AllTrails Has a New Interactive Hiking Tool That Helps You Avoid Hazards-What to Know

"The outdoor hiking app AllTrails recently released a new feature called Outdoor Lens, which uses artificial intelligence to identify and spot a hiker's surroundings. The feature, which rolled out last month, boasts a database of more than 50,000 plants and insects. The lens can even identify different fungi in a variety of locations. Outdoor Lens is exclusive to AllTrails' paid-membership tier, called Peak, which costs $79.99 per year."

""Users can log their discoveries with photos, locations, and timestamps, turning every hike into an interactive adventure," a spokesperson for AllTrails said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. To use the new feature, hikers simply take a photo within the AllTrails app. Once the image is captured, a "leafing through data" message appears on the screen. After about 10 seconds, the app reveals the result."

"T+L tested the feature, and the service quickly and correctly identified a snake plant along with its scientific name, dracaena trifasciata. The app also provided a probability score for the image, which in the case of our test was a 97% confidence rate. The images are then stored in a logbook-a virtual scrapbook of sorts-along with information like altitude and location."

"The feature is a fun way to collect images along a trail, but may also be helpful in identifying potentially toxic or dangerous plants. Hikers could use the Outdoor Lens tool to capture potential interactions with poison ivy or poison oak, for example, or even dangerous insects. The logbook feature can also be helpful in recording anything suspicious that may need to be monitored."

AllTrails introduced Outdoor Lens, an AI-powered identification feature capable of recognizing more than 50,000 plants, insects, and fungi. The feature is available exclusively to Peak paid members at $79.99 per year. Hikers take photos within the app and receive identification results in roughly ten seconds, often accompanied by a confidence probability. Captured images are saved to a logbook with metadata such as altitude, location, and timestamps, and offline photos are analyzed once connectivity returns. The tool can aid in identifying toxic plants or hazardous insects and supports documenting findings for monitoring.

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