Recreation.gov (Episode 19)

Send us Fan MailRecreation.gov is how 14 federal agencies — the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, and more — came together to give you one place to plan, discover, and book your public lands experience. More than 5,000 facilities. 121,000 campsites. 528 million acres of land.Most people use it to book a campsite. But Recreation.gov does so much more — and knowing how to use it changes how you plan every trip.Janelle Smith, Strategic Communications Lead with Recreation.gov and the U.S. Forest Service, joins The Parks Podcast to walk through the full platform: booking windows, lotteries, permits, passes, fire safety, food storage, Leave No Trace, and the trip planning tool that most people have never discovered.In this episode: — Why 14 federal agencies came together to build one platform — How Recreation.gov helps protect the lands from being "loved to death" — The surprising variety of public lands on the platform — swamp platforms, Army Corps lakes, marine sanctuaries, and more — Booking windows: when to reserve six months out vs. two weeks out vs. same day — Lotteries and permits — how they work and when you need them — Passes — what the different types cover and how to choose the right one — Campfire safety, food storage in bear country, and Leave No Trace — The Trip Builder tool — and why it's a game changer for road trips — How to volunteer on public landsLinks mentioned: Recreation.gov: recreation.gov Trip Builder: recreation.gov/trip-builderPasses: recreation.gov/passes Volunteer.gov: volunteer.gov Leave No Trace: lnt.org Recreate Responsibly: recreateresponsibly.org Be Bear Aware: fs.usda.gov/managing-land/natural-resources/wildlife/bears National Public Lands Day: last Saturday in SeptemberSupport the show