My Top 3 Road Trip Apps

vkinkler
May 22, 2018
2 min read

My favorite trip planner, campsite finder, and event/hobby finder.

1. freecampsites.net

This is technically not an app. It's a mobile friendly crowdsourcing website that has been my favorite for 3 very important reasons:

-It can find you FREE campsites that are difficult/impossible to find on BLM or city sites. However, it also displays pay and permit sites (color coded for ease)

-You can filter it for sites that fit your preferences; ie, dog friendly, has showers...etc

-Sites found on freecampsites have taken me to beautiful, sparsely populated campgrounds that I NEVER would have found on my own (MOST of the campsites found on my blogged about road trips were found here--including my favorite, Crystal Geyser in Utah)

You don't need a membership and it doesn't cost anything. However, since it is crowdsourced...if you use this tool, please consider adding information about a campsite you come across!

The only downside to freecampsites is that it can be unreliable at times. Probably at least 3 times, I absolutely could not find a listed "campground". There are always directions listed, and of course you can plug it into your GPS. Yet for one reason or another, sometimes these listed campgrounds just aren't there.

2. Roadtrippers

Full disclosure, I've only been on one road trip since discovering this app--my not-honeymoon road trip. However, I used this app thoroughly to plan the route and will be using it again. It really is a comprehensive planning tool. And it's free! The app's best features include:

-The ability to share your itinerary. This feature is great because you can share it with others on the trip, or say...your concerned mom or significant other

-Once you put in your destinations, it will actually tell you the distance between your stops (and fuel costs!), and things to do/places to stay nearby!

-A feature I have explored but not used, I will be using in the future because it is SO easy and seems fun...pre-loaded road trips. This is a cool idea because it appeals to those of us who are poor planners. Even more intriguing though, it has the potential to take you somewhere great, that you never would have visited otherwise.

3. Alltrails

Some would argue this is not a road trip or travel app. I beg to differ. If you're like the average road trip feind, you probably enjoy spending time outdoors. That's where alltrails comes in. Here's why:

-When exploring a new area, it's hard to know what outdoor attractions fit your MO...peer reviews are a great way to figure this out! Alltrails provides user photos, comments, and ratings of trails as well as topographic maps

-You can keep a running record of the trails you've traveled! I like to document things, so for me this is a cool feature

-The best feature is the comprehensive aspect of alltrails. You can now filter for cross country skiing, cycling, horseback riding, and even fishing. It's the traveling outdoorsman's dream.