Get even closer to nature with Peak by AllTrails

You can’t just walk through the landscape. It can be read, observed and listened to, in both tumult and silence. Between hills and forests, AllTrails invited us on an immersive journey through the Wye Valley, on the southern border of Wales and England.

Three days of wooded trails, dizzying peaks, hidden caves, convivial meals and wellbeing in the heart of nature… but above all, a unique opportunity to preview Peak, the latest update to the world’s most popular hiking app.

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AllTrails : a worldwide community for exploring nature

AllTrails is an application dedicated to hiking and exploring nature, used by more than 80 million people worldwide. It lists 450,000 routes, including 145 in the Wye Valley, and was voted iPhone application of the year 2023. AllTrails is committed to protecting nature and is a member of the ‘1% for the Planet’ collective, donating 1% of its turnover to associations working to protect it.

Designed to make nature accessible to all, the application allows you to filter trails according to a number of criteria, including level of difficulty, accessibility for wheelchairs, pushchairs or children for families, and whether dogs are allowed on the trails for accompanied outdoor enthusiasts. An inclusive approach that opens up the outdoors to all kinds of explorers!

Until now, AllTrails has offered two packages: a free Basic subscription to discover the trails, and a Plus subscription for adventurers who want to explore without a connection. With Peak, the experience moves up a gear. This brand new subscription introduces six new features, designed to make every outing more personal, immersive, intuitive… and ever more connected to nature.

1. Points of interest to identify spots

With this function available from the Basic subscription, it’s no longer just a question of following a route, but of choosing what you want to see. Waterfalls, historic sites or viewpoints. During our stay, this feature enabled us to identify the region’s must-sees: Symonds Yat Rock, the Devil’s Pulpit, and the famous house from the Sex Education series. A clever way to combine curiosity with the pleasure of walking.

2. Explore offline areas with confidence

Being able to download all the trails in an area with a single click means you can stay on course even when the signal disappears. In certain corners of the valley, our connection quickly failed us… but never our orientation. And with no interruption to notifications, except from the application when we strayed off course!

3. Community heatmap to reach (or not) the crowds

Thanks to this new feature, you can now see which paths are the most popular… or the most secret. In the blink of an eye, you can decide whether you want to follow in the footsteps of others, or prefer the more confidential routes. It’s also a way of spreading the ecological impact more evenly, by avoiding over-visiting certain areas.

4. Rain or shine with the State of the trails

Sunshine, wind, rain, mud… The trail conditions feature looks at 15 key factors to help you plan your outing. You’ll finally know whether you need to pack a mackintosh or just shorts. During our outing, a light, refreshing rain fell. Thanks to this feature, you can pack a mackintosh in your bag.

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5. Make the trails your own with Custom Itineraries

Extend a loop, shorten a path, add a diversion… With the made-to-measure route, you can create your own itinerary, download it and share it. When we were near King Arthur’s cave, we adapted our route by shortening it by 1 km.

6. Outdoor Lens to identify and better understand trails

Last but not least, you can use your camera to identify plants and natural elements. Point, capture, learn. It’s the perfect way to put a name to the wonders you come across along the way, like the carpets of wild garlic and other botanical treasures that filled the air and delighted the eye along the Wye Valley trails.

With Peak, AllTrails is reinforcing its mission to help everyone explore their environment, at their own pace and with confidence. We can’t wait to relive this experience all over France and the world: in the suburbs, in our countryside, our forests, our parks or natural sites… wherever you can venture out freely… and without getting lost thanks to AllTrails!’

By Ségolène Anzangossoue