Welcome to the Help Page
This is a living document that will be updated regularly with new information and resources. Keep an eye out for new helpful links and guides related to the wonderful world of offroad trail adventures!
The Mainstream Nav Apps
Gaia GPS: Explore trails with detailed maps and navigation tools.
onX Offroad: Your go-to app for trail maps and offroad adventures.
Common Trail Terms on WWOT
These are the most common terms you will see across trail pages and list views.
- Uploader Rating: The submitter's 1-10 difficulty score for the route, used as a quick challenge snapshot.
- Length: Total trail distance in miles for the uploaded route line.
- Location Points: Number of recorded GPS points in the track. Higher counts usually mean more detail.
- Waypoints: Tagged points of interest along the route, like obstacles, camps, staging areas, or forks.
- Trail Start / Trail End: The route endpoints, each linked out to open directly in a map app.
- Min Elevation: Lowest elevation point on the route (feet above sea level).
- Peak Elevation: Highest elevation point on the route (feet above sea level).
- Total Ascent: Combined climbing gain across the full route, in feet. For example, if the route takes you up 500 feet in elevation, then back down 250 feet, then up another 400 feet, your total ascent would be 900 feet, regardless of starting or ending elevation.
- Total Descent: Combined descending loss across the full route, in feet. Same concept as Total Ascent.
- Gradient Bias: Whether the route trends more uphill or downhill overall based on elevation change distribution.
- Elevation Profile: Distance-versus-elevation chart that shows where the climbs, descents, and steeper sections are.
- Nearby Trails: Suggested trails ranked by distance from the current trail's approximate center point.
Helpful Links
Bureau of Land Management
Federal land access, closures, travel management details, and local public land information.
US Forest Service
Forest road conditions, seasonal restrictions, alerts, maps, and recreation guidance for national forests.
National Weather Service
Official forecasts, alerts, fire weather, and mountain or desert conditions before heading out.
InciWeb Wildfire Info
Active wildfire incidents, closures, and emergency updates that may affect route access.
What is a GPX File?
Learn about GPX files from The Hiking Guy - not directly offroad related, but it's a great guide on the basics of GPX files!
USGS Water Data
Gauge readings, streamflow history, and river data that can help with water crossing planning.
