While it might seem odd to use your cellphone or other device to enhance your outdoor experience, there are a surprising number of apps that are designed to do just that. Whether you’re tracking constellations in the night sky or learning about the tracks you find in the forest, there is most definitely an app for that! Here are just a few of our favorites from a wide selection of iPhone apps for the outdoors.
Night Sky – $4.99
The Night Sky app from iCandy Apps is perhaps our favorite on this list, as the night sky is a never-ending source of wonder and educational fun for any age. All you need to do is open the app and direct your iPhone at any point in the sky with the screen facing toward you to get accurate, up-to-date information on prominent stars, constellations, planets, satellites and other astronomical bodies that keep you up until the wee hours, pondering their existence. Even cloudy nights can’t foil your quest for knowledge, since it uses your phone’s GPS and compass to locate your position and cross references with its inbuilt maps. Best of all, you don’t need an internet connection to use the app, making it ideal for starry night fun on camping trips.
Project Noah – FREE
Nature and animal lovers will get a huge kick out of the Project Noah (networked organisms and habitats) app, designed for people to get up close and personal with wildlife and contribute data used to identify and describe thousands of species. Users can scroll through hundreds of existing entries based on location or species, or submit their own photos and descriptive information to be added to the list. If you’re having trouble identifying a particular species, simply snap a pic and upload it to receive input from the large community of users, who you can also follow and interact with through the app. Project Noah even has periodic missions in which they entreat app users to collect and contribute data to be used in their research! This iPhone app for the outdoors is bursting with educational opportunities that allow everyone to be a part of the scientific community, and it’s all free!
GotoAID First Aid – $4.99
First aid is one of the most important skill sets anyone can have in the outdoors, but in lieu of proper training, the GotoAID First Aid app from Jaargon Ltd. is going to be a lifesaver — possibly literally. This app features a database of over 400 topics, ranging from how to treat injuries and illnesses to preparing for natural disasters and emergencies, not just for people, but for pets as well. Step by step instructions are given for a vast number of scenarios to help someone who has virtually no first aid experience get someone through a situation safely until professional help can be sought. Adventuring in the wilderness carries with it all kinds of risk for health problems and injury, so invest the five bucks in this app and be as prepared as possible in the outdoors!
