Feature tour

Offline Maps and Trip Sync on iOS

Updated July 18, 20262 min readRidgeSync team

Printed BLM wilderness map for offline navigation
Photo: BLM Oregon & Washington / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

The RidgeSync iOS app is built offline-first: download map tile packs for your trip area before you leave, and your full plan, route line, camps, markers, day notes, and food list, works with airplane mode on and zero bars.

Planning happens where planning is good (a big screen, the night before), and execution happens where execution is good (your pocket, on the trail). The same trip document syncs between both.

Local-first by design

Trips are stored on the device and synced to the cloud when you have signal, not the other way around. Opening your trip at a trailhead with no service is instant, because nothing needs the network.

Edits made in the field, a moved camp, a note about a dry water source, sync back automatically when coverage returns.

Map tiles for your trip area

Download tile packs covering your route before departure. Terrain and trail detail stay available at full zoom in the backcountry, where every other map app becomes a gray grid.

The same plan, both surfaces

The web planner and the iOS app share one trip format and one account. There is no export step, no file emailed to yourself, no version two of the plan. What you planned Sunday night is what's in your hand Monday morning.

Why this matters on multi-day trips

Cell service drops out on most multi-day routes. If your map, camps, and food plan only work online, you are stuck rewriting the trip on paper once signal dies.

Download tile packs before you leave pavement so the same route, camps, notes, and food plan stay available offline. Treat that download as part of the packing checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Does RidgeSync work with no cell service?

Yes. With tile packs downloaded, the iOS app shows your maps, route, camps, notes, and food plan fully offline. Sync resumes automatically when you regain signal.

Do I have to export my plan to my phone?

No. Trips sync automatically between the web planner and the iOS app on the same account. Plan on the laptop, open the phone, it's there.

Is there an Android app?

iOS is first. The planner works in any mobile browser in the meantime, and the trip format is shared, so an Android app can ride the same sync.

Keep planning

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