Your AllTrails history shows 47 completed hikes. You scroll through them looking for the one where you saw wild turkeys crossing the trail. Nothing in the app helps: every entry is just a date, distance, and your 3-star rating. You remember the turkeys were near a creek, maybe in October, probably that trail with the big parking lot...
AllTrails knows exactly where you hiked. It doesn't know what you experienced.
This isn't a flaw in the app. It's a scope limitation. AllTrails is a trail discovery and navigation tool. It's exceptional at that. But it's not a journal, and expecting it to function like one leads to frustration.
Here's what each tool actually does best, and why the smartest approach is to use both.
What AllTrails Does Best
AllTrails has 65+ million users worldwide. That scale isn't an accident. The app solves real problems:
Trail discovery. Finding new hikes based on location, difficulty, length, and features. The database is massive. Reviews from other hikers surface useful details: recent trail conditions, parking notes, whether the waterfall was flowing.
Navigation. Offline maps, GPS tracking, route recording. You know where you are on the trail, how far you've gone, and what's ahead.
Automatic stats. Distance, elevation gain, moving time: all tracked without you thinking about it. Your phone does the work.
Social features. Following friends, sharing completed hikes, seeing what's popular in an area.
Discoverability. Before a trip to a new region, you can browse trails, filter by what you want, and build a list of options in minutes.
For these functions, AllTrails wins. Nothing competes at that scale.
What AllTrails Can't Do
Here's the gap. Open your AllTrails history and try to answer:
- Which hike had the best wildflowers?
- Where did you see that fox?
- What was the weather like on the trail you did last March?
- Which one had the muddy creek crossing?
- What did you actually think about that 4-star hike?
- Would you do it again?
The app can't help. It tracks that you hiked, not what you experienced.
Your 3-star rating doesn't tell future-you why it was 3 stars. Your recorded GPS route doesn't capture the wildlife, the conditions, or whether you'd recommend it. The app shows 6.2 miles and 1,400 feet of gain. It doesn't show "surprisingly crowded, but the ridgeline view at mile 4 was worth it."
This isn't AllTrails failing. It's the wrong tool for that job.
What a Hiking Journal Captures
A paper hiking journal captures the subjective experience: everything the app can't track:
Trail conditions you encountered. Muddy? Icy? Overgrown? Bone dry? This determines whether you'd do a trail in the same season again.
Weather and timing. The app knows the date. Your journal knows it was foggy until 10am, then cleared for the best views you've had all year.
Wildlife and nature. The great blue heron at the pond. The turkey vultures circling the ridge. The wildflower bloom that peaked the week you were there.
Who you were with. Solo hikes feel different from group hikes. Documenting companions adds context you'll value later.
Your actual opinion. Not a star rating for strangers: your honest assessment. Was it worth the drive? Would you do it again? Who would you recommend it to?
The moments that made it memorable. The thing you'd describe if someone asked "how was it?" That's what a journal preserves.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| What You Want | AllTrails | Hiking Journal |
|---|---|---|
| Find new trails to hike | Yes | No |
| Navigate on the trail | Yes | No |
| Automatically track distance/elevation | Yes | No |
| Record GPS route | Yes | No |
| Document trail conditions you experienced | Limited | Yes |
| Capture wildlife and nature observations | No | Yes |
| Record your actual opinion (not for strangers) | No | Yes |
| Track who you hiked with | No | Yes |
| Note whether you'd do it again | No | Yes |
| Build a personal record you'll revisit | No | Yes |
| Reference past experiences for planning | Limited | Yes |
The Battery Problem
One tactical note: GPS tracking drains your phone battery (roughly 10-15% per hour depending on conditions and phone age). On a long day hike, that adds up. Your phone might be at 30% by the time you're back at the trailhead.
If you're relying on your phone for emergency contact, navigation, and journaling, you're asking a lot from one device. A paper journal doesn't compete for battery. It works whether you're at 80% or 8%.
The Verdict: Use Both
This isn't a competition. AllTrails and a hiking journal do different things.
Use AllTrails to:
- Discover trails before you go
- Navigate while you're hiking
- Track your route automatically
- See what other hikers report about conditions
Use a hiking journal to:
- Document what you actually experienced
- Record conditions, wildlife, and weather
- Note your honest opinion and whether you'd return
- Build a personal record you'll flip through years later
The best approach: AllTrails gets you to the trail and tracks your route. Your journal captures why that hike mattered, or didn't.
For a journal designed around this workflow, the Hikes Remembered journal gives you two pages per hike: structured fields for trail info, conditions, and flora/fauna on one page, open notes space on the other. Room for 60 entries. Designed to pair with whatever app you use for navigation.
For a complete breakdown of what to track, see our hiking journal checklist or our guide to what serious hikers actually track.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just use AllTrails for everything?
You can, but you'll lose the experiential details. AllTrails preserves stats and routes. It doesn't preserve what the hike was actually like. Many people do fine with just the app until they try to remember specifics from a year ago and realize it's all gone.
Is there a way to add detailed notes in AllTrails?
You can add brief notes to completed activities, but the interface isn't built for it. There's no prompting, no structure, and limited space. Most people don't bother. A journal with dedicated fields surfaces the right questions.
What if I don't want to carry a paper journal on the trail?
Don't. Leave it in your car. Log the hike when you return: at the trailhead, before you drive home. The 5-10 minutes post-hike is ideal. You've just experienced it; everything's fresh.
Can I use my phone's notes app instead of a paper journal?
You can try, but it tends to fail for most people. Phone notes get lost among other notes. There's no structure prompting you. And you're reaching for the same device you're trying to disconnect from on the trail. Paper works better for most hikers.
Do I need to log every single hike?
That's up to you. Some people log everything. Others only log "real" hikes: new trails, longer outings, ones worth remembering. Both approaches are valid. The journal is for you.
What about Gaia GPS or other navigation apps?
Same logic applies. Gaia, CalTopo, Avenza: they're all navigation tools. Excellent for maps and route tracking. Not designed for capturing personal experience. Use them for what they're good at; use a journal for the rest.
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