Your whole trail network on one map
No more piecing your network together from old maps, screenshots and whatever your volunteers remember. Sentinel brings every trail, task and structure onto one interactive map — at the office on the web, in the field on the phone.
What is network mapping in Sentinel?
Mapping is the layout of your trails: their geometry, name, difficulty and the activities they allow, imported from your GPX, KML, KMZ or shapefile files. It's the backbone of everything else — tasks, structures and conditions all attach to a trail.
- Replaces
- Old paper maps, screenshots of maps, and GPX files scattered across several computers.
- Where it happens
- Network set up on the web, viewed on the phone in the woods, where trails, tasks and structures stay readable without cell coverage.
See it in action, in two minutes
Your trails, imported once, kept up to date
You import your tracks — GPX, KML, KMZ or shapefile — and each trail gets its name, difficulty, activities and visibility. When a track changes, you import the new file: the tasks attached to the trail stay in place.
- Public trails, visible to visitors, or private ones, for members only
- Activity, difficulty and visibility can be edited in bulk across several trails
- Trails, tasks and structures on the same base map
A colour and a symbol, everywhere in the app
Seven levels come built in, and you add your own. The difficulty's colour and symbol follow the trail on the map and in lists, on the web as on the phone.
- Custom levels, with their own name, colour and symbol
- Each trail's line takes the colour of its difficulty
- Included in the Community and Pro plans
One activity at a time, each with its own network
Mountain biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing: each activity has its trails, task types and condition boards. Switching activity switches what you see, on the web as on the phone.
- Thirteen activities, from mountain biking to ATV
- A member can be restricted to certain activities
- Trails, task types and conditions specific to each activity
Every problem recorded exactly where it is
On the phone, the Field screen shows your trails on a real map, with your position. A task created on the spot takes the GPS position and attaches to the nearest trail. In follow mode, the app scans the surroundings and shows you nearby tasks and the trail you're on.
- GPS position captured at creation, adjustable before saving
- Follow mode picks up nearby tasks as you walk or ride
- Trails, tasks and structures readable offline; the base map isn't downloaded in advance
Frequently asked questions
Can I map an entire trail network in one tool?
Yes. Sentinel shows your whole network on one interactive map, with every task and structure geolocated. The map works on web, iOS and Android; in the field, trails, tasks and structures stay viewable offline, but the base map isn't downloaded in advance.
What should a trail organization look for in trail mapping software?
A map of the full network, geolocation of tasks and structures, an offline mode for the field, and exportable reports for partners and grants. Sentinel brings these together in a single web and mobile platform.
Can I import existing trail data?
Yes. Sentinel imports your tracks as GPX, KML, KMZ or shapefile (ZIP). The other way round, the Excel task export gives their coordinates, ready for a GIS or a report.
Does Trail Sentinel handle ATV and snowmobile trails?
Yes. ATV (quad) and snowmobile are two of Trail Sentinel's thirteen activities, alongside mountain bike, hiking and cross-country skiing. A motorized club tracks its ruts, culverts, drainage and signage the same way a bike club tracks its trails — on the same map, with the same field app that works without coverage. Off-highway vehicle (OHV) networks are managed the same way.
Can I manage a summer network and a winter network in the same account?
Yes, and that is the normal setup. Each activity is a watertight partition: its trails, tasks, structures, types and condition board belong to it alone. A club that maintains bike trails in summer and snowmobile trails in winter switches on both activities and moves between them — the summer map never shows the winter routes, and the analytics never mix the two seasons.
How it's done, step by step
The documentation articles covering this feature, written for the person who uses it.
- 01Import your GPX tracks, sort them by activity and difficulty. Almost everything else in Sentinel hangs off them.W
- 02Biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, ATV, snowmobile — each activity has its own trails, tasks and types. Here's how to turn them on and switch between them.WM
- 03Difficulty levels give trails their symbol and their colour on every map. Here's how to set them, reorder them, and what deleting one breaks.WM
The craft behind the tool
Guides from our blog on the work itself, built on agency and federation manuals.
Trail management: a practical guide for clubs and parks
Describing each trail, designing for water, inspecting, deciding what to fix first, funding the work and writing it into a plan. What the US Forest Service, IMBA Canada, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Québec and Swiss hiking federations recommend.
8 min · 14 sources
8 min
14 sources
Trail signage: types, placement and keeping an inventory
What the US Forest Service, Trans Canada Trail, Vélo Québec and the French hiking federation say about trail signs and blazes: where to put them, how high, how long they last, and how to keep track of them.
8 min · 11 sources
8 min
11 sources
See your network as it actually is
One interactive map that holds your trails, your tasks and your structures — at the office and in the field, with or without signal.