Open the Explore tab to browse all Boulder OSMP dog-friendly trails. Use the search bar to find trails by name, or tap "Near Me" to sort by distance from your current location. You can also filter by dog regulation using the colored chips at the top.
On the Explore tab, tap the colored regulation chips to filter trails:
| Green | Voice & Sight — dogs may be off-leash under voice and sight control |
| Yellow | Leash Required — dogs must be on a leash at all times |
| Orange | Regulation Varies — rules change by season or section |
| Red | No Dogs — dogs are not permitted on this trail |
Voice and Sight (sometimes called "Voice and Sight Tag") means your dog may be off-leash, but must remain within your sight at all times and must come to you immediately when called. You must carry a leash and be ready to leash your dog if needed. This is a Boulder OSMP-specific regulation.
Go to the Plan tab and describe what you're looking for in plain language — for example, "2 hour green trail loop near me" or "easy off-leash hike under 3 miles." The planner uses your trail database to find the best matching route with distance, elevation, and time estimates.
Yes! Include "loop" in your query (e.g., "3 mile loop") and the planner will search for circular routes that return to the starting trailhead. If no loop is available, it will suggest an out-and-back route instead.
Hike times use Naismith's rule: a base pace of 2.5 mph plus 30 minutes for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain. This provides a moderate-pace estimate — your actual time may be faster or slower depending on fitness, terrain, and conditions.
Select a trail from Explore, tap the trail detail page, then tap "Start Hike." This opens the Track tab with your planned route. The app uses GPS to show your real-time position, distance covered, elevation, pace, and progress along each trail segment.
On iPhone, Trail Paws shows your hike stats on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island while tracking. You can see distance, time, and pace at a glance without unlocking your phone. This feature requires iOS 18 or later.
Go to Profile → Route Recording → "Start Recording." Walk your route and the app records GPS points as you go. When finished, tap "Stop Recording" to save it with a name. Recorded routes can be replayed later on the Track tab.
Yes. GPS tracking works entirely on your device with no internet connection required. Trail data is bundled with the app, so all features work offline.
All your data — hike history, recorded routes, favorites, and preferences — is stored locally on your device. Nothing is sent to any server. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
Yes! Trail Paws is designed to work offline. Trail data is bundled with the app and GPS tracking doesn't require internet. The only network request is an optional trail data refresh from Boulder OSMP's public API.
Go to Profile → Trail Data and tap the refresh button. This downloads the latest trail segment and regulation data from Boulder OSMP's public API. An internet connection is required for this step only.
You can delete individual hikes, recorded routes, and favorites within the app. To remove all data, uninstalling the app clears everything. There is no cloud data to worry about.