Comparison

NY State Parks Explorer vs exploreCHQ

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

Head to head
About

NY State Parks Explorer

Discover over 250 New York State parks, historic sites, and natural attractions. Plan your visits with enhanced trail mapping, essential information, and real-time alerts. Find new adventures, book camping, and explore diverse regions with ease.

Highlights
  • Discover parks and historic sites
  • Enhanced trail mapping
  • Park information (hours, fees, directions)
  • Digital Empire Pass integration
  • Online camping reservations
  • Real-time alerts and updates
  • Interactive map with location services
Features
Read full description

From the oceanfront shores of Long Island to the mighty Niagara Falls, more than 250 parks, historic sites, trails, golf courses, boat launches, and campgrounds are just a few taps away. With the New York State Parks Explorer App, you can plan getaways, explore favorite regions and discover new adventures and cultural gems with easy access to enhanced trail mapping, must-sees, things to know before you go, apparel and merchandise, and regularly updated information including special events and alerts. Discover your next adventure, download the NY State Explorer app today. Key highlights and recent enhancements include: • Users can discover new must-see locations with rotating curated content, and will enjoy quick access to park information, including directions, hours, fees and rates, trail maps, and helpful know-before-you-go details; • Empire Pass holders have the option to digitally add their pass to the wallet within the NYS Explorer app. • Expansion of the search function so that visitors can search for parks and historic sites from multiple regions at a time. • Link directly to online camping reservations to book a stay, and • The option to favorite select properties to receive important updates and real-time alerts. Interactive map elements now provide visitors: • Easier wayfinding: When the user's mobile device's location services are turned "on", visitors can easily follow along with where they are on the map; • The ability to zoom in on and around each map to learn more about the facility; • Information about trails, park features, and amenities by simply tapping on a trail or icon; • Trail segment distance; and • The ability to change base layers in live maps from satellite view, simple street view, or topography.

About

exploreCHQ

Discover the natural beauty of the Chautauqua Institution campus with this self-guided touring app. Explore thousands of trees, hundreds of gardens, and the thriving lakeshore habitat alongside its renowned cultural activities.

Highlights
  • Self-guided campus tours
  • Discover trees and gardens
  • Explore lakeshore habitat
  • Information on local flora and fauna
  • Highlights cultural activities
Features
Read full description

Chautauqua Institution is known for its lectures, theater, opera, symphony, ballet, sailing, golf, and tennis. But living amongst all that human activity is a rich natural world with thousands of trees and birds, hundreds of gardens, and a thriving lakeshore habitat. Use the Chautauqua Bird, Tree & Garden Club's self-guided touring app to discover the natural world on the 250-acre campus.

Screenshots

NY State Parks Explorer4 screens
exploreCHQ4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: exploreCHQ at 5.0 against NY State Parks Explorer's 3.6. NY State Parks Explorer's advantage is ratings volume (13 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

exploreCHQ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NY State Parks Explorer has 13 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and May 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
NY State Parks Explorer versus exploreCHQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNY State Parks ExplorerexploreCHQ
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (13 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings13 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size167 MB131 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNew York State Office of Information Technology ServicesTHE CHAUTAUQUA BIRD TREE AND GARDEN CLUB INC

Customer experience

NY State Parks Explorer

All ratings13 ratings
Positive61.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive23.9%
Neutral14.9%
Negative61.2%

exploreCHQ

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

NY State Parks Explorer

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • App freezes on launch
  • App crashes on launch
  • App stuck on 'Fetching Latest Data'
  • Description gave wrong location and time
  • App force closes on notifications page
Show 16 more
  • App stuck on 'App is updating' screen
  • App freezes or crashes every time
  • App won't open after update
  • App won't load
  • App freezes at intro screen
  • Unable to swipe past first screen
  • App crashes before fully opening
  • App glitches and goes back to landing page when scanning card
  • Wallet section is pointless, ranger didn't accept pass
  • App spontaneously removed Empire Pass
  • Cannot search in the app
  • App freezes and doesn't let me scroll
  • Wallet feature not working
  • Add card feature not working
  • Cannot add Empire pass to wallet
  • GPS not registering park boundary

Requested features

8 requests
  • Make maps for Adirondacks
  • Add passes to Apple Wallet
  • Include DEC parks and campgrounds
  • Add a 'check in' feature
  • Allow users to submit local suggestions
Show 3 more
  • Improve map functionality (zoom, details)
  • Add offline map capabilities
  • Include NYS parks and campgrounds in search filters

exploreCHQ

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

NY State Parks Explorer

No in-app purchases

None

exploreCHQ

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NY State Parks Explorer free?
NY State Parks Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is exploreCHQ free?
exploreCHQ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NY State Parks Explorer or exploreCHQ?
exploreCHQ is rated higher. NY State Parks Explorer averages 3.6 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while exploreCHQ averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do NY State Parks Explorer or exploreCHQ have ads?
Neither NY State Parks Explorer nor exploreCHQ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NY State Parks Explorer or exploreCHQ?
NY State Parks Explorer ships an update every 2 months, and exploreCHQ every 2 months. Most recently, NY State Parks Explorer was updated on September 15, 2026 and exploreCHQ on May 31, 2026.

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