Comparison

Caltrans QuickMap vs US National Forest Service Map

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Caltrans QuickMap

Access real-time California traffic conditions, including speeds, camera snapshots, and lane closures. Receive alerts for road closures near your location. Customize your map view to display various highway information and points of interest.

Highlights
  • Real-time freeway speeds
  • Traffic camera snapshots
  • Lane closure alerts
  • CHP incident reports
  • Highway information display
  • Geotargeted notifications
  • Customizable map preferences
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Know Before You Go: QuickMap puts real-time California traffic data straight from Caltrans in the palm of your hand — so you can plan smarter, avoid delays, and drive with confidence. What's on the map: - Freeway speeds and congestion - Live traffic cameras and snapshots - Lane closures and CHP incidents - Chain controls and snow plows - Changeable message signs - Border wait times - Safety roadside rest areas, Park & Ride lots - Commercial vehicle information including: -- Weigh stations and Escape Ramps -- Terminal/Service Access Ramps -- Overweight Corridors and California Truck Networks Auto-refresh will refresh data every 3 minutes unless a different refresh interval is selected in the settings screen. Manual refresh is also available via the refresh button at the bottom right of the map. Enable Geotargeted Notifications to receive alerts about road closures near you — even when the app is closed. Note: If you choose to enable Geotargeted Notifications, this app will monitor your location in the background and alert you (via a Push Notification) to State Highway System road closures occurring near you. Continued use of background location may decrease battery life. Questions or something not looking right on the map? We want to hear from you — reach us at quickmap@dot.ca.gov.

About

US National Forest Service Map

Discover the beauty and recreational potential of over 100 National Forests. This app provides detailed maps with over 80,000 points of interest, including trails, roads, and boundaries. Navigate with offline imagery, geolocation, and search tools to explore the great outdoors.

Highlights
  • Over 80,000 recreational points
  • Color-coded icons for categories
  • Distinguishes property boundaries
  • Includes hiking trails and roads
  • Offline imagery download
  • Geolocation and point searching
Features
Read full description

The United States of America is a vast land full of lush forests, indescribable landscapes, and fascinating history. You may already know some of the iconic landmarks and wildernesses that the US has to offer, but did you know that there are more than 100 National Forests? This app is your guide to discovering the unspeakable beauty and recreational potential that is contained within these fabled domains! Whether you are a seasoned forest wanderer or are just wanting to learn a little more about the amazing places surrounding your home turf, this app is for you! The data is up to date as of Winter of 2020 and contains over 80,000 recreational points and other features on Forest Service land. These points are symbolized with over 80 color-coded icons that differentiate between the wide variety of categories. The main groups for these categories include Hiking / Biking, Camping / Lodging, Hunting / Fishing, Informative, Other Recreation, Searching, Water Related, and Winter Related. The app even distinguishes property boundaries and includes hiking trails and Forest Service roads. Once using the app, there are five screens. The Guide screen will provide data legends as well as helpful tips for optimizing your navigational experience. On the Info screen, you will find a number of spatial links to the different Forest Service forests, grasslands, and wildernesses. This is a great way to quickly locate specific places and discover new places to explore! The About screen provides links to all of the open-source resources used in the app and gives a little information about the developer GeoPOI. The Map Settings screen is where you can change between one of four different basemaps, download offline imagery, turn on geolocation, and toggle specific point categories. Finally, the Map screen is where it all comes together! On the Map screen, there are a series of circle clusters at distant zooms that indicate how many points are within a given cluster. As you tap the clusters to zoom in, individual points and icons become visible, along with trails, roads, and boundaries. These features can be clicked on to reveal the name, location, and other useful information. The map screen also has two search tools - the left one can be used to look up addresses and towns, while the right one will allow you to query the names of the features in the database. There is such a wealth of beauty out there waiting to be discovered. Never before has it been this easy to navigate our National Forests as you travel, no matter where in the United States you are or what kinds of places you are interested in visiting. It's time to experience the rich natural and cultural tapestry of our nation and pay homage to the places that make our country the great land that it is. Come navigate the US Forest Service lands with GeoPOI today!

Screenshots

Caltrans QuickMap4 screens
US National Forest Service Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Caltrans QuickMap at Free against US National Forest Service Map's $2.99. Caltrans QuickMap also leads on ratings volume (254 vs 3) and rating (2.9 vs 2.7). US National Forest Service Map's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 29%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 18.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Caltrans QuickMap is free to download; US National Forest Service Map costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Caltrans QuickMap holds the better App Store score, 2.9 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Caltrans QuickMap has 254 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of Caltrans QuickMap's written reviews are positive against 50% of US National Forest Service Map's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Caltrans QuickMap versus US National Forest Service Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCaltrans QuickMapUS National Forest Service Map
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating2.9 (254 ratings) — better2.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews28.9% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings254 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#183 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.68.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalifornia Department of TransportationGeoPOI LLC

Customer experience

Caltrans QuickMap

All ratings254 ratings
Positive42.1%
Neutral12.6%
Negative45.3%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive28.9%
Neutral17.2%
Negative53.9%

US National Forest Service Map

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Caltrans QuickMap

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App crashes immediately upon opening
  • App closes itself even when not driving
  • Camera feeds display error (play button with slash)
  • Search feature completely non-functional
  • Location and refresh buttons stack on iPhone XR
Show 6 more
  • App redirects to FAQ page during navigation
  • Inconsistent camera functionality (works sometimes, not others)
  • Tap on road closure symbols returns incorrect nearby locations
  • Chain control symbols not displaying on iPhone app
  • App crashes during major storms when most needed
  • Codec incompatibility prevents video playback on iPhone

Requested features

15 requests
  • CarPlay compatibility
  • Live video streaming for cameras instead of still images
  • Terrain and satellite map view options
  • Ability to zoom and pinch camera images
  • Larger, more visible map icons
Show 10 more
  • Customizable saved map regions with memory
  • Weather radar layer integration
  • Customer service request submission within app
  • Hazard reporting interface in-app
  • Direction indicators for road signs before opening
  • Freeway speed data display instead of color bands
  • Extended coverage to other US states
  • Last update timestamp visibility
  • Clickable explanations for all map symbols
  • Fire perimeter information on fire layer

US National Forest Service Map

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Caltrans QuickMap

No in-app purchases

None

US National Forest Service Map

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Caltrans QuickMap free?
Caltrans QuickMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is US National Forest Service Map free?
US National Forest Service Map costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Caltrans QuickMap or US National Forest Service Map?
Caltrans QuickMap is rated higher. Caltrans QuickMap averages 2.9 out of 5 from 254 ratings, while US National Forest Service Map averages 2.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Caltrans QuickMap or US National Forest Service Map have ads?
Neither Caltrans QuickMap nor US National Forest Service Map shows ads.

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