Comparison

US Public Lands vs Juniper Sands

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

Head to head
About

US Public Lands

Discover and visualize federal land ownership across the US. This app provides offline map layers for various agencies, allowing you to identify land types, access agency information, and locate yourself on public lands. It's a valuable tool for outdoor enthusiasts and researchers.

Highlights
  • Offline federal land boundary maps
  • Selectable agency map layers (BLM, NPS, FS, etc.)
  • Identify land ownership and agency
  • Links to agency land use rules
  • Locate your position on public land
  • Search for locations and points of interest
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The US Federal Governments owns nearly 650 million acres of land - almost 30 percent of the land area of the United States. These are lands that are held for all Americans. US Public Lands allows you to quickly retrieve the boundaries of these properties without carrying physical maps, books, or digging deep online. Included in the app are on-device (fully works offline), individually selectable & beautifully colored map layers for most of the properties administered by the federal government: - Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - US Forest Service (FS) - National Park Service (NPS) - Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) - US Fish & Wildlife Service - Bureau of Reclamation - Tennessee Valley Authority - Department of Defense (military bases & installations) - Other (National Laboratories, Test Sites, etc...) Key Benefits & Features - Know which US agency owns and operates the land you're on or are heading to. Use the "Layers" icon to select which agencies you want displayed to create your own custom map. (Hint, the toggles are color coded to the color each layer is displayed in.) - Links are provided to each agency's website within the app, so that you can further your research as to what land use rules apply for each public land type - such as permits, fees, activities allowed, and limits of stay. - Map layers are stored on device - no internet connection required. - Be sure to turn on the 'Basic' base map to see the US Public Land labels for each land area. This base map layer is also stored entirely on your device, and can be utilized if you do not have an internet connection or would like to conserve bandwidth. - If you have an internet connection (or have cached them before going out of signal), you can utilize the built in Apple Maps and satellite view maps as the base layer underneath the public land overlays. - A boondocker's assistant - While US Public Lands is not specifically a camp site locator and does not have a database of specific sites, by turning on the satellite view map, you can better scout out trails, roads and signs of dispersed camping locations within the boundaries of the public land resources. - Quickly toggle between 'Show' and 'Hide' via the "Map" icon to more clearly see satellite images below. - If you have GPS access on your device, click the 'Locate Me' icon to show your present location - know what type of land you're on right now! - Built in search tool locates anything on device maps supports (requires internet access) - including cities, states, zip codes, addresses and points of interest. A pin is dropped at the search location. Thank you to the Protected Area Database (PAD-US) of the U.S. Geological Survey for providing the public domain raw map data that we’ve been able to utilize to create this interactive overlayable mapping & navigation tool. We will update our maps in the future to stay in sync with improvements to this data set. Please note, the USGS PAD-US database contains the “most up-to-date aggregation of Federal lands and waters” available, but this database is still evolving and some locations may not be listed and others may not have precisely accurate boundaries. Resolution across the nation may vary. And always remember - there may be private unmapped inholdings within any public lands - so always pay attention to local signage, indications, and information. The US Public Lands app should only be used as an overview, and you should always confirm more precise details by consulting local field offices, administration websites, and other resources. Do not solely rely on this app for determining if you are on public or private land.

About

Juniper Sands

Features
Read full description

The Juniper Sands app is designed to be used by guests and residents to explore our many offerings. Access all information you need to enjoy your stay.

Screenshots

US Public Lands4 screens
Juniper Sands2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Juniper Sands at Free against US Public Lands's $3.99. Juniper Sands also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 20 months). US Public Lands's advantage is chart position (#37 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Juniper Sands is free to download; US Public Lands costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

US Public Lands ships an update every 20 months, Juniper Sands every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
US Public Lands versus Juniper Sands: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUS Public LandsJuniper Sands
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (745 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews36.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings745 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#37 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size184 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTwo Steps BeyondArmstrong Software, LLC.

Bugs and requests

US Public Lands

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Subscription issues
  • Incorrect land ownership display

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to share/archive pin locations
  • Integration with other mapping apps
  • More detailed land type information

Juniper Sands

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

US Public Lands

No in-app purchases

None

Juniper Sands

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is US Public Lands free?
US Public Lands costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Juniper Sands free?
Juniper Sands is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do US Public Lands or Juniper Sands have ads?
Neither US Public Lands nor Juniper Sands shows ads.
Which is updated more often, US Public Lands or Juniper Sands?
US Public Lands ships an update every 20 months, and Juniper Sands every 2 months. Most recently, US Public Lands was updated on November 1, 2026 and Juniper Sands on October 25, 2026.

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