How it works

TrailScout joins two public, federal datasets and lets you slice the result for your own situation. No secret sauce — just two sources matched by location.

1. The campgrounds (RIDB)

Every federal campground comes from the Recreation Information Database — the National Park Service, Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, BLM, Fish & Wildlife, and more. That's where the location, number of sites, maximum rig length, showers, dump stations, and hookups come from.

2. The coverage (FCC)

Per-carrier mobile coverage comes from the FCC National Broadband Map — T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, UScellular, and Dish, each filed by the carrier itself. The map is divided into small hexagons, each tagged with the service class a carrier claims there.

3. The join

Each campground's coordinates are matched to the FCC hexagon it sits inside, giving a per-carrier coverage class right at that spot. Do that for thousands of campgrounds and you get a coverage answer for every one.

4. You rank it

On the map you pick your carrier, your rig length, and your must-haves. TrailScout filters to the campgrounds that fit and labels each one by the coverage your carrier gets there for you. The public coverage tables are carrier-neutral and identical for everyone; the filtered map view is yours. TrailScout never decides a "best" campground — you do.

What it can't tell you

FCC data is carrier-filed: comprehensive, but optimistic. It won't capture real-world speed, congestion, terrain shadows, or how your specific phone behaves. It's a screen to rule out obvious dead air — not a promise of bars. It also doesn't book anything for you and doesn't rate the campgrounds themselves. Data refreshed quarterly.

Want this for your phone, rig, and needs? Open the interactive map →