This post was updated in June 2023.
Travel-wise, I’ve been on a bit of a National Parks kick. It started last fall with a long wished-for trip to Banff.
Thanks to Covid, National Parks have become a particularly great option in 2020. Accessible via private vehicle? Check. Socially distanced? Check. Affordable? Yes.
I learned about GuideAlong (formerly known as Gypsy Guide) in the Google Play store while planning my trip to Banff. They have a great marketing campaign there – you can download the drive from Calgary to Banff for free. I enjoyed the tour and the ease of the app, so I decided to pay(!) and download the whole Banff experience.
A few things about GuideAlong
GuideAlong is basically “like having a tour guide in your car.” You can download if on WiFi ahead of time. Since it uses GPS, it won’t use your data (especially important when in another country like Canada) and it won’t matter if you don’t have a cell signal.
Here’s my bias: I love a guided tour. GuideAlong delivers that experience on your own schedule. You dictate your route. Although the guide may have a suggestion here and there, you’re the one behind the wheel. His humorous tone and a soothing voice that doesn’t hurt, either. I have no doubt that if you download GuideAlong, you’ll give the guide a witty and debonair nickname.
Now that social distancing is all the rage, this app is extra perfect for privatizing the tour experience.
While GuideAlong isn’t free, one great thing about it is that you can add it to your library to share with your family and friends. Their customer service is stellar and they even helped me get a promo code to gift it to someone with an iPhone (I have an Android) since Apple and Google’s stores are not compatible with each other.
Banff
Banff is laid out in a very straightforward manner, so I was able to rely solely on the GuideAlong for direction. It told me which exits to use to leave the main highway and visit various attractions.
It also directed me to the Banff sign, which I honestly wouldn’t have even known about without GuideAlong. And I got a pretty cool picture with it!
GuideAlong’s commentary gave some nice insights into things I know I would have driven right past and not realized otherwise. One example is the bear bridges on the main highway. It really showed me how much Canada’s National Parks Service cares about the wellbeing of the wildlife and want to enable tourists and wildlife to coexist without bothering each other.
One particularly memorable story is that of Skoki the bear, who ended up at the Calgary Zoo. Tourists gave Skoki food scraps, so he stopped being afraid of people and walked into a bakery. Which, of course, freaked everyone out. It’s a cautionary tale that I still remember today.
Another special moment that wouldn’t have happened without GuideAlong was when it guided us down a road that was slightly off the beaten path. We were able to see some elk at dusk. It really made our trip special.
Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons
I had no idea how to plan a trip to Yellowstone! I was super afraid of not doing it right and missing out on something. So I combined GuideAlong with another from a former park ranger and considered our trip idiotproofed.
I can say pretty confidently that GuideAlong itself was sufficient. It even had some tidbits and insights that the other guide was missing. I’m not sure how often it’s updated, so the guide was good at providing some information such as the fact that Tower Road was closed (this was 2020-2022).
All in all, GuideAlong’s coverage of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons had me imagining myself in the days of Lewis and Clark. Lewis and Clark are two boring dudes you may have heard mentioned in your fourth-grade social studies class. GuideAlong brought their journey to life and made them seem less like boring dudes and more like total badasses by including historical snippets about the spots you happen to be driving by.
The guide covered so much on this trip. There were stories about the history of the wildlife in Yellowstone, how it was founded, background info on the Rockefellers their heavy push for Yellowstone’s development, and some geological information on why we were seeing various landscapes.
In Grand Teton, the guide even recommended a popular pizza spot at the Marina which was sadly closed due to Covid. He said he doesn’t give food recommendations often, so I have to believe this was some pretty damn good pizza.
The guide also mentioned that the Jackson Lake Lodge keeps a log with wildlife spottings. They were closed due to Covid, but these helpful tips and pointers upped my trust that Gypsy Guide a similar all-inclusive experience to a human guide.
I really recommend GuideAlong and am happy I’ve used them on two trips so far. It may feel like a bit of an obstacle to pay upfront, but the convenience you’ll gain from the app definitely outweighs this by the end of the trip. I’m also pretty sure they’ll refund you if you have technical issues or just don’t like the app.
What’s next
I’m lucky to live driving distance from Big Sur and Yosemite, which GuideAlong has tours for. I’d love to check out their tours for Utah and Hawaii in the near future — also states that are chock full of National Parks.
Do you have any plans to visit the National Parks this year?
Featured photo by Martin Kallur (IG: @mkallur) on Unsplash
Leave a Reply