Sleeping Bear Trails vs ParkFerndale
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sleeping Bear Trails
Explore a national park with detailed trail maps, descriptions, and photos for hiking, biking, skiing, and more. Get directions to trailheads and discover local insights for an enhanced outdoor experience.
- Detailed trail maps
- Trail descriptions
- Photos of trails
- Route to trailhead
- GPS trailhead locations
- Local star ratings and comments
Read full descriptionHide full description
Hike, bike, snowshoe, cross-country ski, and even ride your horse on designated trails through the dunes and woods of this National Park in northern lower Michigan. Find your way with this unique guide which includes detailed descriptions and maps of each trail, routing from your current location to the trailhead, GPS locations of trailheads, and photos. A good reference for walkers, hikers, cross-country skiers, families, seniors, and people needing easy access information to this park, this app will be used regularly by the frequent visitor, and is unrivaled for first-timers. Get the most out of your visit to the Lakeshore recently named “The Most Beautiful Place in America” by viewers of Good Morning America. Up-to-date information includes details about the New Bike Trail, which you won’t find anywhere else. This app was developed by knowledgable locals and includes Aunt Jane’s personal star rating and comments about each trail.
ParkFerndale
Manage your parking sessions easily and securely from your smartphone. Pay for parking, receive alerts before your session ends, and extend your time without returning to your vehicle. View future parking rates and access your parking history.
- Pay for parking on the go
- Extend parking sessions remotely
- Receive parking session end alerts
- View future parking rates
- Manage parking history
- Receive email receipts
Read full descriptionHide full description
No more digging for coins. This is how parking should be. Pay, extend, and manage your parking session with Ferndale's official parking app. It’s easy! PAY ON THE GO Pay quickly and securely with your smartphone. - Time's precious, stop wasting it feeding a meter. - Forget refilling the meter in the rain or braving the cold. NO PRICE SURPRISES See when parking rates will change in the future – even when there’s free parking! - Receive email receipts at the end of your parking session. - Expenses made easy, manage your parking history through the mobile app. STRESS-FREE PARKING Get alerts when your parking session is about to end. - Stop worrying about how much time is left on the meter, we have you covered. NO NEED TO RUSH Add time to your parking session directly from your phone.* - Your plans change, your parking spot shouldn't. Simply extend your parking session via our app. -------- GET STARTED TODAY 1. Download the ParkFerndale app. 2. Park where you see ParkFerndale app signs. 3. Pay for your parking session from your phone. 4. Relax, welcome to parking as it should be. -------- COMING SOON The ParkFerndale app is not done yet! We're constantly updating the app based on your feedback. -------- APP PERMISSIONS - Location Services (optional): Used to quickly provide nearby parking zones. * where applicable
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sleeping Bear Trails at 100% against ParkFerndale's 23%. Sleeping Bear Trails also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 17 months). ParkFerndale's advantage is ratings volume (410 vs 8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sleeping Bear Trails holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ParkFerndale has 410 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Sleeping Bear Trails's written reviews are positive against 23% of ParkFerndale's.
Sleeping Bear Trails ships an update every 4 months, ParkFerndale every 17 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sleeping Bear Trails | ParkFerndale |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better | 4.4 (410 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 22.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 410 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 17 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 109 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Reid | City of Ferndale, Michigan |
Customer experience
Sleeping Bear Trails
ParkFerndale
Bugs and requests
Sleeping Bear Trails
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
ParkFerndale
Reported bugs
11 issues- Location services not available error despite permissions granted
- Input fields non-functional or partially working
- Network errors during PIN creation and confirmation
- App fails to extend parking time
- Charges multiple times for single transaction attempts
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Credit card validation failures
- App freezes when paying citations
- PIN confirmation mismatch validation error
- Session start failures
- Inconsistent processing fee calculations
- Login session loss after multiple uses
Requested features
9 requests- Apple Pay integration
- PayPal payment option
- Manual parking spot entry without location services
- Ability to cancel/refund unused parking time
- Vehicle management feature
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Universal parking app across cities
- Support for multiple payment cards
- Improved iPhone X screen optimization
- ParkMobile integration or compatibility
In-app purchases
Sleeping Bear Trails
No in-app purchases
ParkFerndale
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sleeping Bear Trails free?
Is ParkFerndale free?
Which has better reviews, Sleeping Bear Trails or ParkFerndale?
Do Sleeping Bear Trails or ParkFerndale have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sleeping Bear Trails or ParkFerndale?
Other comparisons
