Custom Hiking Routes and Elevation in iOS 18 Maps

Apple’s iOS 18 update significantly enhances the Maps app for outdoor enthusiasts by introducing custom walking and hiking route creation paired with detailed elevation profiling. This feature allows users to plot bespoke off-road paths, analyze terrain challenges through dynamic elevation markers and grade data, and save complete topographic routes directly to their devices for reliable offline navigation.

To create a custom route, open Apple Maps, search for a park or open space, and select the option to create a custom route. You can tap points along supported trails and pathways to set waypoints. Maps automatically snaps the line to recognized hiking paths and offers instant routing options, such as creating an "Out and Back" path, closing a "Loop," or establishing a point-to-point trail.

As you add waypoints, Maps dynamically generates an interactive elevation profile at the bottom of the screen. This feature tracks real-time elevation markers, showing:

• Total Elevation Gain and Loss: Clear numeric readouts indicate the cumulative climbing and descending required along the entire path.
• Peak and Trough Markers: The interface marks the highest and lowest geographic points of the trail, allowing hikers to identify summit reaches and valley floors easily.
• Interactive Mile-by-Mile Scrubbing: Dragging a finger across the elevation graph moves a corresponding marker along the map trail, pinpointing exactly where steep grades or climbs begin and end.
• Topographic Layering: High-resolution contour lines and trail terrain markers display alongside the elevation profile to visualize physical ground steepness.

Once a custom route is finalized, you can name it and save it to your Places library. Routes can be downloaded for offline use, preserving all elevation milestones and topographic map data. During the hike, the elevation markers synchronize with turn-by-turn guidance on both iPhone and Apple Watch, providing real-time alerts as you approach major ascents, descents, and waypoints without requiring cellular service.