About OpenTrails
OpenTrails is a self-funded project which aims to bring a lot of outdoor activity-related data together into one nice easy to use website and (soon-to-be) app. Like many people I kept finding myself repeatedly pulling together information from a variety of different apps, websites, articles, screenshots, and chats for every trip into the backcountry - or even to the local trails. Sometimes this process can be fun but as I'm a software developer by trade there's always the pull to build myself a better solution.
Do we really need another outdoor app? Probably not, but in the spirit of scratching your own itch, the desire to try building a mobile app, and the thought of "how hard can it be?", I bought the first domain that came to mind and here is OpenTrails.
What will be built
With so much information and ideas flying around, where do we start?
Topographic maps (LINZ Topo50 and Topo250). These are the gold standard maps for navigating in the backcountry in NZ. You'd be silly to go into the hills without them.
Map waypoints and typo-tolerant (fuzzy) search. A basic feature of pretty much every app with a map is the ability to mark places of interest, and be able to search for things.
Weather observations, forecasts, and recent forecast accuracy. Many weather apps and websites exist to show current weather and the short term outlook, but not many match up actual weather observations along with it. Seeing how accurate the recent forecast has been also helps to get more of a read on the current weather systems and if any forecast model is reading it accurately.
Public access area information. There is a vast amount of publicly accessible land in NZ but it's not always obvious. We have a huge network of paper roads and other easments that look like private land but are actually ok to use to access the outdoors!
Trail information for biking and hiking. Already exists in many apps and websites, but as I'm an avid mountain biker, hiker, and trail runner I again just want everything in one place with the ability to send GPX route data to smart watches.
Offline access to all the above. Most other apps paywall offline access to all the above functionality. This works fine for activities in and around cities and towns or maybe if you have satellite data, but the less technology you need to rely on when you're out and about the better.
What we have today
Explore map. This is the first go at getting the information we have online and browseable.
Basic weather. We've been working with the ECMWF open data to get basic forecasts for NZ up and running. Should have more detailed forecasts soon once we license the required data.
What's next
Mobile app for iOS and Android. This is the current main focus, and we're hoping to start testing it in the field soon!
But how will you make money?
For now this is a self funded project, but we're looking to add a premium plan that provides more accurate weather forecasts, with a longer 14-day forecast, greater access to historical weather, custom weather alerts and more.
We're also looking at offering club management features for outdoor societies like run clubs, mountain bike clubs, [insert your activity of choice] club. If this sounds interesting please drop me a line below.
I hope OpenTrails provides you with some useful information! And if something's out of date, or you've got an idea to make it better, I want to hear about it. Please drop me a line at [email protected].
