Hiking · Hunting · Backpacking · Ski touring
Directions for the backcountry.
Glassing gets you to any spot on the map. It helps you pick a trailhead, choose your trails, and gives turn-by-turn directions as you hike. Literally everything works offline.
For iPhone with iOS 26 or later. $19.99 a year, with the first month free for new subscribers.iOS 26 or later · $19.99 a year · first month free for new subscribers
Every clip on this page except the map download was recorded offline.
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Every way in, compared
trailheads sorted by time to walk in
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Turn-by-turn on trails
a heads-up before each turn
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Forest roads, by number
turn by turn in CarPlay
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Airplane mode
everything still works
01 Plan · Thursday night
Explore the routes in.
When you’re looking at maps before the trip, Glassing can help you find which trailhead to use and which route to take.
Trailheads · Bear LakeSorted by time to walk in· by time
- East Crater Trailheadvia East Crater Trail3.6 mi+840 ft
- Thomas Lake Trailheadvia Thomas Lake Trail #1113.9 mi+896 ft
- Indian Heaven Trailheadvia Indian Heaven Trail #333.7 mi+1,204 ft
- Placid Lake Trailheadvia Placid Lake Trail #294.7 mi+1,046 ft
- Hidden Lake Trailheadvia Indian Heaven Trail #334.8 mi+1,225 ft
The hike from Indian Heaven TH is 0.2 mi shorter than from Thomas Lake TH and still ranks below it — the extra 308 ft of climb makes it the slower hike.
Compare the ways in by distance, climb, and time. Plan at your desk, and the route is on your phone when you leave.
Off the trail, too.
Plenty of good places have no trail to them. Glassing takes you as far as the trails go, then cross-country the rest of the way.
Route to Gifford Peak3.2 mi · +1,324 ft · ~2¼ hrs
- On trailThomas Lake Trail #111
- Cross-countrythe last stretch to the summit
And for a few nights.
Add a camp, and Glassing splits the route into days with each day’s distance and time. Save it as a trip and follow it a day at a time.
Wallowa Mountains2 nights · 26.7 mi · ~12½ hrs
- Day 1 · 9.0 miWest Fork Wallowa Trail to Horseshoe Lake
- Day 2 · 5.6 miover Glacier Pass to Glacier Lake
- Day 3 · 12.1 midown the West Fork to the trailhead
02 Download · Friday, on Wi-Fi
Take the whole map with you.
Download the area you’re headed to, and Glassing works the same with no signal. Every layer, search, and directions come with you.
- Topo, day and night
- Satellite and Hybrid
- Slope angle and aspect
- Ownership and parcels
- Cell coverage
- Search
- Directions
- New in 1.2
A downloaded map is a complete map. Glassing checks every download before it tells you it’s ready.
Updates are safe. Your working map stays until the new one is ready.
03 Drive · Saturday, 5:40 AM
Forest roads, turn by turn.
Cell service usually ends before the road does. Your downloaded maps give you turn-by-turn directions in CarPlay all the way to the trailhead. Glassing uses the Forest Service’s own road data, so it sends you down the right roads.
The numbers on the signs. Forest roads show the numbers you’ll see at the junction, like NF 65.
Know whose land you’re on. Public land stays shaded as you drive.
Easy on your eyes before dawn. The map goes dark when your car does, and shows when the sun comes up.
04 Walk · 6:20 AM, Thomas Lake Trailhead
Know the turn before the junction.
Stop pulling out the map at every junction. Glassing routes you over the trails and gives you a heads-up before each turn, plus how far to the top of each climb.
Wander off the route and it finds a new one from where you are. Where there’s no trail, it gives you a compass heading to hold.
In its own words
- Left onto Pacific Crest Trail in 0.4 mi
- Bear left in 0.2 mi
- Stay on Thomas Lake Trail
- Climb ends in 795 yd △ +183 ft
How much farther? Where’s the next turn?
Your route and recording, together. One card shows the route you’re following and the track you’re recording: distance traveled, distance remaining, and the next junction ahead.
Know when you’re off route. On a saved route, the card turns orange and shows how far you’ve strayed.
On your wrist. See your heading, follow a route, and drop a waypoint on Apple Watch while your phone stays in your pocket. Start or pause a recording from your wrist. Keep your phone nearby. The watch uses its location and maps.
Just ask Siri. Start a recording, mark your location, or find your way back to the truck.
05 Record · Saturday, all day
Press start then go.
Start recording at the trailhead then put your phone away.
Takes a break when you do. Glassing uses less GPS while you’re stopped and picks up again when you move.
Detailed when you need it. Turn on Max detail when you need a closer record of your path, such as following a blood trail or searching for a dropped hat.
Trips that file themselves. Glassing groups your waypoints, routes, tracks, and photos into trips automatically, named for the place and month.
Field note. On a recent six-day backcountry trip, an iPhone 15 Pro at 81% battery health used roughly half its battery per day with about seven hours of background recording and 30–60 minutes of foreground use.
The map
Read the ground before you get there.
Know how steep the slope is, whose land you’re on, and where you’ll get a signal. Every layer comes with your downloaded map and works offline.
Slope. Angle in the color bands skiers already know, or aspect by the compass.
Ownership. Public land by who manages it, and private parcels where the county publishes them.
Cell coverage. Where AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon report 5G or LTE service.
Night. Topo in dark mode.
3D. Tilt the map to see the terrain stand up.
Every layer lists its source and vintage. Use slope, ownership, and coverage as a guide, and check conditions and boundaries for yourself.
Switching
Years of trips organized.
Messy in, organized out.
Bring over your GPX, KML, or KMZ files. Glassing suggests trips based on where and when you went and icons for waypoints that need them. Review the suggestions before importing or keep the folders your file already has.
- 01Export a file from your old app.
- 02Open it in Glassing.
- 03Review it and tap Import.
Take your data with you.
Export your waypoints, routes, and tracks as GPX for free, even after your subscription ends. Move to another app whenever you like.
Your maps don’t need a login.
Your downloaded maps and saved places stay on your phone when you sign out. You get seven days of full access after Glassing learns online that your subscription has ended. After that, you can still use downloaded maps, follow saved routes, and export your places and tracks for free.
Learn about importing and exporting → What happens when a subscription ends →
Made for iPhone.
Glassing uses Apple’s own controls and Liquid Glass, and the controls are easy to reach with one hand.
Private by default.
Glassing has no social feed, ads, or analytics. Your pins stay private.
Our own maps.
Glassing builds and serves its own map data. That’s how one plan stays at $19.99 a year.
GLASSING
Download a map. Try it in airplane mode.
Find a place, plan a route, and head outside.
Maps for the lower 48. Layer coverage varies by area.
Plan a route on the web →One plan
$20 / year
- All layers
- free to view
- Map downloads
- included
- Trail and road directions
- included
- CarPlay and Apple Watch
- included
- Web app and sync
- included
- First month, new subscribers
- free