ROVA's road-trip app round-up
Incongruous as it might seem, technology has the power to make our forays into the great outdoors eminently more enjoyable. Over the years, we have profiled many handy apps in ROVA—apps that can do anything from finding you a great campsite to helping you save money or identify birds and constellations. Below is a round-up of some of the apps that contribute to a rad road trip.
Campgrounds and Accommodation
Allstays
The Allstays Camp and RV app helps you find campgrounds and RV parks, as well as BLM land, Walmarts with overnight parking, truck stops with amenities, rest areas and more—including hike-in and rough road spots. The app provides all of the information you’ll need, from rates to site size, elevation and internet access.
ParkAdvisor
Find privately owned RV parks, public lands, RV-friendly stores and stops, and more on the ParkAdvisor app, which uses local databases.
RV Parky
Crowdsourced from a whole community of RVers, RV Parky gives you great tips on where to park your home—including RV parks, campgrounds, Walmarts and rest areas—no matter where you are. Reviews from users mean you’ll have accurate, up-to-date info to help you find your spot.
Sightseeing and Attractions
Roadtrippers
With the Roadtrippers app, you can discover and plan your route to the last detail; the app offers information on attractions, restaurants, shopping, history and services. Save your favorite places, share with friends, and find your way to the best spots on your route.
HearHere
If we were to tell you that you could take Kevin Costner on your road trip and have him tell you about the history, scenery and people of the region… you’d be pretty excited, right? Well, you can kinda do that with HearHere, Costner’s new travel app that sees him and a bunch of his buddies narrating your travels based on your GPS coordinates—you can access thousands of stories from across the country. Genius!
Van Life and Overlanding
Sēkr (previously The Vanlife App)
How would you feel about having one app that shows you campgrounds, showers, restrooms, and events and gatherings, and connects you with fellow travelers (even showing you how close they are)? Well, friends, the future is now—Sēkr offers you all of the above. It was created by and for people who live the van life, so you know it’s got the goods.
iOverlander
iOverlander is a top mapping app to use to find a plethora of resources, including camping options, gas stations and more. Download it before you leave and save your maps offline so you can still use the data regardless of your service.
Gas and Money
Gas Buddy
Equip yourself with an app that monitors real-time gas prices at stations all around the country, making sure you get the best price on your travels. Gas Buddy even has a gas card that you can use that offers better rates and rewards.
Spending Tracker
Spending Tracker makes it impossible to lose track of your finances, as it requires you to enter each expense on your trip individually. While this might seem like a chore at first, it’s actually quite a useful feature. Sometimes, simply knowing that you’ll have to manually catalog each purchase is enough to deter you from making frivolous purchases.
Hiking
Cairn
Hiking is rad, but let’s face it: some trails can be a little dangerous. Luckily, there are apps like Cairn that make it their mission to make sure that our outdoor excursions are safe and carefree. The app sends out a GPS tracker to preselected contacts and allows you to send status updates while on the go. You can also download maps that are specifically designed for outdoor pursuits while letting you know where others have found cell coverage. Even if you’re not the type to worry about your safety on a hike, you’re sure to have friends and relatives who do!
Nature
iNaturalist
To put a name to the fauna and/or foliage that you see on your wilderness adventures, iNaturalist is at your service. This app, which helps you identify nature’s wide range of gorgeous things, as well as contributing data to science, is a joint effort by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, so you know it’s legit.
Merlin Bird ID
For the birdwatching crowd with a tech bent, apps can be great tools for identifying birds in the field. Merlin Bird ID comes out of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and is designed to be a birding coach for beginners and intermediate bird watchers. Describe the bird you saw to the app, and you’ll get a shortlist of possible species—you can then identify and record the species on the app.
Star Walk 2
No matter where you are or who you’re with, it’s always comforting to look to the sky for the friendly company of the stars. And if you’d like to know the names of the bears, crabs and horses (among other things) in the constellations, point your phone to the heavens and open the Star Walk 2 app, which will tell you what you’re looking at in real time.
Community
The Outbound Collective
The best way to discover the outdoors is through community, and The Outbound Collective is all about bringing the outdoors to everyone. With inclusions as its focus, the app helps users find the best places to hike, camp, chill and more. Check out insider tips, destination guides, beautiful photography and meetups, and get involved in making the outdoors a home for all.
Wellness
Insight Timer
Meditation is a fantastic way to practice self-care, and it’s easy to do on the road: find a quiet spot, sit comfortably, and clear your mind. To make things easier, there are countless apps that can guide you through the practice. Our go-to is Insight Timer, which offers free guided meditations for all experience levels, as well as relaxing sleep sounds to help you catch those Zs.