Technology has revolutionized the way we explore the great outdoors. From GPS devices to portable solar panels, modern campers have various tools to make their adventures more convenient and enjoyable. Camping apps can help users plan their trips, navigate trails, and ensure safety in the wild. Camping.Tools is a mobile app for iOS and Android phones that combines essential features to enhance your camping experience.
Whether you’re a casual weekend camper or a seasoned backpacker, Camping.Tools promises to streamline your outdoor adventures with its user-friendly design. Let's look at what makes this app a worthy addition to your phone.

Table of Contents
Inspiration
Camping.Tools was created by Robert McMillan, who was introduced to camping by his father, an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He shares that a six-week cross-country family trip from Georgia to the West Coast "lit a fire for camping deep in my soul that I believe can never go out."
In 2012, McMillan introduced his sons to extended camping over a 28-day road trip with his mother. During this family trip as a father, he realized there was no easy way to capture all the details and photos in a single place.
When the .tools domain extensions became available in 2014, he bought Camping.Tools. During the pandemic, when his family hit the road to go camping, he used those experiences to inform how he could build a website and app for the camping community.
Key Features
Once you've downloaded the app, follow the prompts to create and verify your account. This process kicks off a 14-day free trial. You can begin creating trips, uploading photos, and sharing memories. To test the app, I created a trip to Big Bend National Park in West Texas, which I previously visited. After naming the adventure, I uploaded a feature photo and added the start and end dates.
Trips
Itinerary
Once your trip is created, click the Itinerary button to add waypoints. These can include the campground where you're staying, hikes you want to do, outdoor activities, meals, or anything else you want to document so you don't forget.
As you add places, they'll appear in a numbered list and on a clickable Google map. Clicking on the map allows you to search the area or choose from some pre-selected shortcuts, including:
- Campgrounds
- Walmart
- Cracker Barrel
- Propane
- Rest Area
Once the results appear on the map as orange dots, you can click them for additional information (names, phone numbers, addresses) and add them to your itinerary. After making any changes, hit the "Save" button in the upper right corner to ensure they stick.
Each entry on the itinerary includes the option to check in, which results in a date and time stamp. You can also launch turn-by-burn directions by clicking the turning arrow icon on the right. This is an attractive feature for a guy who loves to plot his trips by the hour.
Timeline
The Timeline area is where you can upload photos and share some thoughts about the places you've been and perhaps some tips for others. Each memory is assigned to a trip you've created and, optionally, a waypoint, to be more specific. This helps the app to keep your experiences, thoughts, and photos organized.
When you log into your account on the Camping.Tools website, you can view a larger version of the Timeline in chronological order.
Additional tabs on the Itinerary screen include Media, where you'll find the photos and video clips you upload, and Lists (a simple tool for creating a packing list).
Explore
In addition to the Trips tab, the Camping.Tools app allows you to explore the community.
Feed
When you click on the Explore tab at the bottom of the app, you'll see a chronological feed similar to what you're used to on Facebook. Updates other users share appear here and can be liked or commented on.
The mobile app and website are designed to allow users to document their camping adventures privately. However, if you'd like to make your updates public, they'll also appear to others on the Explore tab.
Friends and Groups
You can also add friends with whom you can share your trips exclusively. You can even join groups around shared interests, such as RV travel and National Parks, and share your trips with them.
Broadcast
The mobile app allows users to broadcast their GPS location to friends they've connected with within the app and groups they've joined. The available durations are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, and two hours. This function could help various members of a group geolocate one another while hiking in the same park. It could also allow solo hikers to set off on short hikes with a greater sense of safety.
Marketplace
While not currently accessible from the mobile app, there's a marketplace where you can buy and sell used camping gear when you sign in to Camping.Tools website (using the same login as the app). In addition to items from community members, some camping products are populated from and can be purchased through Amazon.com.
Pros and Cons
The Camping Tools app should appeal to camping enthusiasts who want to create a digital record of their trips without the large learning curve associated with running a full-fledged blog.
Here are the benefits that jumped out at me as I used the app:
- Campers can microblog their outdoor adventures; no experience is necessary.
- The design offers an intuitive user experience.
- Community engagement features can help you connect with and support other campers.
- Ability to broadcast your location.
- Free 14-day trial.
The app's biggest challenge will be getting enough people to stick around after their free trial ends to build a sense of community. That's the tricky part about launching any new app with a social component. Occasional campers who only go out a few times (or less) per year may not want to pay. However, this is a non-issue if users are happy with the journaling aspects of the app and less concerned with trying to meet other campers.
Download the App
The Camping.Tools app is available to download for iOS (iPhones) and Android phones and has a free 14-day trial so you can see if it's right for you. If you like what you see, you can subscribe to the app to continue using all the features for $4.99 per month or $44.99 annually.
On June 10, 2024, the app announced that it would donate $5 of every annual subscription purchased to the Care Camps Foundation (CCF), a nonprofit that funds pediatric oncology camps across the United States and Canada.
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This story is brought to you in partnership with Camping Tools, Inc. I received a complimentary subscription for review purposes; all opinions are my own.