Free App Guides Vermont Trail Users Live

Hikers, bikers, skiers, and horseback riders can navigate every state trail and reach 911 from one phone app.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Hiking

Flat gouache-painted editorial illustration of a winding forest footpath through birch and spruce toward a distant ridgeline, with one orange position marker. — TrailEyes, a free phone app, now lets Vermont hikers, bikers, skiers, and riders navigate every state trail in real time and reach 911. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Would you trust a phone app to help you navigate and call for help on hikes?

TrailEyes, a free app, now lets users navigate trails on their phones in real time across every trail in Vermont, including hiking, biking, skiing, and horseback riding routes. The app debuted at the Vermont Conference on Trails, Parks, and Recreation, and it is available to outdoor users throughout the state.

Why it matters

For hikers, the app adds real-time navigation and a direct route to emergency services like 911 within the same tool, which can matter when cell coverage is patchy or a trip goes wrong. Because towns can choose to post announcements and add water stations, bathrooms, and mile markers at no cost, trail users may get more current information about the places they plan to visit.

This is a product launch announcement describing the app's features rather than a study, so no independent testing, sample size, or measured outcomes were reported. The stated coverage of every Vermont trail type is the developer's own claim at launch.

The players

TrailEyes

A free trail navigation app that provides real-time route guidance and emergency calling tools for hikers, bikers, skiers, and horseback riders in Vermont.

Vermont Conference on Trails, Parks, and Recreation

A statewide gathering where outdoor recreation managers, trail groups, and park officials share trail development and maintenance practices.

The details

TrailEyes works on a phone and shows a user's position on mapped trails and walking paths in real time, so a hiker can follow a route as they move along it. Users can pin their location within the app and use it to contact emergency services such as 911. Towns and municipalities may partner with the developers to post information and announcements, and they can add water stations, bathrooms, and mile markers to the app free of charge.

- The app's official debut took place at the Vermont Conference on Trails, Parks, and Recreation, with launch coverage dated November 2, 2026.

Health Landscape

Trail-based recreation is a major route to physical activity for Vermonters, and tools that help people find their way and summon help are part of the broader effort to make outdoor exercise safer. TrailEyes places a navigation and emergency layer on top of trail networks that were previously mapped mainly through static resources.

If you hike, bike, or ski Vermont trails, the app gives you a way to follow your route and reach emergency services from one place, which is worth keeping on your phone before heading out. Trail users who rely on water stations, restrooms, or mile markers may find these details more current if local towns choose to post them.

The takeaway

Download a navigation app before a trip and confirm it works offline and shows your location, since cell service can drop on remote trails. If you have a health condition that affects your ability to exert yourself outdoors, talk with your physician before planning a longer route.