The Colorado Trail Hiker

The Colorado Trail Hiker is a smartphone guide for your Colorado Trail hiking or mountain biking trip. The free demo is a fully functional version of the app with Segment 1 of The Colorado Trail (Miles 0 to 16.8 from the Waterton Canyon Trailhead outside Denver). In-app purchases include (1) The Colorado Trail, which includes the hiking route, the five mountain bike wilderness detours, the Collegiate West Alternative route and the Collegiate Loop (775.2 miles of trail in total) and (2) a standalone version of the Collegiate Loop route (a 160.4-mile loop composed of the 82.3-mile Collegiate West Alternative route and a 78.1-mile portion of The Colorado Trail).

The app has been built in partnership with Jerry Brown of Bear Creek Survey Service. Each waypoint in the Colorado Trail Map Book, written by Jerry Brown and offered by The Colorado Trail Foundation, is plotted and described in The Colorado Trail Hiker apps. A portion all proceeds from the sale of The Colorado Trail Hiker app will go to The Colorado Trail Foundation.

The Colorado Trail Hiker uses a combination of your phones GPS, downloaded topo maps, and the Apple Maps interface to accurately locate your position on the trail. No phone service? Not a problem -- your phones GPS pinpoints your location on top of topo maps downloaded as part of the app.

A bright red line indicates the location of The Colorado Trail on the map. The mountain bike alternate route is indicated in blue and accompanied by a separate list of waypoints and elevation profile. The 82-mile Collegiate West Alternative and the 160-mile Collegiate Loop routes are also included. An elevation profile shows trail distance vs elevation and plots your current location on the trail. Each waypoint is plotted on the profile. Each waypoints is clickable, opening to the waypoints detail page.
The guidebook lists every waypoint in order by distance along the trail.

Each waypoint includes a detail page, providing further details about that particular waypoint. Details include the waypoints mileage point and elevation, photographs of many of the waypoints, distance to the next water source, a Trail Register where you may post comments and read other users comments, and other details that will help you during your hike, and help you plan your hike.

The types of waypoints include:
-->Trailheads and parking areas
-->Water sources
-->Resupply towns/services
-->Trail junctions
-->Road crossings
-->Powerlines, fences, gates, toilets
-->Other Landmarks and points of interest


Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.