it’s confusing. I’m a GIS professional and programmer so don’t think it’s just me. I downloaded a few 24K maps near me, then downloaded a few 100K maps surrounding those. Then I wanted to download some 24K maps within the areas of the 100K maps. So far I have not found a way to do so. Tried various taps and buttons but no luck. Maybe once you’ve downloaded a coarser scale map you cannot also download a finer scale map of the same area. I also can’t zoom out very far— pinching out only zooms out to a pretty local scale, so can’t see the context. **Developer response:** On the main map screen if you try to view a map for an area for which no map has been downloaded, iHikeGPS automatically displays the map download screen so you can choose a map to download. If you ask to view a map for an area for which you do have a downloaded map, it will show that map rather than automatically displaying the map download screen. Since this user doesn't see the map download screen automatically displayed, he makes the hypothesis that perhaps he can't download another map with a different scale for this location. That hypothesis is completely wrong. There are many ways to bring up the map download screen to download the map with the scale that he wants. The way that iHikeGPS demonstrates during its first-use onboarding process is to tap the Map List tab and then tap the blue Add Map button (+) in the upper left corner. Perhaps being a GIS professional and a programmer, he chose to skip the onboarding process. Another way is, on the main map screen, tap the Mark button then choose the New Map New Scale action.  All major iHikeGPS screens contain a Help button. Tapping it would have lead to detailed on-screen instructions showing how to accomplish what he wants to do. Help directly from us is just an email to support@iHikeGPS.com away. That would have made a lot more sense than posting this review, which I hope he will kindly remove. iHikeGPS with its raster maps may work a little differently than some other GIS apps using vector maps, but a little time spent learning what it can do and how to do it will pay huge dividends. ### 5/5 — Battery Saver - on Trail or close to Home *2023-10-02* My location is determined by automatically receiving multiple satellite signals. Therefore iHikeGPS works completely with my iphone while being in (or not being in) Airplane Mode. I have used it 10+ years. My Hiking days are less each year (age 81); iHikeGPS is my most used GPS App. Now it is easily used to help find my car in a large Parking Lot! Thank you to the authors for creating and updating a wonderful and useful App, without a subscription fee. ### 5/5 — Best hiking app *2023-09-19* Have used a variety of GPS apps. This is best for US and Canada users because it’s easy to import/export GPX and other common formats, it uses the very familiar USGS/USFS topo maps at all scales (1/24K to 1/250K), and once the needed maps are downloaded it needs no mobile data connection. It also has no subscription fees and no strange proprietary maps. It would be nice if it also took geolocated PDFs, but so far so good. ### 5/5 — Don’t leave home without it *2023-08-22* This is one of my first apps. I was just beginning to understand the ropes of navigating with a hand held gps. They were fascinating to me. Then I discovered IHikeGPS. Works offline, download and store USGS and USFS maps, create waypoints, no hassles with subscriptions or purchases. One inexpensive payment and actual product support from the author. There is a learning curve. It’s not steep. It is important to read the instructions and not assume to much. Works on the ground, in a plane or car. This app shows me where in at and where I’m going. ## Frequently asked questions about iHikeGPS ### What does iHikeGPS do? iHikeGPS turns your iPhone or iPad into a high-performance GPS receiver. It provides access to detailed offline topographic maps for the USA and Southern Canada, allowing you to navigate, record tracks, and manage routes even without a cell signal. It's designed to be your ultimate companion for outdoor activities. ### What are the key features of iHikeGPS? Key features include offline topographic map display (USGS, USFS, Canadian), GPS track recording with trip timer and odometer, route navigation with ETA, waypoint creation and management, elevation graphing, and the ability to print and share map images with your recorded data. It also offers sun and moon position tracking and distance measurement tools. ### How much does iHikeGPS cost? The app is available for a one-time low price, with everything included. There are no sign-ups, ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases required. This pricing model ensures you get full access to all features and maps without ongoing costs. ### What maps are included with iHikeGPS? The app includes detailed offline topographic maps for the entire USA, including USGS 24K, 100K, and 250K maps, as well as US Forest Service FSTopo 24K maps. It also offers National Resources Canada 50K maps for areas south of 50° latitude, with extended coverage in some provinces. These maps can be downloaded for use in areas with no cell service. ### Can I use iHikeGPS without a cell signal? Yes, iHikeGPS is specifically designed to function in remote areas with no cell signal. By downloading the topographic maps beforehand, you can use the device's GPS receiver to track your location, navigate routes, and record your tracks offline. This makes it a reliable tool for backcountry adventures. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 9.6.9 — 2026-04-24 Improved wording on some Alerts and Notifications. What's new in iHikeGPS compared with other available USA topo map apps? • Real Navigation Power: Unlike other apps that simply display waypoints and routes on a map, iHikeGPS empowers you to do real navigation to those waypoints and along those routes while receiving crucial information such as Estimated Time of Arrival, current bearing, and remaining distance and elevation gain to intermediate and final destinations. Use iHikeGPS when you are on the trail and away from cell service. For your safety on the trail it always works no matter where you are hiking without requiring an Internet connection. • You can view elevation graphs of your Tracks and Routes with Waypoints, speed and % grade shown on them. • You can create, import, edit, and navigate both on routes based on a recorded or imported path, and on routes based on a series of waypoints. • There is never any confusion over what maps you have available offline. They are clearly listed and shown on an overview map. • iHikeGPS's code size is kept very small by efficient programming so in an emergency, you can download it easily even over a weak cell connection. • The current version of iHikeGPS runs on the latest devices and also on older devices with older versions of iOS , all the way back to devices such as the iPhone 6. • Check the App Privacy section. We don't know who you are when you are using iHikeGPS. We never send your current location or your recorded track to our servers. Hence we cannot and don't use your location data. We cannot and don't provide your location data to anyone else. Unlike other mapping apps that profit from using your location data in ways that do not keep it private, iHikeGPS maintains the highest level of data confidentially. Posted on YouTube: "On that day I was using iHikeGPS app to track… When I'm doing any exploration hike, this is the app I would always use to make sure I will be able to return to my car. I've encounter dead zone areas where there's no internet signal, some apps will freeze and stop working… I would not rely on using those … apps for exploration hikes. As basic iHikeGPS appears to be, it continues to work flawless without internet. To this day I continue to use iHikeGPS for certainty and survival." - Carlos in California ### 9.6.6 — 2025-11-10 Updated for iOS 26.1. We're regularly improving this app so it will be even more useful! ### 9.6.5 — 2025-09-04 User interface improvements. We're regularly improving this app so it will be even more useful! ### 9.6.4 — 2025-07-18 Improved user interface uniformity with varying iPad screen sizes. We're regularly improving this app so it will be even more useful! ### 9.6.3 — 2025-07-02 Improved user interface uniformity with varying screen sizes. We're regularly improving this app so it will be even more useful! ## Apps similar to iHikeGPS | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Gaia GPS: Mobile Trail Maps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gaia-gps-mobile-trail-maps/id1201979492) | 4.8 (32,155) | Free | Navigation | | [Guru Maps - Offline Navigation](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guru-maps-offline-navigation/id321745474) | 4.7 (2,774) | Free | Navigation | | [Avenza Maps: Offline Mapping](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/avenza-maps-offline-mapping/id388424049) | 4.8 (127,094) | Free | Navigation | | [onX Hunt: GPS Hunting Maps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/onx-hunt-gps-hunting-maps/id672902340) | 4.9 (274,288) | Free | Navigation | | [Guru Maps Pro - Offline Nav](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guru-maps-pro-offline-nav/id891362701) | 4.7 (988) | $89.99 | Navigation | | [onX Backcountry: 3D Trail Maps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/onx-backcountry-3d-trail-maps/id1529165366) | 4.8 (6,253) | Free | Navigation | ## More apps by James Associates Inc. - [iSailGPS : NOAA USA RNC Charts](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/isailgps-noaa-usa-rnc-charts/id433950540) - [iHikeGPS NZ : LINZ Topo Maps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ihikegps-nz-linz-topo-maps/id490570230) - [iSailGPS NZ : Nautical Charts](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/isailgps-nz-nautical-charts/id911580513) All apps by James Associates Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/351499178 --- *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 2026-08-27.*