Strava has ventured into hiking and is adding a batch of new features. What can it do in the field?

Strava is usually the domain of runners and cyclists. But now it has extended its hand to hikers, adding a set of features designed to make planning and tracking a hike a full-fledged experience – a large part of these, however, require a paid subscription.

What Strava is preparing for maps

The most visible change is improved map data. The app will now more clearly distinguish road surfaces and add points of interest such as trailheads, picnic spots, or campsites, so you can orient yourself at a glance even in a dense network of paths. However, you’ll have to wait for the improved maps – the manufacturer plans to deploy them on both iOS and Android later in the summer of 2026, and they will remain exclusive to subscribers.

Navigation that keeps you on track

The second package focuses on the journey itself. The app can notify you when you deviate from your planned route, so you know about a wrong turn before you walk an extra kilometer. A planned route can be saved with a few taps and kept readily available, or downloaded offline for areas without signal.

Routes also automatically synchronize to smartwatches like Garmin, Apple Watch, and Coros, and you can navigate on Apple Watch even without your phone in your pocket. During recording, a full-screen map with a single tap and a live elevation profile will help you pace yourself uphill.

Sharing your trip: 3D map and route playback

The third part targets the social feed. A completed trip will appear in the feed as a 3D landscape with real elevation, or as an animated playback of the route from start to finish. You can share statistics on distance, elevation, and time using ready-made stickers, and hiking enthusiasts can find their people in hiking clubs with shared routes and leaderboards. For an impressive finish, there’s Flyover – a cinematic 3D flyover of the completed route rendered from real elevation data.

Strava has ventured into hiking and is adding a batch of new features. What can it do in the field? Adam Kurfürst News Adam Kurfürst News

What you get for free

It’s good to stay grounded here: the vast majority of the listed features, including off-route alerts, offline routes, or animated playbacks, are part of a paid subscription. Moreover, some of these features were already known to subscribers, and the app has now simply grouped them under the hiking umbrella. Thus, mainly the actual recording of a hike remains free – those who want full planning and navigation will opt for the paid version.

Are Strava’s new hiking features appealing to you, or do you prefer to go on hikes without an app in your pocket?

Sources: Strava, GSMArena