Written by: Julian Fenn
We love apps here at CampingRoadTrip.com, you may have also noticed we are completely gaga over camping, RVing and road tripping. Two passions unite to bring you the top 11 indispensible apps for your next camping road trip. We have picked apps that are essential to trip planning, will keep you entertained, and help you stay in touch with loved ones. Spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time fretting over the nearest bathroom with these great apps.
Great On The Road Apps
1. Camp Finder ($3 - $4)
Camp Finder makes it easy to find the right campground or RV park for you. It has information on over 18,000 campgrounds, RV parks and RV resorts across the US including National Park, National Forest, State Park, County Parks and all the privately owned ones too. You can use it at home to plan your future trips or on the road as it uses your GPS location to pinpoint campgrounds nearest to you. You can search by amenities, camping clubs and park types, read reviews, view photos to quickly find the perfect place. It is available on both the iPhone and Droid.
2. iExit (Free)
What's coming up on the next exit? Days spent on the highway waiting for a convenient exit might have been a mystery in the past, but this app takes the guesswork out of your trip. iExit gives you a rolling list of available services for any interstate you are on so you can easily figure out if you have enough gas to get to the next town or is there a bathroom coming up any time soon. You can even use it maps to scroll around to find specific restaurants in the area not just the ones on your highway. This is a seriously useful app for the road tripper. The app is available on iPhone, iPad and Droid.
3. USPS Mobile (Free)
Need to send or receive a package on the road? Check out this great app that lists the nearest post office to your current location to save you hassle and time. You can also calculate shipping prices, look up ZIP codes and track your packages. It is available on the iPhone and Droid.
4. Gas Buddy (Free)
With gas being a top expense for any road trip, it's great to have a buddy keeping you updated on the cheapest gas prices in your current area. That buddy is Gas Buddy. It'll show you the prices at all the nearby gas stations and in other cities too, plus provide directions to get there. The app is available on the iPhone and Droid.
5. Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder (Free)
Find the parks near to you with the activities you want to do like hiking, biking, fishing and horseback riding. It covers National Parks, State Parks and Federal Public Land in America. The app is available on the iPhone and Droid.
6. AllTrails (Free)
Going hiking? Find trails near you or in your destination park with AllTrails. Shows you the length, how difficult it is to hike, elevation change, typically how popular it is, an estimate for how long it'll take you to hike it and directions to get to the trail. The app is available on the iPhone and Droid.
Great Camping Entertainment
7. Kindle (Free)
Ever wanted to bring your favorite books with you during your camping trip but just don't have enough space? With the Kindle app your favorite books are stored on your mobile phone or iPad, so there is no need to bring the heavy hardcover books, you can leave them at home. Purchase new releases, or reread an old favorite. Best of all, most of your favorite adventure classics, like Huckleberry Finn, are free to download. Kindle is available on the iPhone and Droid. We recommend it on the iPad for those who enjoy a bigger reading screen.
8. Pandora (Free)
Pandora is a music lover's paradise. If you have a 3G connection Pandora delivers an unlimited supply of music to your trip. Simply type in an artist you like and listen to a streaming jukebox of songs and artists that Pandora feels you might also enjoy. It's a great way to discover and rediscover music. Plug your device to portable speakers to liven a campfire. Pandora is available on the iPhone, iPad and Droid.
9. Star Walk ($3)
This is a great app for stargazing from the campsite at night. Simply point your phone or tablet at any star in the sky and it'll tell you what you're looking at. You can also find constellations and read a ton of information about what you're looking at. This is great fun thing to do with the family and really drives their imagination and learning. Star Walk is available on the iPhone, iPad and Droid.
Share and Stay in Touch
10. Skype (Free)
Skype is a great app when far from home and on the road. iPhones and similar front-facing camera devices allow you to share in real time the great outdoors with friends through videoconference. Skype allows you to call anyone in the world with a Skype account for free. Keep in touch, save money, and share life with loved ones. Skype is available on the iPhone, iPad and Droid.
11. Facebook (Free)
Want to know what your friends are up to? Want to quickly update them about your road trip? Facebook is the cure all for sharing, staying connected, and a great way to catch up with your friends. Keep everyone updated on your trip by uploading photos from your mobile device, check in to stops at locations of interest, and tag camping buddies that have joined the adventure. The Facebook app is available on both the iPhone, iPad and Droid.
Download these apps on your smartphone today so you have everything you need to great camping road trip.
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Going camping or RVing?Take the Camp Finder app to find the best campgrounds, RV parks and RV resorts.
Spyglass for iOS is another great nav app. It helps to save your custom places and waypoints to navigate precisely to them later, shows them on maps and uses real-time augmented reality, displays detailed GPS info, measures distances, sizes, angles, and does a lot lot more.https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spyglass/id332639548?mt=8