Finding the right balance between screen time and green time can be tough, but thanks to a flood of new outdoor adventure apps, it’s easy to combine the two.
From treasure hunts and photography missions to stargazing and snowsports tracking, there are some seriously fun apps on offer to outdoor adventurers. Some are educational and informative. Some are creative and collaborative. Others are simply designed for maximising fun in the fresh air.
So, next time your toddler threatens a tantrum when you head out for a weekend walk or your teenager rolls their eyes at the mention of fresh air, hand them a smartphone and put a whole new spin on family time outside.
For fossil hunters
Fossil Explorer is a fascinating interactive app that fossil fans will love. Developed by the Natural History Museum, the app uses geolocation technology to help you explore. By plotting the rocks present at your location, it provides a list of fossils known to occur in rocks of the same age.
Whether you’re hunting for ammonites on the Jurassic Coast or belemnites in Whitby, this app can help you identify what you find and delve deeper. Using your device’s geolocation technology it can help you to work out what to look for where (it currently covers England, Scotland and Wales).
For stargazers
Star Walk 2 is an interactive chart of the night sky that’s super fun and simple to use. Just point your device to the sky and discover what constellations and stars are there. Great fun to try on a clear night’s camping, it will also tell you about satellites, solar system bodies and meteor showers.
For nature detectives
Plum’s Photo Hunt is an educational and interactive natural treasure hunt led by Plum, an alien keen to discover Earth’s beauty. Your child can choose from 36 missions in which they have to photograph natural wonders such as stones, leaves and shadows. Great for both back garden fun or for taking further afield.
For treasure hunters
Geocaching has been around for a while but got legions of new fans during the pandemic because it helps users see their local area in a whole new light. Basically a global digital treasure hunt, geocachers use their phone’s GPS to locate containers (known as a ‘cache’) hidden by other players. Most have extra clues and hints that make them fun to unearth and some are fiendishly difficult (our most difficult find was a ‘microcache’ hidden in a tiny container disguised as a very convincing ivy leaf). Brilliant for all ages (some caches contain treasure such as coins and small toys that small children will love), geocaching is great for re-discovering your local area or to spice up a holiday hike.
Geocaching adventures, photo Groundspeak Inc. (dba Geocaching)
For adventurers
Geocaching Adventure Lab takes the geocaching experience up a notch by allowing you to create, play and share location-based experiences and games. It guides players through the process of finding clues and solving puzzles. Unlike traditional geocaching, Adventures don’t have to have a physical container, they can be private as well as public and can even be located indoors.
For bird lovers
Birds of Britain is bursting with information and help to identify UK birds. Audio recordings of bird songs help those with eager ears work out what they can hear.
For wilderness wanderers
Spyglass is a GPS toolkit that older kids will love for off-road adventures and navigating in the wild. It works as a map, gyro-compass, binoculars and rangefinder. It can even tell you your speed, direction and altitude when you’re on a plane.
For connecting to nature
Awe helps you find awe and wonder in your daily life (which is great for your mental health). The Awe app leads you to awesome local scenery where you listen to audio guides which take you on a journey to notice your surroundings fully and tune into nature.
For cyclists
OutDoors GB brings OS maps to your mobile and downloads each map to your device so that you can navigate even without a mobile signal. With the option to record routes and measure speed and altitude, it’s a good option for teen cyclists keen to venture further afield.
For runners
Strava is the motivational app of choice for runners and cyclists keen to chart their progress and compare their stats with friends. It can also be fun for families to use to show kids hiow far they have hiked and to encourage them to go the distance.
For powderhounds
Ski Tracks keeps track of your speed, total daily distance and run data on the mountain. A fab app for teens (and adults) who love to pore over their ski stats and compare notes with their ski buddies at the end of the day.
For ski families
SkiLynx is a great option for groups of families and friends on a ski trip together. Using GPS and trail maps, the app shows you where your friends are skiing and what percentage of a run they’ve completed. A great way to keep in touch with your teens or to keep up with the group you’re skiing with.
For wannabe scientists
Project Noah is a global research project that children can contribute their own nature photos to and create their own digital nature journal in the process.
For reluctant walkers
Mission Adventure turns any walk into an adventure. You set waypoints based on the route you want to walk and then pick your own adventure (from chasing after UFOs, pirates and even guinea pigs). With questions to answer and challenges to meet, it’s a fun way to spice up a stroll for kids.
For wild play
Nature Passport was designed by educators to help families play, explore and learn together outdoors. With nature-based games, craft activities and experiments, the app encourages collaborative play in the great outdoors.
For mindful naturalists
Nature Notes was developed after University of Derby researchers found that the simple act of noticing things in everyday nature was related to better wellbeing. Contained within the walking app Go Jauntly, Nature Notes encourages users to journal and record what they notice in the wild.
