# Navigate the Past — History Becomes an Adventure > Historical US topographic map explorer with GPS tracking and offline capabilities. (iPhone/iPad app by Ryan Sajdak.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/navigate-the-past/id6805536512 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Ryan Sajdak](https://appshunter.io/developer/1783418358) - Category: Navigation, Reference - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 1 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-08-31 - Data updated: 2026-10-25 - Monetization: free ## What is Navigate the Past? The USGS has been mapping the same ground over and over since the 1880s, and every printing survives as a scan. Navigate the Past puts all of them in one stack, oldest at the bottom, and hands you a GPS so you can go and stand on a trail that stopped being drawn in 1957. EVERY PRINTING, NOT JUST AN OLD MAP Pick a spot and the timeline shows one tick per printing, in lanes by series: 7.5 minute, 15 minute, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000. Some quadrangles have fifteen printings between 1900 and 1975. Drag across the lane and they run as a flipbook, so the contours hold still while everything people built moves. A PRINTING IS NOT A SURVEY The card tells you which. "Printed 1959 from the 1954 plate, 5 years on. Nothing here was checked in the field after 1954." That is the difference between a trail that existed in 1959 and one that existed in 1954 and was still being reprinted for another decade. WALK IT Follow mode, heading up, your position in degrees and minutes, and track recording that keeps going with the screen off so a long day comes back as one continuous line. Export it as GPX. OFFLINE MAPS, PLURAL Save as many as you like. Each one keeps the printing you are looking at over the ground on screen, several zoom levels deep, and appears in a list with its size and its own delete button. The backcountry has no signal, which is rather the point. IS IT STILL THERE Tap the eye and the old paper lifts away to the modern map or satellite imagery, so you can see whether a route someone drew in 1911 is still a line in the trees. Tap it again and the sheet comes back. Sheets come from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection. Reference layers are Apple Maps and the USGS National Map. Coverage is the United States. ## Key features - Historical topographic map collection - GPS tracking and route recording - Offline map downloads - Overlay historical maps on modern views - GPX export for recorded tracks - Timeline view of map printings ## Is Navigate the Past safe? Not enough ratings yet to assess Navigate the Past. ## Is Navigate the Past legit? Navigate the Past has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Navigate the Past is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Frequently asked questions about Navigate the Past ### What historical maps does Navigate the Past use? Navigate the Past uses historical topographic maps from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection. These maps cover the United States and date back to the 1880s. ### Can I use Navigate the Past without a cell signal? Yes, Navigate the Past is designed for offline use. You can save maps and use GPS tracking even when you have no cell service, which is ideal for backcountry exploration. ### How does Navigate the Past show changes over time? The app allows you to view multiple printings of a map for a specific location, presented as a timeline. You can see how trails and built environments have changed by viewing them as a flipbook. ### Can I record my hikes with Navigate the Past? Yes, Navigate the Past features a follow mode with GPS tracking and track recording. Your route is saved as a continuous line, even with the screen off, and can be exported as a GPX file. ### How does Navigate the Past compare historical maps to current ones? You can tap an eye icon to lift the old paper map away and reveal modern map or satellite imagery. This allows you to easily see if an old trail or feature still exists today. ### What devices does Navigate the Past support? Navigate the Past is currently supported on iPhone devices. ### Is Navigate the Past suitable for children? Navigate the Past has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for younger users interested in exploring historical maps and outdoor navigation. ### Does Navigate the Past have advertisements? Navigate the Past is completely ad-free, allowing for an uninterrupted exploration experience of historical maps and GPS features. ## Version history (last 1 release) ### 1.0 — 2026-08-31 No release notes. ## Apps similar to Navigate the Past | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [RideOnWYO SnowmobileTrails](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rideonwyo-snowmobiletrails/id1537840097) | 3.4 (7) | Free | Navigation | | [ebrevet](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ebrevet/id6446258338) | 4.3 (6) | Free | Navigation | | [Hip Charts](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hip-charts/id6443591337) | 3.5 (8) | Free | Navigation | | [Simple Digital compass for you](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-digital-compass-for-you/id1301201860) | 4.8 (5) | Free | Navigation | | [GPS2IP Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gps2ip-lite/id1562823492) | 3.7 (3) | Free | Navigation | --- *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 2026-10-25.*