New camping location app for iPhone / iPad

[rebar]

For the iPhone and iPad, here's how I understand it works with Apple Maps: when you have an Internet connection, and browse the map, the map tiles you view are cached to the device. If you browse an area of the map that has a map tiled cached, it's displayed (it's faster to view cached map tiles than it is to download them). Also, you can view cached map tiles with no Internet connection. So if I have Internet, and I know I'm going to an area with no Internet, I try and view the area I'm traveling to so the map tiles are cached to the device and I can view them with no Internet connection.

Thanks.. So all I have to do is browse the area I plan on camping in with a internet connection and then those maps are in my phones cache for good?

I sure hope so, because if I go to pandora or another app for a moment and lose my maps, the allstay and ultimate us public campground apps are useless where I'm going. In the past, I would mark locations on google maps and then transfer them to latitude 40 maps but if these apps keep the information without internet I'm golden.

It's to bad I cant add locations to my allstays or ultimate us public campground apps if they are truly WiFi free.

 

[kylekai]

You said "So all I have to do is browse the area I plan on camping in with a internet connection and then those maps are in my phones cache for good?"

Not for good. They're there until the device purges them or you turn off the device. I'm giving you info based on my experiences using the app with no Internet, and as an iPhone developer, but that's not the same as coming from Apple. In other words, AFAIK, what I said is true.

You also mentioned adding locations. The Ultimate Campground app is updated monthly, and a lot of the updates and additions are from users who contact us. So if you find a campground that the app doesn't have, be sure to let us know.

Thanks.

 

[PHeller]

Any reviews on this app?

I'm willing to pay a few bucks to make it easier to find dispersed camping areas. Here in Arizona Coconino and a few other National Forests have awesome GPS maps that show which roads are open to dispersed camping. Finding that information across multiple states is more difficult.

 

[kylekai]

Did you try looking at this web site?

 

[PHeller]

It's pretty good, but I was hoping for more line/polygon data. It'd be sweet to see polygons on a map that say "roads in this entire area are open to dispersed camping".

I guess the advantage to the using points is they consume less space on the device.

I forget, if I lose signal before searching for a campsite, can I still find them with no data signal?

 

[kylekai]

If your device has a GPS, then yes, the app can find the campsites with no data signal. The data is contained in the app. Just not always the map (which may be cached and viewable anyway).

 

[PHeller]

Is there some way of saying "save this area" or something ala Google Maps ability to save map areas?

I'm also curious in the data collection method. Can there be a user-submitted way of adding new camp sites? For example, I just looked at the new 2016 Lake Mead backcountry maps, and they show quite a few camping area that I did not know existed. I was hoping an application for Expedition Lovers might makes those types of spots more easily located.

 

[kylekai]

Before I answer, let me clarify that I'm the iOS developer for the app. There's also an Android dev, and a person to collect the data (Ted). Ted may reply soon to your second question. To answer your first, as it applies to iOS, there is a caching mechanism for non-Apple maps (such as OpenCycleMaps) the app uses. As you move the map around, zoom and scroll, those map tiles are cached to disk. Then when you have no Internet connection, and you want to see the map, if it's been cached, you will see the map. The technology is a little in the background now with the app, but I plan to make it more transparent with a future release. Does that help?

 

[PHeller]

Yes. Thanks.

I'm a GIS guy, but not a developer.

 

[kylekai]

We hope you will submit new campground info by using this form. The database is updated monthly, so your input can really help. Thanks!

 

[WxToad]

I'm Ted, the data guy for the Ultimate Public Campground Project. I began gathering data 8 years ago and the challenge goes on. Thanks for mentioning those new Lake Mead back-country maps; I just took a look and will be adding them to my database. I've already included back-country sites in a number of national parks. I welcome input from folks about errors in the data and about new locations - that's a major contribution to ensuring the data is up to date. There is a form on our website for submitting CG information and it can also be done from within our apps. I'm constantly reviewing for things like increased fees, but as you might imagine it's a challenge keeping up with over 29,000 records.

Anyone concerned about the scope of our data can see it all for free on our website.

As for offline use, that's something that Bill (the iOS and Mac guy) and Geoff (the Android guy) will be looking at in the next few months. We recognize the need for such a capability.

There is a work-around I might suggest: our data is available as a POI list in .csv format, which can be imported into GPS systems, either stand-alone or on a computer with programs like MS Streets & Trips, MS Maps Pro! and the DeLorme Street Atlas program. With those you won't need internet. However, you won't have the the various functions of the apps, such as the filters.

We appreciate your comments - thanks!