The trip planner that goes where the signal dies.
Plan smarter, travel safer, come home with skills worth keeping. One app for paddling, hiking, camping, and fishing trips: a plan built around your skill gaps, GPS tracking that works with no signal, and skills modules from the course library. Premium adds offline satellite maps and the AI Coach. Built for people who actually go.
Join CWS. Upgrade when you’re ready.
- Join THE CAMPFIRE.Enter Skool and start with the community and free lessons.
- Explore the system.Open the Classroom, choose Hiker, Paddler, or Hunter, and try the free lessons.
- See the full library inside Skool.When you want the full library, Field Manual, Premium in the app, and weekly call, pricing and billing are handled there.
In short: CWS is a trip-planning tool for paddling, hiking, camping, and fishing trips. A guided intake builds a plan around your actual skill gaps for whatever you are doing, then backs it with GPS tracking and an emergency-contact check-in that work with no signal, weather, and USGS river gauges for paddlers. Premium adds the AI Coach, offline satellite maps, unlimited trips, and PDF trip reports. Premium is included with a Camping Wilderness Skills membership, or you can subscribe in the app. It runs as an app on iPhone and Android, and in the browser on any phone.
What makes it different
A plan built for you, not a generic checklist
Answer a guided set of questions about your route, group, gear, and experience, and CWS builds a personalized trip plan that flags your actual skill gaps before they become emergencies. Weather and gear, plus water level and shuttle logistics on paddling trips, all in one place.
Satellite maps, and GPS tracking that works with no signal
Track your route with waypoints and a live location dot, even with no cell service. With Premium, download satellite maps and region packs before you leave the driveway. Known hazards and put-in/take-out points are right on the map.
Weather and river gauges for the water you are on
A 7-day forecast for your exact coordinates, plus live USGS streamflow for paddlers where a gauge exists, shown with the age of the reading and set against that river's own history. It informs the call. It does not make it.
The AI Coach, the experienced friend in your pocket
Premium includes an outdoor assistant that knows your route, your gear notes, and the current conditions at your destination. Ask it about gear, water crossings, navigation, or contingencies, and get answers built for your specific trip.
Four trip types, each with its own plan
Paddling, hiking, camping, or fishing: CWS asks the right questions for what you are actually doing and builds the plan around that activity, not a generic outdoor-trip form.
Shuttle logistics, elevation profiles, and a night-lights map
On paddling trips, CWS estimates the drive between put-in and take-out and opens directions in one tap. On trips on foot, see elevation gain and loss for your route before you go. A night-lights map layer, built from NASA satellite imagery, gives a rough view of where light pollution is heavy and where it is dark.
What the Coach is not
It helps you plan. It does not make the call. It has not seen today’s water, it cannot hear the weather coming, and it will never know what your gut is telling you standing at the put-in. Check the gauge yourself. Leave a float plan with someone on shore. Turn back when the river says to. And if something goes wrong out there, it is not the thing you reach for. Call for help.
Everything in the app
Offline maps
Satellite maps and region packs you download before you go, with Premium.
GPS tracking
Route lines, waypoints, and a you-dot that works with no signal.
Live weather
A 7-day forecast for your exact coordinates.
USGS river gauges
Live streamflow (CFS), water level, and trend for paddlers, with the age of each reading.
Elevation profiles
Gain and loss charts for trips on foot, from USGS elevation data. Paddling trips show a river run profile instead.
Skill-gap trip plans
Personalized planning for paddling, hiking, camping, and fishing trips that knows what you still need to learn.
Shuttle logistics
On paddling trips, drive distance and time between put-in and take-out (a rough straight-line estimate when road routing is unavailable), and one tap to directions.
Gear checklists
Built for your trip type, with check-off as you pack.
GPX/KML import and export
Draw a GPX or KML route on the map, and export your recorded track as GPX or KML.
Hazards map
Known hazards layered directly on the map, not buried in a separate list.
Safety check-in
Name an emergency contact, tap I'm Back Safe when you are off the water, and they are alerted if you go overdue. Live location share is part of Premium.
Trip Reflection
A guided post-trip journal: what worked, what did not, conditions against the forecast, and the skills to build next.
Course certificates
A certificate for each full course you finish, with every module quiz passed and the capstone submitted. Anyone can verify it by link.
AI Coach (Premium)
Advice for your specific route, gear, and conditions, while you plan and on the trip.
Free vs paid
Free
- No account needed to look around: river and camp pages, Explore, weather, and the free lessons
- A free account adds 1 free trip per month and maps on screen
- GPS tracking and the I'm Back Safe check-in
Paid
- The AI Coach
- Unlimited saved trip plans
- Offline region packs and map downloads
- PDF trip reports to share
- Live location share, and the premium course modules
Privacy first: no ads, ever. Your location data is yours. We do not sell it, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
How to get the app
The app is free to install on iPhone and Android. Premium comes with a Camping Wilderness Skills membership (sign in with your membership email, or enter your access code under Billing) or by subscription inside the app. It also runs in the browser on any device.
Join THE CAMPFIRE, Premium includedFree to install. Premium comes with a Camping Wilderness Skills membership, or by subscription in the app.
App questions, answered
Can I rely on the AI Coach for safety decisions?
No. It helps you plan before you go. It has not seen today's water and it does not know your crew. Check the gauge yourself, leave a float plan, and make the go or no-go call with your own judgement. In an emergency, call for help, not the app.
What is the CWS app?
A trip-planning tool for paddling, hiking, camping, and fishing trips. A guided intake builds a plan around your actual skill gaps, then backs it with GPS tracking that works when the signal dies, weather, USGS river gauges for paddlers, and, with Premium, offline satellite maps and the AI Coach.
Does it work for more than paddling?
Yes. You can plan paddling, hiking, camping, and fishing trips. Each type gets its own guided questions, not a one-size-fits-all form.
How do I get it?
Download it free from the App Store or Google Play, or open it in your browser at app.campingwildernessskills.com. Premium comes with a Camping Wilderness Skills membership (sign in with your membership email, or enter your access code under Billing) or by subscription inside the app.
Does it work offline?
Yes. GPS tracking works without cell service, and with Premium you can download satellite maps and region packs for offline use.
Does it have river gauge data?
Yes, for paddlers. Where a USGS gauge exists, the app shows live streamflow (in CFS) and gauge trend, with the age of the reading, so you can check levels before launch day. On trips on foot, an elevation profile shows the terrain.
What is the AI Coach?
An outdoor assistant, included with Premium, that knows your route, gear notes, and current conditions, and answers questions built for your specific trip.
iPhone and Android?
Both. The iPhone app is on the App Store and the Android app is on Google Play, and CWS also runs in the browser on any device. No ads, and your location data is never sold.
Plan your next trip like you mean it.
One membership covers Premium in the app, the course library, the Field Manual and the weekly call.
Join THE CAMPFIRENot ready to join yet?
Get the field notes. Water levels, what is running, and what we learned the hard way, a few times a month, straight from the river. No course, no pitch, and you can leave any time.