I received the following email the other day:

“Hi, I just wanted to tell you about a new site that I am working on: http://www.recreationparks.net. Using USGS (United States Geological Survey) data, I’ve added records for over 60,000 parks. Here is the link for a national park you have written about: http://www.recreationparks.net/ME/hancock/acadia-national-park-southwest-harbor. If you like the site, it would be really cool if you could mention it in your blog. I think your other readers would find it useful, and the more people who fill out the activity information about local parks, the more comprehensive the site will be. I would also love any suggestions that you have for new features for the site!”

It is not particularly unusual for me to get an email like this. My blog is visited by more than 5,000 people each month and many readers email me directly rather than leaving comments. What was so unusual in this case was how interesting I found his website to be. Parks have always been a major destination during my travels, so I was curious to see how accurate it is. Using my neighborhood here in Sarasota, I tested the site. It correctly listed every facility, right down to tiny neighborhood parks that are equipped with only a few pieces o playground equipment and a smattering of picnic tables.

Even more interesting, after creating each page using the government’s USGS data, he provided links to each park’s main website, to appropriate articles about the park on Wikipedia, to photos on Flickr, and to weather information at Weather Underground. In addition, the site is intended to be user-driven, on the order of Wikipedia. Users are invited to submit links, vote for the amenities available at parks, and leave comments. All in all, I found this to be a phenomenal website, and so I wanted to pass it along to my readers. Great work, Josef!

Between this site and the new UpTake.com travel search engine, which helps me to find accommodations, restaurants, and activities in the areas I wish to visit, my travel planning is a breeze these days.

You might also like: