Autumn has arrived and you have two options for appreciating it: You can spend 99 cents on an iPhone app that plays a video of falling leaves or you can use following travel apps to plan an impromptu fall getaway. We recommend the latter.
If it’s fall foliage you’re after, start with Park Maps (99 cents). The navigation app doesn’t stop at offering offline maps for more than 250 national parks, monuments and recreational areas, it also shows how they’re all connected so you don’t have to settle for just one.
Snag Rest Area (99 cents) before you hit the highway. The app reads your location (you can type it in if you don’t have Internet) and tells you were the nearest rest stops are on your route. It’s a lifesaver when you need to go on the go, and I promise you will enjoy the scenery more.
Campwhere ($3.99) is for those who wouldn’t mind enjoying a final chance at sleeping outdoors before winter hits. This app comes with information on some 7,500 campgrounds, including directions, weather and altitude of the sites. Then use Tree ID to identify trees by name and characteristics as you ooh and aah at the surrounding landscape. The app is also $3.99, a little pricier than other field guides, but with real pictures of every tree in North America you won’t miss the extra couple bucks—other apps like Trees (99 cents) do the same thing, but use illustrations.
Or take your trip up wine country just in time for late harvest. Winery Quest ($4.99) is a must have for any California road-trip. The app helps you find wine tastings across the state by letting you search regions for up-to-date information on about 130 vetted wineries. But why limit your trip to just California? For only 99 cents, Wine Trip offers information on more than 1,900 wineries in California, Oregon and Washington, though it doesn’t give as much detail.
As the weather cools down, New York City heats back up with local buzz returning from its summer evacuation. There are dozens of iPhone apps to help you get around The Big Apple, like the New York 2Go travel guide with offline access to interactive maps, city history and entertainment recommendations for only 99 cents.
But one New York app you can’t do without this fall is Central Park NYC – Classic. Great for planning your walk through the place where this city’s energy and autumn beauty collide, the app will let you search for attractions within the park and provides historical information about them via Wikipedia. It can also calculate your current location, just in case you get lost roaming through those north woods. It’s a little pricey at $2.99, but after all, this is New York.