Overview

The Recreation Information Database (RIDB) API gives you access to data about federal recreational areas, campgrounds, permits, historic sites, and visitor facilities across the United States. An API key is required and free to obtain from recreation.gov. It is a great resource for building outdoor adventure apps, trip planners, or campground finders.

Beginner Tip

Register for a free API key at https://ridb.recreation.gov/register and use it in the apikey query parameter. Start by calling /recareas to list recreation areas, then drill into facilities and campsites using the facility ID.

Available Data

The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.

Recreation Information Database data via REST API

Example Response

Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.

JSON Response · Illustrative
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Recreation Information Database",
    "description": "Recreational areas, federal lands, historic sites, museums, and other attractions/resources(US)",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

RECDATA Array of recreation area or facility records returned by the query
RecAreaID Unique identifier for the recreation area, used to query related facilities
RecAreaName Official name of the recreation area
RecAreaDescription Text description of the recreation area and what visitors can expect
GEOJSON Geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) of the area as a GeoJSON point
METADATA.RESULTS.TOTAL_COUNT Total number of records matching the query across all pages

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://ridb.recreation.gov/api/v1/recareas?limit=5&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
  "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

401 Unauthorized / apikey is required Missing or invalid apikey query parameter
Register at ridb.recreation.gov for a free API key and include it as ?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY in every request
Empty RECDATA array The query or filter returned no matching recreation areas
Try removing filters like state or activity; use the query parameter with a place name, e.g. ?query=Yosemite
429 Too Many Requests The free tier has rate limits on requests per second
Add a short delay between requests and avoid making many calls in quick succession

Metadata Score Breakdown

Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested

This score is estimated from observable metadata — HTTPS support, authentication model, declared CORS, and documentation reachability — because the API requires authentication or exposes no publicly testable endpoint. The five-signal breakdown is only shown for live-tested APIs.

Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested

Technical Specifications

Auth API Key
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Open Data
Difficulty Intermediate
Listing details not endpoint-verified

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