problem.

Planning a hiking trip often meant bouncing between multiple websites to find basic trail details, reviews, maps, or accessibility info. As someone living in Memphis, TN, where nature is limited, I found this process time-consuming and frustrating. There wasn’t one central tool that helped filter hikes by personal needs like difficulty level, accessibility, or features such as waterfalls or restrooms. I created Outdoor Access as a passion project to solve this: an app to make discovering outdoor adventures more efficient.

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Note: I wasn’t aware of AllTrails when I designed this in 2019 (Memphis lives under a rock in the nature world). It turns out that great minds think alike! I’m glad I created this prototype from scratch, but even more glad that this app actually exists.

audience.

Outdoor Access was designed for a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts, from casual weekend hikers to serious adventurers. Special consideration was given to people with specific preferences or restrictions, such as the need for wheelchair-friendly paths, kid-safe trails, or pet friendly. Whether you're traveling, road-tripping, or just looking to explore locally, the goal was to reduce the effort of planning and give users confidence in their choices before heading out.

process.

To kick off the project, I conducted informal user research on my college campus to understand what people look for when choosing a trail, and what they wished they’d known before hiking. Insights from these surveys directly informed key features like the filtering system, accessibility tags, and trail overviews.

I created wireframes and a clickable prototype in Figma. This was my first time using the tool, and I learned through trial and error how to structure user flows, organize visual hierarchy, and create designs. While this app never went into development, the prototype reflected a fully thought-out user experience from discovery to planning.

solution and impact.

Outdoor Access offers a simplified trail discovery experience through a clean, modern UI and intuitive filtering tools. Users can search by difficulty, features (ex: waterfalls, caves, beaches), and preferences (ex: dog-friendly, wheelchair-accessible). Each trail profile includes:

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• Trail difficulty, elevation, distance, rating

• A detailed overview and tagged features

• Directions, downloadable maps

• "Know Before You Go" essentials

• Nearby restaurants, campgrounds, events, contact info, and user reviews
   

Creating this app taught me how much thought goes into building even the simplest user experience. If I revisited this project today, I’d borrow smart features from AllTrails like offline trail maps and live trail logging. I would also add more preferences pulled from real user trail reviews to continuously improve filters and search accuracy.

services: figma app prototype