When viewing trail maps on AllTrails, it can be difficult to understand the difference between the routes you see. Though we have a robust and custom-built 'AllTrails' map type, AllTrails is built around our curated trails, or what we consider verified routes. These are the thick green lines that you see on our trail pages. Our goal is that every trail on AllTrails has an accurate, hand-curated verified route. These verified routes are what our users are relying on for navigation when they use AllTrails.
When viewing any map on AllTrails, you'll also notice black and blue dashed lines in addition to our verified routes. This trail segment data represented on the map types is sourced from OpenStreetMap (OSM). OSM is a collaborative, wiki-style project to create the most detailed, up-to-date map of the globe. Though our team often utilizes these OSM segments to help curate our trails, AllTrails does not directly verify or approve these trail segments on the maps. You can read more about interpreting these segments, and other data on the AllTrails map type here.
These OSM segments can certainly be helpful when considering alternative route options, but AllTrails wants to emphasize that we've built our trail database around our verified routes. We encourage you to stay on the verified route unless you are confident that you are safely and legally allowed to be on these trail segments. Keep an eye out for and avoid segments labeled as PRIVATE — these segments are not open to the public, unless you've been explicitly invited on them by the land owners.
We strive to keep both our verified routes and other map data as up to date as possible, though we realize things change with time. Click here for information on how to update information about our verified routes or OSM segments. As always, please also feel free to reach out to us at support@alltrails.com with any questions or concerns. We're here to help!