Meet onX Backcountry

The Ultimate Adventure App for Trailblazers and Powder Seekers

Imagine heading into the backcountry with 90 guide books in your pack. Even one book feels pretty heavy, doesn’t it? What if all of those expert-curated details were available to you in an intuitive app powered by a reliable GPS platform? It’s a good combo, arguably better than raisins and peanuts or marshmallows and melted chocolate, and it’s available now. 

Meet onX Backcountry.

Built for Adventurers, by Adventurers

As the third navigation app from onX, onX Backcountry launched this month on iOS, Android, and web platforms. True to onX form, Backcountry was built—and continues to be developed—by a team who is passionate about getting off the beaten path. As a result, hikers, backpackers, backcountry skiers, and splitboarders will find all the tools they need for an epic adventure right at their fingertips.

At onX Backcountry’s core is our industry-leading GPS technology, a platform that millions of outdoor enthusiasts have come to rely on over the years. The map functionality is similar to onX’s other products, featuring 24k topo, satellite, hybrid, and 3D views with land designation layers and more than 500,000 points of interest from river put-ins and campgrounds to scenic stops and breweries.

Like A Trail Guide Alongside

But here’s where onX Backcountry differs from our other apps. Over the past year, onX has connected with a community of contributors at Outdoor Project and Adventure Projects to bring their hiking, trail running, backpacking, and backcountry ski and splitboard adventures to life in an easy-to-use mobile experience. We’ve also partnered with companies like Beacon Guidebooks and groups like Colorado Mountain Club to ensure we have experiences for every skill level and every region of the U.S. We call these expert-curated guides Backcountry Adventures.

Right now, you’ll find 3,000+ hiking and backpacking and 1,500+ ski and splitboard Backcountry Adventures that include trip overviews, photos from past explorers, and useful information like whether you need a permit to explore the area, if horses are allowed, and other details. Over the next few months, the App will grow to include more than 30,000 trail and 3,200 snow experiences, with more on the way. 

Snow and Trail Experiences

With so many outdoor opportunities at hand, and another 650,000 miles of trails to explore, it may be tough to choose. That’s why onX Backcountry allows users to toggle between two modes, Snow Mode and Trail Mode, to find adventures in their geographic location—no matter the season. These Modes also offer additional capabilities to ensure you have the best day outside.

With the tap of a button, Snow Mode will highlight Backcountry Adventures for powder seekers. It will also activate localized Avalanche Forecasts and Slope Angle Layers so skiers and riders can make a plan for the day with conditions in mind.

Both Snow Mode and Trail Mode have local weather forecasts that display wind speed and direction, daily high and low temperatures, sunrise and sunset times, and expected precipitation right in the App. Features like the Tracker and Waypoints help explorers remember where they’ve been and places they don’t want to forget–like summited peaks and cozy campsites. If visibility or conditions change, users can rely on Offline Maps to see their location and get home safely—even without cell service. These are just a few of onX Backcountry’s tools, and we’re excited to share more soon.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy onX Backcountry. Our goal is to empower all levels of outdoor enthusiasts with an app uses your phone’s GPS for hiking and that’s so intuitive to use that you spend more time enjoying the path ahead and less time looking down at the device in your hand. 

onX Backcountry gives you the confidence to go farther. We’ll see you out there.