So, you want to hop on your bike and let your iPhone do the guiding. The big question is: does Apple Maps actually let you plan bike routes? Good news—yes, it does, but with a few things to keep in mind. Apple finally rolled out cycling directions, giving riders turn-by-turn instructions, alerts about hills, bike lanes, and even busy roads.
Before you get too excited, though, there’s a catch. Apple Maps’ bike routes aren’t everywhere. They’re expanding, but it’s available only in specific cities and regions. So, make sure you check if your area’s covered before counting on it for your next ride.
If you’ve never used the feature, it’s simple. Open up Apple Maps on your iPhone, punch in your destination, hit 'Directions,' and select the bike icon. The app will show you multiple options if they’re available—usually prioritizing safer paths, designated bike lanes, and quieter streets.
- Is Cycling Navigation Available on Apple Maps?
- Where Can You Use Bike Routes in Apple Maps?
- How to Use the Bike Route Feature
- Tips for Better Cycling with Apple Maps
- Limitations and What’s Missing
- Alternatives to Apple Maps for Cyclists
Is Cycling Navigation Available on Apple Maps?
Apple Maps finally brought cycling navigation to the table in September 2020 with the release of iOS 14. This wasn’t just tacked on—it offers real bike-specific directions, kind of like what Google Maps has had for a while. You aren’t just following car routes; Apple Maps can guide you along bike lanes, paths, or low-traffic roads. Plus, it’ll flag up steep hills and show where you might need to get off and walk your bike.
If you want to see what features you actually get, here’s what Apple Maps can do for cyclists:
- Turn-by-turn navigation tailored for bikes (spoken or on-screen)
- Reroutes to avoid stairs, busy roads, or steep hills
- Information about elevation changes on your route
- Route options prioritizing cycle paths and safe streets
- Highlights of bike-friendly and less-bike-friendly streets
- Integration with the Apple Watch for hands-free directions
Here’s a quick look at how Apple Maps stacks up with cycling navigation compared to the competition as of 2025:
| App | Bike Navigation Feature | Launch Year | City Coverage (Approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Maps | Bike-specific turn-by-turn | 2020 | 100+ |
| Google Maps | Bike-specific turn-by-turn | 2010 | Thousands |
| Komoot | Extensive cycling coverage | 2014 | Global (user-driven) |
It’s worth mentioning that the exact features you get can depend on your region. But if you’re in a supported city, you can punch in your destination, hit the biking icon, and get Apple Maps cycling guidance right away. If you travel a lot, double-check if the city you’re riding in is covered so you’re not caught off guard with missing features.
Where Can You Use Bike Routes in Apple Maps?
Not every place is lucky enough to have Apple Maps bike routes just yet. When Apple rolled out this feature, it started with big cities like San Francisco, New York, and London. Since then, they’ve slowly added more. But as of mid-2025, there’s still a long way to go before every cyclist can rely on it everywhere.
If you live in or travel to one of these cities, you’re in luck. Here are some places where you can actually use the Apple Maps bike routes feature:
- Major parts of the United States: San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Portland, and Washington D.C.
- Major cities in Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal.
- Select cities in Mainland China.
- UK and Ireland: London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Dublin.
- Some big cities in Germany, Australia, and Singapore.
It’s not just about cities. Some surrounding areas and suburbs are included too, but coverage fades out the farther you go from the city center. So if you’re plotting a route from one city to a rural spot, Apple Maps might stop giving you cycling directions part-way.
Check the table below to see a quick overview of supported areas as of May 2025:
| Country | Key Cities with Support |
|---|---|
| United States | NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Philly, DC, Portland |
| Canada | Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal |
| UK | London, Manchester, Birmingham |
| Ireland | Dublin |
| Germany | Berlin, Munich |
| Australia | Sydney, Melbourne |
| Singapore | Singapore City |
| China | Selected cities only |
If you’re not sure about coverage wherever you live or plan to bike, it pays to open Apple Maps and tap the bike icon to see if it’ll show you a route. Apple’s been expanding the list every few months, but smaller towns and whole countries are still waiting their turn. If you hit a dead end, you might want to check out other apps with wider bike route coverage for now.
How to Use the Bike Route Feature
Setting up Apple Maps bike routes is straightforward. If you’ve updated to iOS 14 or newer, you’re good to go as long as your region is supported. If you’re unsure, Apple’s support page has a list of current regions with this cycling feature. As of May 2025, it’s available in most major U.S. cities (like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco), select areas in Canada, Western Europe, and a handful of cities in Asia and Australia—but new places are getting added each year.
To get started with bike routes, follow these steps:
- Open Apple Maps on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Type in your destination.
- Tap ‘Directions’ at the bottom.
- Hit the bicycle icon (it’s usually next to ‘Drive,’ ‘Walk,’ and ‘Transit’).
- Pick your route—Apple will show you options, often highlighting ones with bike lanes, paths, or quieter back roads. Tap the one you want.
- Review your route’s details—Apple shows key info like elevation, total distance, estimated time, and whether you’ll hit major hills or busy streets.
- Tap ‘Go’ to start navigation. You’ll hear spoken turn-by-turn directions, and your screen will update along the way.
If you own an Apple Watch, you can start bike navigation on your phone and the directions will pop up on your watch, which means you don’t have to stop and check your phone all the time.
Here’s what the route details breakdown looks like most of the time:
| Detail | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Elevation | Shows hills, flat sections, and steep climbs (handy for planning effort) |
| Bike Lanes | Highlights protected lanes, shared bike paths, and road sharing spots |
| Traffic | Alerts about busy roads and crowded spots |
| Total Distance & ETA | So you know what you’re getting into |
| Obstacles | Stairs, rough surfaces, or other possible blocks |
Pro tip: if you don’t see the bike option, double-check that your device is set to a country or region that supports cycling routes. And make sure Location Services are enabled—without those, Apple Maps can’t guide you anywhere.
Tips for Better Cycling with Apple Maps
Getting the most out of Apple Maps when riding your bike takes a bit of know-how. First, always update iOS to the latest version. Big updates often bring fresh cycling locations and smarter routes. If you’re set on using the Apple Maps bike route feature for daily commutes or long rides, here’s what helps:
- Double-check coverage: Apple Maps covers cycling routes in select cities, but not everywhere. You’ll find good options in cities like New York, London, Toronto, and San Francisco. Outside these spots, options can be limited.
- Preview the route: Before hitting the saddle, zoom in along your planned path. Maps shows elevation changes and highlights steep sections, staircases, and heavy traffic, so you’re not caught off guard.
- Take voice directions: If you’re riding with AirPods or bone-conduction headphones, let Apple Maps read out turn-by-turn directions. Keeps your hands on the bars and eyes on the road.
- Download for offline rides: You can now download maps for offline use. Open Apple Maps, tap your profile pic, choose “Offline Maps,” and select the area you want, so you don’t get stuck if service drops.
- Share your ETA: By tapping 'Share ETA,' you can send updates to friends or family—peace of mind, especially for night rides or new routes.
Even small screens like the Apple Watch work well. If paired, it gently taps your wrist for each turn, so you don’t need to check your phone at every intersection.
To see just how helpful these features can be, take a look at how Apple Maps cycling-related tools compare with other navigation options:
| Feature | Apple Maps | Google Maps | Komoot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice Navigation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated Bike Lanes | Cities only | Widespread | Widespread |
| Offline Maps | Yes (2023+) | Yes | Yes |
| Elevation Alerts | Yes | Basic | Detailed |
| Apple Watch Compatibility | Full | Limited | Limited |
Remember, weather’s a wildcard. Always check conditions, and keep your phone charged—cycling navigation drains battery faster, especially with the screen, GPS, and Bluetooth running.
Limitations and What’s Missing
If you’re solely relying on Apple Maps for bike routes, you’ll quickly bump into some frustrating limitations. Probably the biggest headache for cyclists is that Apple Maps’ cycling directions only work in certain cities and regions. As of May 2025, you’ll get bike routes in spots like London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and a few others. But if you’re in a smaller city or out in the countryside, you might get nothing at all. There’s no magic switch to make cycling directions show up if they’re not supported locally.
Another issue is route detail. Apple Maps covers basic stuff, like bike lanes, elevation, and busy roads. But it doesn’t show things like surface quality—so you could end up on rough gravel or slick cobblestone without warning. There aren’t warnings about construction zones or temporary closures either, and a blocked bike path can really mess up your ride.
Want to get off the grid, say for mountain biking or trail riding? Apple Maps sticks to streets and official bike paths. It won’t send you down forest tracks, dirt paths, or those hidden local shortcuts the old-school paper maps sometimes catch. That’s a real gap for anyone who rides more than just city streets.
Planning features are also limited. There’s no built-in tool for exporting your route to a GPS device or bike computer. You can’t tweak the route by adding multiple stops or super-customize it like some dedicated cycling apps allow. Even the real-time feedback could be better—there’s no warning if you go off-route, other than your location snapping off the blue line, and Apple Maps doesn’t alert you to popular cyclist gathering spots, restrooms, or repair stations.
For anyone who likes to compare, here’s how Apple Maps stacks up versus two other popular cycling apps:
| Feature | Apple Maps | Google Maps | Komoot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycling coverage | Major cities/regions only | Many regions/cities worldwide | Virtually anywhere with user trails |
| Multi-stop planning | No | Yes | Yes |
| Surface type info | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Export to GPS | No | No | Yes |
| Off-road/trails | No | Limited | Yes |
Bottom line: Apple Maps cycling navigation is handy if you’re in the right area and just want basic directions. But for hardcore riders or anyone doing something more than a city commute, it just isn’t enough. If you need advanced planning, export options, or off-road support, you’ll probably want to use something built for cyclists from the ground up.
Alternatives to Apple Maps for Cyclists
Relying only on Apple Maps for cycling doesn't always cut it—especially if bike directions aren't available in your city or you're craving features Apple just doesn't offer. Thankfully, cyclists have a handful of solid alternatives worth checking out.
Google Maps is the most obvious pick. It offers bike routes in way more places around the globe, with details about elevation, bike lanes, and road types. One cool thing: you can even use Street View to peek at your route beforehand. It's not perfect, but more consistent than Apple in many regions.
If you're a serious cyclist, Komoot might blow you away. It lets you plan super-detailed rides, showing everything from trail surface types to user-generated highlights like good viewpoints or tricky sections. It's great for road, gravel, and mountain biking, and a huge chunk of its features are free.
Strava is another big name. While it's best known for tracking rides and sharing with friends, its “Routes” feature has exploded in popularity. You can see the most-used paths, check out what’s trending, and get real feedback from the community.
Want something focused on safety? Check out Ride with GPS or Bikemap. Ride with GPS gives you voice navigations, offline maps, and lets you plan routes with everything from calorie estimates to elevation gain. Bikemap, meanwhile, is heavy on community-shared routes and helps you steer clear of busy, dangerous sections.
- Google Maps: Most global coverage, street-level previews
- Komoot: Trail info, off-road routes, and highlights
- Strava: Community heatmaps, social tracking
- Ride with GPS: Detailed route planning, offline, good for clubs
- Bikemap: Huge route database and real-time hazard reports
Don't stick to just one app. Sometimes, mixing and matching gives you the best results. So experiment a little before your next ride and see which app really nails your local cycling needs.