AllTrails has launched Peak, a premium tier with AI-powered tools to enhance outdoor adventures. Robbie Hodges reports  

The popular outdoor navigation platform AllTrails has introduced a new top-tier membership called AllTrails Peak that features a number of AI-powered tools designed to take users’ outdoors adventures to the next level.

The development reflects a broader trend of tech companies leveraging AI to facilitate connection with the outdoors, demonstrated by TerraAI and Skip x Arc-teryx's MO-GO exo-skeleton trousers.  

Alltrails' three pre-existing membership levels remain intact. Base is its free offering, which provides access to over 450,000 trail maps globally, along with user reviews and standard GPS navigation. Plus is available through an annual subscription, offering all of the above plus access to offline maps, live location sharing, wrong-turn alerts and immersive 3D trail previews. The new Peak tier, also subscription-based, introduces a suite of powerful tools driven by AI and real-time environmental data. 

A key feature of the Peak plan is Custom Routes, which allows users to design bespoke hikes from scratch or modify existing trails according to their preferences. Whether shortening a route, reducing elevation gain or requesting more scenic views, users can rely on AllTrails’ smart-routing AI to make on-the-go adjustments.

Peak also sees the launch of Trail Conditions, a dynamic forecasting engine that analyses fifteen environmental factors, including temperature, precipitation, and snow depth, to help users anticipate conditions before they arrive. 

Drawing on more than ten million data points, the system also flags potential issues such as poor air quality and mosquito activity. In the near future, AllTrails plans to add terrain-specific insights, indicating whether surfaces are paved, gravelled, muddy or otherwise, offering even more informed decision-making for users on the move.

Community Heatmaps adds a social dimension to route planning by showing recent trail traffic levels – helping users choose whether to seek out popular routes or lesser-known alternatives. Based on aggregated, anonymised data from AllTrails' global user base, this feature offers a window into current trends and hidden gems.

Later this summer, Peak will also introduce Outdoor Lens, a nature-identification tool that uses a smartphone’s camera to recognise and log plants, trees and fungi in real time. Each identification is automatically saved within the app for users to return to later. AllTrails says the feature will expand to recognise additional natural elements in future updates.

According to AllTrails’ Chief Marketing Officer Carly Smith, the new membership is about helping people “have even better adventures” by bringing together user feedback, advanced technology, and playful discovery. Chief Product Officer Ivan Selin added that the plan incorporates the most frequently requested features from the AllTrails community and represents a major investment in the company’s ongoing mission to improve time spent outdoors.

AllTrails Peak was made available to all users in June as part of a phased rollout. With a price point of around US$80 or £70 annually, the new tier is positioned as an investment for trailgoers who want cutting-edge tools at their fingertips.