Take the Trail Less Traveled with These New Downloadable Maps

National parks are estimating a record-high number of visitors this year, so pack your backpack, lace up your hiking boots, and download one of TomTom's new guides to off-the-beaten-path trails in more than 17 of America’s national parks.

Remember TomTom, the little navigation bot you used to keep clipped on your dashboard? In an effort to adapt to the presence of smartphones and, ahem, Google Maps, TomTom has expanded their products to include fitness watches and bracelets as well as six fitness and navigation apps. But that's not why TomTom is back on our radar. They're now offering downloadable maps of less-traveled trails in national parks across the country.

TomTom has figured out the trails that, for whatever reason, continue to see lower traffic. Browse trails by location: Maps are available for parks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah.

Each trail description includes key information, like when to go and what you'll see, down to all the different flowers and trees you might observe along the way. Pass through a Pinyon and Juniper forest on your way to Exclamation Point overlooking the Black Canyon in Gunnison National Park, Colorado, or pick blackberries and raspberries along Forney Ridge Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains. The lesser-known trails can be even more picturesque than their more popular counterparts.

The downside: The maps are only available in .gpx (GPS Exchange) format, so you need to have an app that can import .gpx files, like Trails, or you need to have one of their devices, like the TomTom Spark 3 or the TomTom Adventurer.

THE TAKEAWAY

The maps are a great way to avoid the crowds and check out less-trafficked areas of many different national parks, but the maps aren't the easiest to access. If you have the spending power, though, TomTom's wearable tech pieces are worth the splurge. Wouldn't you rather be exploring hidden trails hands-free, anyway?

WHERE TO FIND IT

Maps are downloadable from the TomTom website.

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