Ultimate US Public Campground Project App is no longer

[rionapo]

An alternative to Ultimate Campground is Allstays. We added it to our camping search apps in 2018 and it is better than UC in some ways. Shows LP gas and commercial camping, for example. The Apple version is here.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by rionapo

Sad but part of the trend. GaiaGPS to Outside, others whose names I don’t recall but may lookup later. I’ve had many email conversations with the original developer, William Modesitt, over the years. He deserves our thanks for breaking new ground in the backcountry world and deserves whatever financial reward he receives for his products even though losing his camping app to Garmin hurts. Others are for sale as well. (See here.) Among them, Road Trip Planner will hopefully survive in some manner though it doesn’t appear in the App Store.

So far, GaiaGPS seems unchanged with its sale though it is now bundled with magazine subscription in addition to standalone sales in the App Store. An expensive bundle, too. Speaking of Outside, we can probably thank them for hyping #vanlife, which (along with covid) is a key reason for these acquisitions, I’m sure.

Lots of truth there, for sure.

[Kibo]

Bummer that it's being commercialized, but hopefully good for William! In addition to UC Public Campgrounds, I've found the iOverlander app surprisingly useful for finding places in unfamiliar areas. Just a thought: it's nice having multiple sources so that you're not always picking from the same collection as everyone else.

[PeteM]

Update - Ultimate Campgrounds data will apparently continue to be updated and available on the Garmin Tread application which is free on Apple iOS and Android. In addition the UC data is included on the Garmin Off-Road navigation devices Overlander and Tread.

The Ultimate Campgrounds site data was created and maintained by Ted Houghton while Bill Modesitt managed the iOS and Android software development. Bill has retired from software development and moved to Hawaii for retirement. Not sure if he sold his Sprinter. Ted continues some work with Garmin on the Ultimate Campgrounds dataset he provided and suggesting new features for their apps and devices.

I downloaded the Garmin Tread app for iPad and the Ultimate Campgrounds data does seem to be intact. Tread lacks the extensive filtering available on Bill's apps but Ted noted he's hopeful Garmin will implement such capabilities in the future.

Ultimate Campground's clean user interface always made it the most efficient trip and campground planning app I found. The extra social media features and graphics bloat of competing apps just seemed to slow things down. I'll miss that, and hope for enhancements in the Tread app, but a big thanks to Ted Houghton and Bill Modesitt for many years of great trip planning support!

[MarinBlaine]

I’ve been using my Ultimate campground legacy app during our 3-week Marin-to-San-Juans adventure and loving it! There have been some gem dispersed recommendations…so glad I still have the old app!

[rionapo]

Originally Posted by PeteM

Ultimate Campground's clean user interface always made it the most efficient trip and campground planning app I found. The extra social media features and graphics bloat of competing apps just seemed to slow things down. I'll miss that, and hope for enhancements in the Tread app, but a big thanks to Ted Houghton and Bill Modesitt for many years of great trip planning support!

Good news, I hope, and all my best to Ted and Bill. I’ve never met Ted but emailed with Bill many times and always appreciated his work and enthusiasm.

[RANT] I couldn’t agree more about the eye candy bloat. I downloaded Tread and found decreased search functionality, as you mentioned, and satellite view-style backgrounds. Color me grey and old-fashioned, I find the eye candy distracting. I much prefer topo lines with roads and trails. It’s the difference between color and black & white photography. I’m not above imagery if I want to see a picture but give me plain old USGS-style topos for information. For the heck of it, here’s a screen shot from Topo+, a newish entrant in the mapping world, who adds a bit more information to the elevation lines.



That communicates to me. (On the opposite end of the spectrum Onyx’s entry into hiking and skiing has so much clutter you can’t find where you’re going. I had to ask their help desk how to turn it off.)

Consider also the ski area maps of James Niehaus. While not a minimalist approach at all, they certainly communicate more than a satellite photo with lines overlain on it.

[/RANT]

[ctb]

Yep, Scotty is right on one of the developer's name, and Modesitt Software was his member name...i traded PM's last year with him and offered to buy him a steak dinner if he ever was heading through Iowa as thanks for the MANY times (EVERY roadtrip planning, searching, and especially "plan B" mode) we relied on that app....

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by PeteM

Update - Ultimate Campgrounds data ....

Thanks Pete! Good info.

[PeteM]

Originally Posted by MarinBlaine

I would be curious about the chain of events that resulted in the buyout, but ultimately good for the developer who hopefully made some money off the deal.

Ted did provide this explanation:

Bill and I both are glad to know that you found the app useful and we
certainly appreciate your support over the years.

It was not an easy decision to call it quits; there were a number of factors
involved: It was hard to compete with the glitzy websites and apps of the
"big boys", such as Campendium and The Dyrt, and both Bill and I were ready
to "retire". I was happy to find Garmin had an interest in taking over the
data, for it seemed a shame for it to just fade away.

Yes, the Tread app is pretty basic right now, but I've been working with
Garmin and providing suggestions for improving the app. As you mentioned,
the obvious one is to include some filters. I'm confident that given some
time they will make some enhancements to make the app more useful.

In the meantime, you can continue to use the app as long as you like, with
the understanding that some of the information, such as fees, will no longer
be updated. But there should be few changes in the dispersed locations.

Thanks again for taking the time to write us. The best to you on your future
camping adventures.

[Modesitt Software]

Hey guys, I just saw this thread. Thanks for the kind words on the Ultimate Campground app. I too was sorry to see it go, but Ted and I are at retirement age, Ted more so, and he wanted to simplify his life. Since Ted was the data guy, and it was the data that Garmin wanted, Ted is the one who hopefully profited with Garmin. I skipped that boat. Sold my Sprinter and moved back to the Big Island of Hawaii. I know it’s disappointing for an app to be killed off so abruptly, but the app should work for a long time. The only issue is the data getting outdated. If you did purchase the Ultimate Campground app, and would like a promo code for any of my other apps, let me know which app. That might ease the pain! Send an email to modesittsoftware@gmail.com. Thanks and happy camping! William Modesitt. My apps here