It’s 2025, and if your New Year’s resolution is to exercise more, you’re not alone. According to Statista, 42% of Americans said they want to work out more in the new year. For some, that means going to the gym more often. But if a membership isn’t in your budget or there’s no gym nearby, that might mean going for a run, walk, or hike in your neighborhood. And with iOS 18 you can plot your route and see how far you’ll go before you set foot outside.
Apple released iOS 18 to the general public in September. The update brought many new features to the iPhone, including RCS messaging and an updated Calculator app. It also updated its Maps app, which now lets you plan a walking, running, or hiking route.
Creating a personalized route is great for planning a hike or other outdoor activities, and it can keep you on track so you don’t get lost. This feature can also tell you the distance covered by a custom route, as well as your altitude along your route. If you’re in Denver, I imagine it just says “Up There.”
Learn more: iOS 18 brings these new features to your iPhone
Here’s how to create your own custom route in Maps.
Create a custom route on Apple Maps on iPhone
1. Open Cards.
2. Long press where you want to start your route to drop a pin.
3. Faucet More.
4. Faucet Create a personalized route.
From there, you need to plot your route by tapping on your map. You can tap intersections and landmarks, like restaurants and stores, and the app will start mapping your route. You can also tap intersections and unmarked locations on your map for a more granular approach to creating your route.
You also don’t have to tap a location near your last route point. After typing Create a personalized routeyou can tap a location miles away and Maps will create a route for you. It’s important to note that if you tap a location miles away from where you start your route, Maps will find a path that doesn’t involve running through walls like the Kool-Aid Man. In this regard, creating a route is similar to getting directions on Maps.
When creating your route, Maps will also give you three route options: Reverse, Outward and Return, and Close Loop.
Reversing reverses your route so that the place where you initially started is now where your route ends. Out & Back maps your route onto itself so you start and end where you started on a single path. Close Loop also ends your route where you started, but for circular routes.
Once you have created your route, tap To safeguard and you will be asked to name your route. Then press Do. Maps will also download your personalized route to your iPhone, so you won’t have to worry about losing reception, especially if you’re hiking in the wilderness.
Where to find your personalized itinerary
Once your custom route is saved, it will be moved to your library in Maps. Here’s how to access it.
1. Open Maps.
2. Faucet Places, guides and itineraries under the search bar in Maps.
3. Faucet Itineraries.
4. Select the route you want to take.
Tap it to find your saved routes.
After you select the route, Maps will display it on your map. If you are near the start of your route, tap Go and your iPhone will give you directions throughout your route. If you are not near the start of the route, you can press Instructions and Maps will show you how to get to the start of your route.
To learn more about iOS 18, here’s what you need to know iOS 18.2 And iOS 18.1 and our iOS 18 Cheat Sheet. You can also check what might happen on your iPhone with iOS 18.3.
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