Hayduke Trail App

Hayduke Trail App

After completing the Hayduke Trail, I spent significant time building a navigation app specifically for the route. The Hayduke is not a trail you can safely navigate from a generic hiking app. The route crosses unmarked canyon terrain, uses unofficial tracks, and has water sources that change state-to-state and season-to-season. This app is designed to fix that.

The app is available for iOS and Android at hayduke.trailpeaches.com.

What the App Does

  • Offline topo maps. Download the full 800-mile route before you leave cell service. The app works without a data connection. In canyon country, that’s not optional — it’s the whole point.
  • GPS navigation. Your position tracked in real time against the route. Useful in the desert and especially useful in the canyons where the terrain doesn’t match any reasonable expectation of a trail.
  • Real-time water reports. Community-sourced water conditions across the entire route. Water reliability on the Hayduke can change dramatically based on recent precipitation, cattle activity, and solar well status. Current reports from other hikers matter more than any guidebook.
  • Community conditions. Notes from previous hikers on route conditions, cache recommendations, and anything worth knowing before you get there.

Why I Built It

When I hiked the Hayduke, the best navigation resource was a combination of GPX files and old water reports, Across Utah information, and Jupiter Hikes’ blog. Water source information was scattered across old trip reports and Facebook posts from hikers who may or may not have passed through recently.

The FarOut-style app model — GPS route plus community water reports — is exactly what I found would be beneficial for the Hayduke. With the current GPX route from jupiter, the main thing missing is better water distance calculations, and beta all in one place. So, I decided to build a thing to improve information for hikers when on-trail.

I understand that some people in the Hayduke community have concerns about making the route more accessible. My view: people who want to hike the Hayduke will hike it. Better navigation and current water information makes the hike safer without materially changing who attempts it.

Get the App

The app is available for iOS and Android. Head to hayduke.trailpeaches.com to download it and see current release notes.

For questions about the app or to report route issues, use the feedback form at hayduke.trailpeaches.com.

About the Hayduke Trail

The Hayduke Trail is an 800-mile off-trail and cross-country route through the canyon country of southern Utah, connecting Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Parks. It was designed to be hikeable — not easy, but hikeable — for people comfortable with desert travel, route-finding, and water caching logistics.

For the full guide to hiking the Hayduke, including caching logistics, permits, and season planning, see my Hayduke Trail guide.