Know the place before you go.

outdoorstime is a data guide to outdoor places in the United States. Each page starts from public measurements: the source temperature of a hot spring in the NOAA Thermal Springs List, the river flow reported by USGS stream gauges, 30-year climate normals from NOAA weather stations, and the trail, fee and season figures that the Forest Service, the BLM, the National Park Service and state parks publish for the places they manage.

We collect those numbers, check them against the agency, write the date we checked them, and lay them out so you can compare places: the hottest springs in a state, the springs closest to a city, the months a river runs fullest, how long a trail takes. We do not post photos taken by others, we do not rate places, and we do not tell anyone what to do at a site. Every page links to the agency that has the final word on access and rules.

The first sections are hot springs, waterfalls, hiking and winter trips. More outdoor topics will follow the same pattern: public data, a clear source, and a page for each place.