no on-trail experience so far, but my thoughts on planning. For context, I'm doing my annual trip to SW CO which is mostly for scenic purposes, and we end up camping in 3 different places in 3 nights, but a patchwork of jurisdictions and private mining claims requires advanced planning to avoid ending up hours from a campsite when it's time to call it a day. Most of the trails are on the easier end but most of the group is driving less capable vehicles so I need to be mindful of not getting anybody in over their heads, but also not bore us all to death with hours of dusty washboard freeways.
TL;DR:
TrailsOffroad is a fantastic resource for understanding everything a trail consists of, with waypoint-by-waypoint descriptions of primitive campsites, obstacles, scenery, etc as well as detailed info on management agency, expected time to complete, tips for enjoying your trip, seasonal open/close dates, etc., but it's not that great for mapping/route planning multiple trails at a time. It'll let you follow a trail that you're on, and it does offer file exports for you to import into actual mapping softwares.
COTREX is a mapping and route planning resource that shows every possible road you can take in an area based on the type of vehicle you're using (or not using), and all the "official" data for it, but lacks descriptions or any detailed data on difficulty, scenic value, etc. It's a Colorado state project, so only works in Colorado. It's like a USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map updated for 2023 and including state and other federal management agencies than the Forest Service.
OnX Offroad is like a combination of the two, but it doesn't do either job quite as well. It lacks the detailed official data that you can find on COTREX or a USFS MVUM, and it doesn't detail obstacles, campsites, etc as thoroughly or as consistently as TrailsOffroad.
The details:
Since none of the options really do everything, I'm putting my laptops cooling fan to full use by using ALL of them. I have separate browser tabs open running OnX, TrailsOffroad, COTREX, and then I have Avenza Maps with MVUM's on my phone. All to plan ~3 full days of "overlanding".
1. Start with OnX or COTREX to see all possible roads/trails.
2. Check TrailsOffroad to find technical and scenic values, camping opportunities, etc. Go back to OnX or COTREX to save tracks and interesting waypoints.
3. If not on TrailsOffroad, COTREX will tell me if it's BLM or what USFS Ranger district it's in, and if it's USFS I can check camping legality on MVUM. OnX won't.
4. Go back to OnX or COTREX and zoom in on aerial view to find and mark possible campsites.
5. Use OnX or COTREX to piece together a days worth of trails, waypoints, and that nights campsite.
6. share with the rest of the group (who don't need a paid subscription for COTREX but would for OnX)
All in all, since I'm planning the trip in Colorado, OnX could be completely substituted here by COTREX and I wouldn't miss anything that was worth the subscription fee. Outside Colorado though, there is no COTREX and I would need OnX to do what I'm doing, and either way would still also need TrailsOffroad.
Point for OnX (maybe?): I have spotted a couple of instances where TrailsOffroad specifically marked previously used campsites with improvised stone fire rings as possible campsites, but appear to be on private land when I go to mark them on OnX. COTREX has no indication either way but the MVUM seems to agree with OnX.
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Point for TrailsOffroad: I also found an instance where OnX and COTREX both show a road continuing but TrailsOffroad describes a major washout with a photo that shows it clearly impassable by most vehicles. (red waypoints on OnX are mine, the washout is waypoint 3 on the TO screenshot)
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OnX
Pros
I like the interface, the hybrid aerial/topo view. I like the process of creating and saving routes and wavepoints. I like that it's obvious whether land is public or not by showing the top level management agency such as BLM, the name of the national forest, etc. It does mark more points of interest than COTREX, so the names of mountains, mines, etc in the area are right there on the map.
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Cons
I don't like that it seems curated by the public, so there's not consistency in what data is available from one road to the next, and having been burned by resources that do things this way in the past (such as AllTrails, what garbage) it makes it hard to take things at face value and I want to verify everything with other sources, which brings my attention to the fact that the roads are labeled only by their colloquial names, so I can't get a USFS or county road for it. I don't like that it doesn't give me the management agency down to the local (Ranger District) level. Has no data on whether dispersed camping is allowed on a given trail. Has some descriptions and photos which COTREX lacks, but nothing close to TrailsOffroad.
Trailsoffroad
Pros
staff-curated, so there's consistency in the descriptions, data, and technical ratings with and without taking bypasses. Plenty of photos so you know what you're getting from both scenery and technicality. It tells you the management district, the official name/number of the road, current status, estimated time to complete, and even suggests a best direction for through-trails. Every trail description tells you whether there's camping available and where. It's probably the single best resource in existence for planning a trip from far away when details matter.
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Cons
No apparent means of creating custom routes, waypoints, etc.
COTREX
Pros
Similar route/waypoint planning capability as OnX, but government curated so it feels fairly trustworthy not to lead me onto a road that isn't legal. It combines all management agencies so pretty much everything is there including National Forest, county roads, etc and it tells me the management agency down to the ranger district.
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Cons
Limited data on what to expect from any particular trail. Very little technical difficulty info, no scenery info. Improved campsites are marked but no info on availability of primitive/dispersed camping. Can't create a new route in the web browser version, have to create it on the mobile app and then I can go back to the PC browser to add to and edit it.
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