# US Forest Service Trails AI Agent Connect > US Forest Service Trails MCP connects your AI client to the official National Forest System database. You can search for specific trails by name, find segments within a specific area, and pull detailed technical data like grade, surface, and seasonal usage permissions for hikers, bikers, and motorized vehicles. ## Overview - **Category:** travel - **Price:** Free - **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_qf1Aycv9HV4BhkE3EeCr5iTioOyzmKGNC06uMMfh/ai-agent-connect - **Tags:** trails, hiking, usfs, national-forest, outdoor, mountain-biking, equestrian, atv, camping, recreation, public-data, united-states ## Description This MCP gives your agent direct access to the United States Forest Service's official National Trail inventory. Instead of guessing if a trail is open to mountain bikes or if a path is accessible for wheelchairs, you can pull the actual segment-level data maintained by the agency. Because the Forest Service tracks permissions per segment, your agent can distinguish between a trail that is simply ## Tools ### find_trails_in_area Finds all National Forest trail segments within a specific bounding box or radius. You can filter results by specific travel modes like hiking or mountain biking to see only the trails managed for those uses. ### get_trail_details Retrieves the full technical record for a specific trail number or ID. This includes surface type, grade, tread width, and accessibility details for individual segments. ### summarize_trails_in_area Provides a high-level profile of all trails in a given area. It returns counts and mileage totals broken down by development class and surface type without listing every individual trail. ### get_trail_uses Checks which travel modes are permitted on a specific trail and identifies the seasonal windows for those permissions. It distinguishes between trails that allow a use and those specifically managed for it. ### search_trails_by_name Searches the national inventory for trails using name fragments. It returns the matching trail segments and their associated trail numbers. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` I'm staying near Pasadena and want to mountain bike this weekend. What trails are there in the Angeles National Forest around me, and which ones are actually meant for bikes? ``` **Response:** ``` I'll search the Angeles National Forest for trails specifically managed for bicycles to ensure they are built for riding, rather than just being trails where bikes are permitted. ``` **Prompt:** ``` Is trail 24E20 open to e-bikes and horses? I'd also like to know how steep it is and whether it's accessible. ``` **Response:** ``` I'll pull the full record for trail 24E20 to check the grade, accessibility, and the specific seasonal allowances for e-bikes and horses across its segments. ``` **Prompt:** ``` My parents are visiting and my dad uses a wheelchair. Are there any accessible trails within 30 km of Fort Collins, Colorado? ``` **Response:** ``` I'll check a 30 km radius around Fort Collins and look for trail segments explicitly marked as accessible in the Forest Service database. ``` ## Capabilities ### Spatial Searching Your agent can locate trails using coordinates, a radius, or a bounding box. ### Usage Verification The agent can check seasonal permissions for hikers, bikers, and motorized vehicles. ### Technical Profiling Your agent can retrieve specific terrain data like grade, surface, and tread width. ### Area Summarization The agent can calculate total mileage and segment counts for a specific region. ### Mode Filtering Your agent can isolate trails that are specifically managed for certain types of recreation. ## Use Cases ### Mountain Bike Planning Find trails specifically maintained for bicycles to avoid walking on non-bike-friendly paths. ### Accessibility Audits Identify specific trail segments that meet accessibility requirements for users with mobility aids. ### Backpacking Prep Summarize the total mileage and terrain types in a forest area to gauge trip difficulty. ### Seasonal Check Verify if specific motorized or non-motorized uses are permitted during a specific month. ## Benefits - Accesses official agency data instead of third-party crowdsourced maps. - Distinguishes between trails that allow a use and those managed for it. - Provides segment-level detail for trails where permissions change along the route. - Eliminates manual searching through complex government databases. ## How It Works Connect your client to Vinkius and start querying the Forest Service database immediately. 1. Connect your MCP-compatible client to the Vinkius hosted connector. 2. Ask your agent to find trails in a specific area or by name. 3. Request specific details like grade or permitted uses for a trail segment. 4. Receive direct, structured data from the National Forest System inventory. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Does this cover trails in National Parks like Yosemite or Yellowstone?** No. This is the Forest Service's own inventory of trails on National Forest System land, and the National Park Service keeps its trails separately. A search inside a National Park boundary returning nothing is the expected result, not a fault — the same area outside the park, on National Forest land, will return its trails. State parks and Bureau of Land Management land are also outside this layer. **Why does one trail number come back as several rows?** The source stores a trail as the chain of segments that share its trail number, and each segment carries its own surface, grade and permitted uses. A trail can legitimately read as bicycle-managed on its lower half and closed to bikes where it enters a wilderness area further up. get_trail_details and get_trail_uses report the allowances per segment for this reason, and add the segments up into an end-to-end length. **What is the difference between a trail managed for a use and one that accepts it?** The Forest Service keeps two columns per travel mode. A managed trail is one the agency builds and maintains for that mode — the trail is designed for it. An accepted use is tolerated on a trail managed for something else. Both are permissions, and both are reported here with the basis named, but managed is the stronger statement. Filtering an area search by a use keeps only managed trails, which is why a trail you know bikes are allowed on may not appear there. **Can I rely on this for motorized access — ATVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles?** As a starting point, not a ruling. This is the national inventory, and the local authority is the forest's Motor Vehicle Use Map plus any seasonal closure or fire order in force on the day. The seasonal windows recorded here are real — a trail managed for motorcycles from 06/15 to 10/31 is genuinely closed to them outside that window — but a local order can narrow things further. Confirm with the forest before driving to a trailhead. **Do I need an API key or an account?** No. The Forest Service publishes this layer openly, and the server reads it without authentication. There is no key to obtain, no quota to manage and no sign-up step.