--- title: "Blog | Droply" description: "Guides, stories, and tips for hikers, bikepackers, and water finders from the droply team." language: en canonical_url: https://droply-app.com/blog/ source: https://droply-app.com/blog.md site: "Droply" --- # Blog Guides, stories, and tips for hikers, bikepackers, and water finders [ ![A stone wall fountain with a metal spout in Bern, its basin and the ground around it covered in autumn leaves](https://droply-app.com/blog/brunnen-kleine-schanze-herbst-bern.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/winter-fountain-shutdown-europe/) 25 October 2026 ## [Why European Cities Turn Off Their Drinking Fountains in Winter](https://droply-app.com/blog/winter-fountain-shutdown-europe/) From Vienna to Hannover, cities are shutting down their drinking fountains for winter right now. Why it happens, which fountains go off, and how to still find running water on a bike or hiking trip. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/winter-fountain-shutdown-europe/) [ ![A green cast-iron drinking fountain with a bearded face spout and two dolphins on top, in the Turia Garden in Valencia](https://droply-app.com/blog/green-cast-iron-drinking-fountain-turia-garden-valencia.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/find-water-valencia-drinking-fountains/) 18 October 2026 ## [How to Find Water in Valencia](https://droply-app.com/blog/find-water-valencia-drinking-fountains/) Valencia has 832 public drinking fountains. Most of them are green cast-iron pillars with a bearded face, the rest are plain posts and new chilled refill dispensers. What they look like, how they work, and where the faces come from. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/find-water-valencia-drinking-fountains/) [ ![The Fontana del Nettuno fountain in Piazza della Signoria, Florence, with Palazzo Vecchio in the background](https://droply-app.com/blog/fontana-del-nettuno-piazza-signoria-firenze.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/drinking-water-florence-public-taps/) 4 October 2026 ## [Drinking Water in Florence: Finding the City's Public Taps](https://droply-app.com/blog/drinking-water-florence-public-taps/) Florence isn't an easy city for finding water: its public taps are real, but easy to miss among the crowds. Here's what they look like, where they hide, and the one spot in Piazza della Signoria worth remembering. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/drinking-water-florence-public-taps/) [ ![The Zähringer fountain with the armored bear on Kramgasse in Bern, with the Zytglogge clock tower in the background](https://droply-app.com/blog/zaehringerbrunnen-kramgasse-zytglogge-bern.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/trinkwasser-bern-brunnenstadt/) 27 September 2026 ## [Drinking Water in Bern: The Fountain Capital and Its History](https://droply-app.com/blog/trinkwasser-bern-brunnenstadt/) droply lists about 250 drinking-water fountains in the Bern area, around 50 of them in the UNESCO Old Town. A guide to where you can refill for free, the stories behind the famous figure fountains, and why the Glasbrunnen in the forest is still worth the trip. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/trinkwasser-bern-brunnenstadt/) [ ![Hikers crossing the volcanic alpine terrain of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand](https://droply-app.com/blog/tongariro-alpine-crossing-volcanic-trail.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/tongariro-alpine-crossing-water-huts-guide/) 20 September 2026 ## [Tongariro Alpine Crossing: How to Plan Your Hike, Huts and Water](https://droply-app.com/blog/tongariro-alpine-crossing-water-huts-guide/) There is no drinking water on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing track. DOC says so directly, and that single fact should shape when you go, how you get there, how much you carry, and whether you turn it into a multi-day Northern Circuit. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/tongariro-alpine-crossing-water-huts-guide/) [ ![The Alfred Escher fountain in front of Zurich's main train station, with a Swiss flag on Bahnhofplatz](https://droply-app.com/blog/alfred-escher-brunnen-hauptbahnhof-zuerich.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/trinkwasser-zuerich-brunnen-notwasser/) 16 September 2026 ## [Drinking Water in Zurich: Fountains, Spring Water and Emergency Water](https://droply-app.com/blog/trinkwasser-zuerich-brunnen-notwasser/) Zurich has over 1200 public fountains, its own spring-water network, and more than 80 emergency fountains. A guide to finding water reliably and planning a hike around it. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/trinkwasser-zuerich-brunnen-notwasser/) [ ![A small spring emerging from granite boulders in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico, on the Continental Divide Trail](https://droply-app.com/blog/granite-boulder-spring-organ-mountains-new-mexico.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/how-much-water-to-carry-hiking/) 13 September 2026 ## [How Much Water Do You Really Need When Hiking? A Practical Guide](https://droply-app.com/blog/how-much-water-to-carry-hiking/) The amount of water you drink on a hike and the amount you need to carry are two different numbers. How to plan around the longest dry stretch instead of the whole route, and why the water sources on your map aren't guaranteed to be flowing. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/how-much-water-to-carry-hiking/) [ ![The Schéissendëmpel waterfall with its stone bridge and wooden staircase on the Mullerthal Trail in Luxembourg](https://droply-app.com/blog/mullerthal-schiessendempel-waterfall-stone-bridge.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiking-mullerthal-trail-droply-water-navigator/) 6 September 2026 ## [Hiking the Mullerthal Trail with the droply water navigator](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiking-mullerthal-trail-droply-water-navigator/) A day on route 2 of the Mullerthal Trail in Luxembourg: 39 km of canyons and forest, one single tap, and what the droply Navigator could and couldn't do about it. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiking-mullerthal-trail-droply-water-navigator/) [ ![An ornate bronze fountain flowing among flowers in the old town of Sursee, Switzerland](https://droply-app.com/blog/ornate-fountain-sursee-switzerland.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/drought-and-water-sources-on-the-trail/) 23 August 2026 ## [Europe's drought and hiking water: why spring reliability matters more than ever](https://droply-app.com/blog/drought-and-water-sources-on-the-trail/) A spring on the map isn't the same as a spring that's flowing today. As drought spreads across Europe in 2026, here's why hikers need current, community-checked information about water sources, not just their location. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/drought-and-water-sources-on-the-trail/) [ ![droply Navigator route overview on a phone, showing water sources and a dry stretch along a mountain trail](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-navigator-route-overview-pro-release.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-2-0-and-droply-pro-launch/) 19 August 2026 ## [droply 2.0 and droply PRO are here](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-2-0-and-droply-pro-launch/) droply 2.0 is out now, and it brings droply PRO: the droply Navigator for water along your route, offline maps, and an ad-free map, built on top of a year of community water data. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-2-0-and-droply-pro-launch/) [ ![A hiker filling a water bottle at an ornate mosaic fountain](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiker-filling-bottle-ornate-fountain.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-navigator-water-along-your-route/) 16 August 2026 ## [The droply Navigator: The Feature We Wished We Had on the Trail](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-navigator-water-along-your-route/) Why we built the droply Navigator: a GPX-based water timeline for your route that works offline, and a free year of droply PRO for the community that helped build the map. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/droply-navigator-water-along-your-route/) [ ![A stainless steel drinking fountain under a rock overhang above Breil/Brigels in Graubünden, Switzerland, with snow-streaked peaks behind it](https://droply-app.com/blog/mountain-fountain-panorama-brigels-graubuenden.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/how-much-water-to-drink-on-a-hike/) 16 August 2026 ## [How Much Water Should You Drink on a Hike? A Practical Hydration Guide](https://droply-app.com/blog/how-much-water-to-drink-on-a-hike/) Not a fixed number of liters per hour. What your fluid needs actually depend on, why drinking too much is its own danger, and how knowing your refill points changes how much you carry. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/how-much-water-to-drink-on-a-hike/) [ ![A mountain stream cutting through granite boulders in a pine forest beside a hiking trail](https://droply-app.com/blog/mountain-stream-pine-forest-trail.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/best-hiking-apps-for-the-trail/) 9 August 2026 ## [7 Best Hiking Apps to Use on the Trail: Hike More, Scroll Less](https://droply-app.com/blog/best-hiking-apps-for-the-trail/) Seven apps worth opening while you're actually hiking, not just planning from home. Offline maps, mountain and plant ID, weather, birdsong, translation, and finding water. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/best-hiking-apps-for-the-trail/) [ ![The Glasbrunnen in the Bremgartenwald near Bern: a stone trough fed by a wooden spout from a forest spring](https://droply-app.com/blog/glasbrunnen-natural-spring-bremgartenwald-bern.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/why-mountain-springs-taste-different/) 2 August 2026 ## [Mountain Water: Why Every Spring Tastes Different](https://droply-app.com/blog/why-mountain-springs-taste-different/) Two springs on the same mountain, a few hundred meters apart, taste completely different. What water dissolves out of the rock on its way down, why altitude has nothing to do with it, and when you shouldn't drink. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/why-mountain-springs-taste-different/) [ ![Hiker's hand filling a bottle directly from a forest stream, crouched at the water's edge](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiker-filling-bottle-forest-stream.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/filtered-mountain-water-not-always-safe/) 24 July 2026 ## [Why Filtered Mountain Water Isn't Always Safe](https://droply-app.com/blog/filtered-mountain-water-not-always-safe/) A recent Pyrenees hospitalisation is a reminder that filter bottles aren't magic. Here's how to plan drinking water so you rarely need to rely on one. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/filtered-mountain-water-not-always-safe/) [ ![Hiker collecting water from the fastest-flowing part of a mountain creek, surrounded by green willows. Moving water is one of the safer sources on trail](https://droply-app.com/blog/collect-water-fastest-flowing-creek.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiking-water-filter-guide/) 2 July 2026 ## [Outdoor Water Filtration Guide: How to Find and Safely Drink Water While Hiking & Backpacking](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiking-water-filter-guide/) How to find water on the trail, know when it needs treating, and choose between squeeze filters, gravity systems, and chemical backups. Lessons from five months on the Continental Divide Trail. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/hiking-water-filter-guide/) [ ![Hiker resting under a lone desert tree in New Mexico on the CDT](https://droply-app.com/blog/cdt-water-planning-guide.jpg) ](https://droply-app.com/blog/water-sources-cdt-planning-guide/) 21 June 2026 ## [Water Sources Along the CDT: A Complete Planning Guide](https://droply-app.com/blog/water-sources-cdt-planning-guide/) How to find and plan water on the Continental Divide Trail: how much to carry, how to treat it, and what changes state by state. From a 2024 CDT thru-hiker. [Read the post →](https://droply-app.com/blog/water-sources-cdt-planning-guide/) ## Get new posts in your reader New guides and trail notes land in your feed reader the day they're published. No email address, no account, no tracking. 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