Summer is the perfect time of year to get outside and into nature! It allows you to reconnect with yourself and the world around you. And thanks to websites and apps, we now get to understand and explore more about nature than ever before. So, let’s get out there, explore the beautiful world we live in, and learn more about it with these 15 nature apps.
1. Seek by iNaturalist
(available on iOS and Android)
Seek by iNaturalist is a free app that helps you identify plants, insects, and animals. You can upload photos and have other users help identify them. The app will also help you find species in your area by providing information on what’s found locally. If you’re looking for a specific animal or plant species, this is an excellent resource because it helps connect people interested in the same subject.
2. LeafSnap
(available on iOS and Android)
LeafSnap is an app that can identify plants by taking a photo of the leaves. Take your picture of the leaves on the plant and LeafSnap will tell you what it thinks the plant is. The app also lets users learn more about plants and leaves in the LeafSnap guide. LeafSnap also has an exclusive feature called “Discover,” which lets you discover new plants and their uses.
3. AllTrails
(available on iOS and Android)
AllTrails is a location-based app for outdoor activities. It tracks your route and provides turn-by-turn navigation, so you can see exactly where you’re going even when the trail isn’t so obvious. The app also includes information about your location, such as the elevation, distance from other users in the area, weather, and more.
The free AllTrails app gives you access to maps of trails in your area. A trail map will show not only what it looks like but also what kind of terrain lies ahead. It also shows how steep it is on the path and whether there are any obstacles like creeks or rockslides along the way.
4. Gaia GPS
(available on iOS and Android)
Gaia GPS is a free app that helps you record your hikes and other outdoor activities. The app can be used to plan your hiking trips, but it’s also great for geocaching and creating detailed maps of your favorite trails.
This app is simple to use. Just launch the app on your phone before heading outdoors, press “Start Recording,” turn on your GPS, and then hit “Start” again when you’re ready to stop tracking. It allows users to be able to see where they have been and shows other areas nearby that might be worth exploring.
5. iBird Lite/Pro
(available on iOS and Android)
iBird is a comprehensive birding app that lets you learn about and find birds anywhere in the world. It features more than 8,000 species of birds, including all North American species. You can use it to plan your next trip to see some of these amazing creatures in person or just keep up with what’s going on in your own backyard.
This app has both a pro and free (lite) version available. The free version has fewer features than the paid ones. It only includes regional lists for North America but not international species. It doesn’t offer offline access, yet it still provides plenty of great information about what kinds of birds live where you are or where traveling to.
6. Audubon Bird Guide
(available on iOS and Android)
The Audubon Bird Guide app is one of the best nature apps available. It is especially useful for birdwatchers, but anyone can use it. The app has a searchable database of more than 5,000 species and includes photos, audio recordings, and information on each species’ habitat and range. You can also use the built-in camera to identify birds in your backyard or at a local park!
7. Picture Insect: Bug Identifier
(available on iOS and Android)
Picture Insect is an entertaining app that allows users to have a way to identify insects and bug species. Users can take a photo of the insect they see and then use the app to identify it. The app will tell you more about that insect, including where it lives and what it eats. It also tells you if that particular kind of bug is dangerous, venomous, or harmless. If you are a nature enthusiast that wants to learn more about bugs, this app is worth downloading.
8. PictureThis
(available on iOS and Android)
PictureThis is an app designed to help you find and identify plants. It works by asking users to take pictures of the plant in question, and then it will match the photo to one of the hundreds of images already stored in its database.
The app is user-friendly and easy to use, with users simply taking a picture of the plant, waiting for the app to process it, and then selecting which photo best matches the plant. It also allows nature lovers to also learn more about specific plants from Wikipedia or other online sources.
9. PeakFinder
(available on iOS and Android)
PeakFinder is an app that helps you identify mountains and other peaks worldwide. The app uses your phone’s camera to display a topographical map of your surroundings with peaks labeled in purple. To use PeakFinder, open the app, point your phone toward where you’d like to look, and let it do its magic.
This nature app is not free and does require a purchase, but for $4.99 in the Google Play store, it’s still highly affordable. If you’re looking at something close-up, then it will zoom in on just that spot while still labeling all nearby mountain ranges as well. You can also select a specific peak and get more information about it, including what country it’s in, how tall it is, which direction it faces, and even some historical trivia about past explorers who have climbed there.
10. FishAngler
(available on iOS and Android)
FishAngler is a free app that helps nature anglers keep track of their fishing trips and record catches. The app can be used to record fish species, length, and weight. The user interface of FishTrack is simple yet comprehensive. It allows users to record their location (using GPS), add photos or videos, upload photos from your gallery, setting up locations for future trips, or accessing your previous catches in order to add more details about them (including images). You can also share your catch with others via email or Facebook Messenger if you wish.
11. Rock Identifier: Stone ID
(available on iOS and Android)
Nature lovers and explorers often come across many different types of rocks in their explorations. With the Rock Identifer: Stone ID, users can take pictures and upload the rocks they discover and identify them. The app includes information about the rock, including physical properties and chemical components. It also allows users to organize their rock collection and even spot real and fake gems.
12. NASA Visualization Explorer
(available on iOS and Android)
For the celestial space aficionados out there, the NASA Visualization Explorer app is like your own personal planetarium. You can see where the sun, moon, and planets are positioned in the sky and what they look like at any given time. The app also displays stars’ locations in the sky so you can identify constellations with ease. This app is great if you want to learn more about astronomy or enhance your knowledge of celestial bodies.
13. Shroomify
(available on iOS and Android)
Shroomify is a fun and helpful app that helps you identify mushrooms and identify them within this area. To use the app, simply take a picture of the mushroom and it will give you the name and description of that mushroom.
There are hundreds of species of mushrooms with different appearances, smells, and tastes to each species. This app on your phone can help nature lovers and mushroom hunters identify an edible mushroom when they see it.
14. Sunrise Sunset
(available on Android)
Sunrise Sunset is a free app that allows you to see the sunrise and sunset times for any location. The app will even show you when civil twilight begins and ends, as well as nautical twilight. You can also see moonrise, moonset, and solar noon times.
Hopefully, this list has given you some helpful apps to use this summer. But don’t stop there! There are plenty more nature-related apps out there that could help you enjoy the outdoors even more than ever before.
Summer is always an excellent time for exploring the outdoors. With all of these apps combined, nature lovers are guaranteed a summer filled with fun and discovering the outdoors. Whether your plant lover or a star gazer, there is a nature app out there that can make your summer insightful and enchanting to explore the nature around you and beyond.
15. The National Park Service App
The National Park Service App is the official app for all 420+ national parks. Find interactive maps, tours of park places, on-the-ground accessibility information, and more. The app was created by National Park Service staff—people who know national parks—to help you make the most of your visit. With all of these parks and a brand new app, it will take some time to finish creating content for each park.
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