Getting Lost with OnX Offroad

Quarantine is in effect, cabin fever has set in and you’ve consumed your entire Netflix watchlist, now what? It’s time to start planning your escape, and what better way to plan than with a comprehensive GPS app? So get out your smartphone, head over to the app store, and download your free trial of OnX Offroad. (The onX Offroad App is on sale through May 25th. Get 30% off using coupon code MDAY30. Offer valid online only: https://try.onxmaps.com/memorial-day-promo-offroad/)

Users can upload trail data from a completed trip or from an old trip, all you need are the .GPX files. Photos of trail features are encouraged and there are several useful marking tools to show where you aired down, the location of locked gates, trail rating, etc.

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USING OnX Offroad

After downloading OnX to my iPhone the first thing I noticed was how lightning-fast it instantly booted up -it was noticeably faster than Apple’s native Map application. I tapped the locate button and it instantly snapped to my position. I was pleasantly surprised by its speed. I live in an area with poor internet speed and routinely see two to three bars of the Verizon LTE cellular network at best, this didn’t seem to affect the app’s performance at all.  

Fortunately, OnX Offroad can also be accessed via desktop or laptop by logging into their website. From there you can locate open trails, access nearly a billion acres of public land, find campsites and cabins amid other useful features.

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TRIP PLANNING

The process of dropping waypoints has been enhanced with 75 custom icons that are further customizable via color-coding -there’s also a spot to take notes. My favorite waypoint icon is for the ubiquitous Sasquatch sighting -now you’ll always know when to carry an extra pack of Jack Links. Of course, all of these features are also accessible from your mobile device.

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Maps are downloadable for offline use, and like the rest of the app, it’s an intuitive process: select the “New Offline Map” icon, choose a resolution, and select download. I chose high resolution and it took less than a minute to fully download a single tile over my weak cell network. The resolution doesn’t appear to be as crisp as the live map, but is more than acceptable to explore your surroundings should you spot an unexpected trail -you can use the “line distance” tool to measure the length of the trail to see if you have enough time/fuel to take a detour.

All-in-all, OnX Offroad is a feature-packed GPS app with great usability and intuitive tools. If you’re planning to head out after the quarantine is lifted, it’s better to be prepared. It’s free to download, give OnX Offroad a try.

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Upgrade to the OnX Offroad service and unlock the following features, according to the OnX Offroad website:

“Find an open trail anytime, anywhere. Quickly find open routes and trails near you no matter where you live, what you drive, or what season it is. 985,000,000+ acres of public land 54,000+ campgrounds & cabins 350,000+ miles of open trails 450,000+ points of interest.”

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