Start trail check-ins
Start trail check-ins in Parks Manager from the bottom of a trip that is about to begin, after at least one emergency contact is on that trip.
Each Check in now stores a GPS point and an optional note on the phone. Parks Manager sends the batch when the radio returns. Nothing here is a satellite ping.
- 280characters per note
- 25queued points in one send
- 1 kmprecision on the public link
- 30 dayssigned-in history kept
When the section appears
The check-in block appears the day before the trip starts and stays through the end date. Month-only or year-only dates keep it hidden. A trip months out does not show Start check-ins, because there is no trail yet.
Past trips show the block only when a trail already exists. Onlookers can see points and cannot send them.
Start a session and send a point
Add an emergency contact so someone at home gets the pings. You can still start without one — the points stay on your phone and this trip until you add a contact.
- Open the trip on or after the day before it starts.
- Tap Start check-ins at the bottom of the trip page.
- Allow location for Parks Manager if the phone asks.
- Tap Check in now. A note is optional and capped at 280 characters.
- If there is no signal, wait until Parks Manager is open on a connection. The point sits on the phone until then.
Who sees what
Emergency contacts receive email when check-ins start and when a batch lands, including points recorded earlier offline. Their public itinerary page shows the last 24 hours, at most 8 points, rounded to two decimal places — about a kilometre — with notes removed.
Signed-in crew looking at the trip see every check-in at full precision, notes included, for 30 days. The public rounding is the leak control: a forwarded URL is not a live pin on a person.
Stopping and what this is not
Stop the session from the same trip block when you are done sending points. Queued points still send the next time Parks Manager is open with a connection.
Parks Manager does not poll GPS in the background, does not contact search and rescue, and does not watch a missed check-in. Silence is for the people you named.
What it does not do
Mobile data, not a messenger in the sky.
- A queued check-in never leaves the phone while there is no signal.
- There is no SOS and no integration with emergency services.
- Onlookers cannot send check-ins.
- Full history is removed after 30 days.
Common questions
Why can I not start trail check-ins in Parks Manager?
The trip needs at least one emergency contact, and the section only appears from the day before the start date through the end date.
Do Parks Manager check-ins work without signal?
They save on the phone and send in a batch of up to 25 when Parks Manager is open and a connection returns.
How precise is a check-in on the emergency link?
About one kilometre. The public page shows at most 8 points from the last 24 hours and drops notes.
Does anyone at Parks Manager watch a missed check-in?
No. Parks Manager emails the contacts on the trip. Acting on silence is up to them.
All Parks Manager features are indexed in one place.