Close your eyes and imagine a typical hiker. Do the words “rugged” and “Ford rugged build” come to mind? Are they wearing khaki shorts? Is there a tube attached to your CamelBak hanging out of your mouth?
As you might have guessed, that hiker is probably using the AllTrails app. In fact, almost everyone does. Even if you don't know what a camelback is or what the term “out and back” means. In the world of AllTrails, hikers of all skill levels are hikers.
Many of them find apps the same way.
“If you Google how to start hiking, AllTrails comes up a lot, and it's a free app,” said Jessica Wood, co-owner of French Custard ice cream shop in Kansas City, Missouri. We're like, “Let's download it and see what happens.” We never removed it. ”
Of course, this is by design. What started in 2010 as an idea backed by Seed Accelerator (Silicon Valley is the flagship incubator for his program) quickly became a behemoth that swallowed up many of its competitors. Three years later, AllTrails has raised nearly $4.5 million in funding for him. In 2018, the company raised $75 million, scuttling previous funding rounds.
But like many pandemic companies, the app, which has details for hundreds of thousands of hiking trails around the world, really gained popularity in the wake of COVID-19.
“Even before the pandemic, we were still seeing very high growth rates,” said Ron Schneiderman, AllTrails' chief executive officer who took over in 2019. (Mr. Cook retired in 2018). It recorded triple-digit growth during the lockdown. There was nothing else to do. ”
Wood, who describes herself as a “novice hiker with no experience,” used the AllTrail “almost every day” in the summer of 2022 while she and her husband, Alex, had headaches and waited for errands.
“It felt like I was taught how to hike by a professional hiker,” said another user, leaving details such as trail conditions and whether the area was safe for animals and children. , she said of frequently updated trail reviews. .
“My worst trait is that I read reviews very avidly,” said Eva Gee, a food writer and restaurant expert in Denver. “If you're planning a big hike, especially going overnight in an area you don't know or on a trail you've never hiked before, scroll down and read our trail reports from the past few weeks. ”
Gee, 41, often uses these reviews to decide what shoes to wear, whether the path is shaded enough to wear a hat, and to watch the poplar trees change color. He talks about deciding when is the best time to do so. While the wildflowers bloom.
“You can gather so much information,” she said.
Gabby Rumney, 28, a project coordinator at the National Grocers Association Foundation in Philadelphia, said she used the app before and after hiking all 3,193.1 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2021. “It's really important,” she added. )
“It was a good introduction to understanding trails, reading maps, and understanding the differences in terrain,” Rumney said.
She also prefers the app FarOut for more challenging thru-hikes like the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, but said AllTrails is much more accessible to a wide range of hikers.
“I think people often associate hiking with the idea that you have to be physically fit and have all the expensive equipment,” Rumney says. “Partly that's true because it makes things easier. But at the same time, you're walking, which should be accessible to all of us unless there are obstacles.”
At AllTrails headquarters in San Francisco, the word “accessibility” comes up frequently. “A lot of people came to us and were interested in the outdoors, but they didn't think of themselves as outdoor people,” said Carly Smith, who joined the company as chief marketing officer in 2021. “It was,” he says.
Smith arrives after achieving two major milestones at AllTrails. In January 2021, the company reached its 1 millionth paid subscription for AllTrails+. This allows users to download things like maps for offline access. (Trails Maps and the basics of the app's search functionality remain completely free.) And in November of that year, AllTrails announced he had secured $150 million in additional funding. did.
Under Smith's watch, AllTrails has become more sophisticated and more like a lifestyle. Where hikers once had the opportunity to “find their next favorite trail,” they are now invited to “find the outdoors.” The app allows users to see their stats for the year and track the time it takes to complete a hike using an interface not too different from fitness apps like Peloton or Strava.
AllTrails has been redesigned to appeal not only to your Gen Z cousins but also your hardcore outdoorsy uncles, fostering “community through comprehensive trail guides and outdoor exploration that everyone can enjoy.” It was named Apple's app of the year for 2023.
“In software development, there aren't a lot of award ceremonies,” Schneiderman said. “This feels like our Pulitzer Prize.”
And like other companies in the 21st century, AllTrails has focused on expanding its network of brand ambassadors and influencers. For example, during Black History Month, the company announced a clothing and accessory collaboration with three Black artists in support of the nonprofit organization Vibe Tribes Adventures. In March, AllTrails introduced products from her six female-led brands.
Evelynn Escobar, founder of the nonprofit Hike Clerb, said she recently contacted AllTrails about a possible partnership. She doesn't credit AllTrails with introducing her to the joy of hiking, but that credit goes to her aunt, who took her hiking in and around L.A. as a child. She said the app has become “the core of my outdoor lifestyle.” “We build hikes based on what we find there.”
So Mrs. Escobar offered an AllTrails+ subscription to each member of Hike Clerbe's first hiking guide class, primarily “Black, brown, indigenous women, and gender diverse people.” We've made it easier for you to plan your hikes accordingly.
“The outdoors is still a very homogeneous space,” Mrs. Escobar said, citing her first trips to Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. She “realized that in literal outdoor recreation centers, there were still only white people.”
But if AllTrails has its way, the national park system could soon be filled with a young and diverse user base. In March, the company announced the Public Lands Program, a partnership with land managers in 270 parks across the country. This gives us access to real-time data about trail activity and allows us to send AllTrails users real-time alerts about trail conditions. Participation in the program is free.
According to AllTrails, a 2023 pilot test at Olympic National Park in Washington saw a 66 percent decrease in search and rescue incidents on two of the park's most popular trails compared to the previous time; All trails saw a 62 percent reduction in such activity. Year.
Connecting park rangers directly with users may also help avoid negative publicity. For example, SFGate reported last fall that AllTrails was giving users directions to a dangerous tourist attraction on the Hawaiian island of Kauai that had been closed for more than a month. In response, the company asked users to “help us keep trail information accurate and up-to-date by suggesting edits or leaving reviews.”
AllTrails relies on users for advice on adding trails, as well as edits and alerts. The company's “Data Integrity” team conducts an investigation and then approves or rejects the proposal. “We're going to run everything through all layers of machine learning, computer vision, validation first, and then go through all levels of human curation first and foremost,” Schneiderman said, adding that outdoors is dangerous. I immediately admitted that. , by its very nature, tends to change.
“Once a trail is published on our site, it doesn't mean it's static, it just stays that way forever,” he added.
Just like the trail itself, hiking habits can change over time. Some believe he will eventually leave AllTrails and start venturing out on his own.
“If I were in your shoes as someone who has experienced beginner hiking through AllTrails, I would say it's definitely worth it,” says Ryan Tripp, 21, an environmental engineering student at Dartmouth College who grew up hiking. says. He lives near his home in Oakland, California and leads his own hiking trips.
“I don’t necessarily say turn off your cell phone, turn off everything and just go to the woods,” he continued. The benefits of being outside, such as a sense of self-sufficiency and independence.
“Technology will continue to make its way outdoors,” Tripp said, citing ongoing debate over whether to expand cell phone service and infrastructure in national parks.
But Schneiderman insists AllTrails is still on the outdoors side, even if users are looking at their phones rather than weather-beaten trail signs. He no longer sees his other apps as competitors, instead focusing on being an alternative to tech companies like Facebook and TikTok.
“Incredibly powerful and fortified companies are gathering the best talent out there, and they're designed to lock people behind a screen all day long,” he said. “And obviously we are the anti-metaverse.”
