5 Must-DL Apps This Week: Facebook’s New App, New Gmail + More!

1. View trails from beginning to end on Google Maps

Trails are easier to discover via Maps. When you search for a trail, you’ll see the entire route displayed, so you can easily find the starting point and the end. Upon searching, you’ll get a preview of the trail with reviews and photos from the Google Maps community. You’ll also be able to see the trail’s difficulty as well as what it’s used for.

2. Detailed Google Maps directions bring you straight to the trailhead or park entrance

Spare yourself the confusion of whether the trailhead you parked at is the trailhead you’re supposed to be hiking. Now, when you request walking or cycling directions to a particular trail, Google Maps will direct you right to its beginning.

3. Get informed when there's a heat wave warning

When you Google search for information on extreme heat events, the engine will show you details on predicted heat waves, tips on staying cool, and any urgent health concerns associated with hot weather. This feature is helpful for exploring National Parks in particular, so you’re not risking your wellbeing for exploration and fun. These warnings will pop up in a conspicuous space on your screen to eliminate confusion.

4. See how the planet evolved over time with Google Earth's update

Immerse yourself in Earth’s transformative nature using the biggest Google Earth update since 2017, Timelapse. The 4D experience takes you from the Amazon rainforest to the palm oil-rich land of Indonesia to shine a light on our changing planet and its problems and solutions, as well as a handful of beautiful natural phenomena that have unfolded over the past decades.

5. Easily view a National Park destination's can't-miss attractions

With a National Park-related search, you’ll now be able to easily view any notable attractions, campgrounds, visitor centers, and trailheads within your desired park.

6. Go properly off the grid with offline Google Maps features

Reliable cell coverage isn’t guaranteed in the great outdoors. To help you responsibly explore parks with clarity, Google Maps brings you offline features. Just tap the "download" button on any park’s Google Maps listing to download it for offline use.

Itching to explore more?

Here are the most popular U.S. National Parks, according to Google*:

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
2. Bryce Canyon National Park
3. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
4. Kenai Fjords National Park
5. Rocky Mountain National Park
6. Acadia National Park
7. Badlands National Park
8. Mount Rainier National Park
9. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
10. Grand Teton National Park
11. Crater Lake National Park
12. Redwood National and State Parks
13. Olympic National Park
14. Haleakalā National Park
15. White Sands National Park
16. Arches National Park
17. Sequoia National Park
18. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
19. Dry Tortugas National Park
20. North Cascades National Park

According to their website, “Google's algorithms are confident that the price you find is the lowest available before the flight departs. After you book on Google, we'll monitor the price until the first flight in your itinerary departs. If the price drops, we’ll make up the difference.”

In order for you to qualify for any refund, your flight must be booked through select Book on Google itinerarieswithin Google Flights and have a ticket price change of more than $5. You can receive up to $500 back per year for up to three open price guaranteed bookings at any one time. If you qualify, you’ll receive your refund after the first flight in the booked itinerary has taken off.

1. The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale has taken our emotions on the scariest ride for five seasons because it showed the mass hysteria and cruelty that resulted in the creation of the totalitarian government of Gilead. Hoping to account for the low birth rates and keep things like STDs at bay, a new social standing is created and places fertile women in the hands of powerful leaders to help repopulate the world.

Treated like slaves, these women aren't allowed to do anything that doesn't align with Gilead's strict policies which places them in a helpless state. However, one Handmaid named June Osborne/Offred (Elizabeth Moss) decides to form a plan that'll help them break free and seek revenge if necessary.

Watch the sixth season on Hulu while you wait for its sequel The Testaments to premiere!

Read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

2. 13 Reasons Why

Trigger warning:This TV series mentions suicide.

13 Reasons Why is a drama show that sheds light on one student's decision to kill herself. According to Hannah Baker's (Katherine Langford) recorded messages, several people played a role in her final decision to end her life. Beginning with Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette), the tapes outline how characters affected her and it eventually results in Katherine's parents suing the school district. By the end of the series, no one's the same.

Watch all 4 seasons on Netflix and read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

3. The Witcher

The Witcher converges the timelines of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Princess Cirilla of Cintra (Freya Allen), and sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) as they deal with the different moments that impact them. However, their stories eventually connect because Geralt conjured Cirilla's presence in his life via magic and swears to protect her once they meet.

If you love watching fantasy shows, you'll love watching The Witcher!

Watch all 3 seasons on Netflix and read The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski.

4. Little Fires Everywhere

Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington's performances in Little Fires Everywhere had us locked in to this drama series every Wednesday during the pandemic in 2020. It was unlike anything we'd seen, but we were even more excited to learn the show was based on author Celeste Ng's book. Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) and Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) begin an uneasy friendship that quickly turns volatile when an adopted child's mother seeks to reclaim the child she once couldn't care for.

It sheds a light on classism, stereotypes, and motherhood in a way that changes the main characters by the end of the heartbreaking series.

Watch it on Hulu and read Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.

5. The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a coming-of-age TV series that explores Isabel "Belly" Conklin's (Lola Tung) experience with being noticed by her crush Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) and his brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). Though they aren't strangers, the boys have never noticed her until one particular summer finds them looking at her differently.

Although Isabel revels in their attention, she learns how to listen to her heart in this moving show.

Watch both seasons on Amazon Prime and read The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.

6. The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit tells the powerful, yet tragic story of skilled chess player Elizabeth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her struggle to conceal her bad habits. Orphaned at a young age, she develops a dependence on the medication given to her and other orphans to help keep them as tame as possible. Though the medication works and Beth is eventually adopted, she can't seem to stay away from harmful substances.

Despite it all, Beth finds a way to continue excelling at chess and even enters the world's largest tournament to prove her skills are far superior than others.

Watch it on Netflix and read The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis.

7. Bridgerton

We melt every time we talk about Bridgerton, but can you blame us? Adapted from Julia Quinn's popular series, we're introduced to a society that prides itself on finding the Diamond of the season. However, a closer look reveals how much the TV series and novels follow the darling Bridgerton family.

From finding love in unlikely places to secret identities being revealed, it's one series we'll always want to watch.

Watch all 3 season on Netflix and read Bridgerton: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn.

8. Normal People

The TV series Normal People stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne Sheridan and Paul Mescal as Connell Waldron, the two main characters of Sally Rooney's bestselling novel of the same name. Over a period of time, viewers watch as the two students grapple with their social standing at school, private lives, and feelings for each other. It's about as messy as you think it can be, especially knowing Marianne is considered an "outcast" while Connell seems to excel socially at school.

Watch it on Hulu and read Normal People by Sally Rooney.

9. Watchmen

Watchmen is a superhero TV series based on a book that explores themes of politics and supernatural elements. Instead of being hailed as trustworthy, those with the power and means to fight crime were banished because of their unorthodox methods.

However, it's clear that sinister forces want to continue to incite fear in citizens via racism and faux threats which leads to Angela Abar (Regina King) being pulled into a plot that tests her as a masked police office who's on the hunt for Doctor Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). What she doesn't anticipate is how close he is to her.

Watch it on HBO Max and read Watchmen by Alan Moore.

10. Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Sixmay have had one season, but we're still singing its sweet tune. It followed the beginnings, sweet highs, and unfortunate lows of a fictional rock band that knew how to move a crowd. Fronted by singers Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Caflin), the group had a successful run that was sometimes complicated by personal problems, drugs, and romantic encounters.

If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

Watch it on Amazon Prime and read Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.