Not a weather app. Not a trail guide. A decision-support platform that synthesizes 15+ data sources into one coherent picture of whether the Mountain West is ready for you today.
What PeakScout is
PeakScout is a real-time outdoor intelligence platform for the Mountain West. Every morning — and continuously throughout the day — it pulls data from federal agencies, state transportation departments, avalanche forecast centers, fire management systems, and trail communities, normalizes it into a consistent structure, and synthesizes it into decision-ready signals.
The core question it answers is not "what is the weather in Denver?" It answers: "Is Quandary Peak in good shape for hiking today, and what's the road status on the drive up?" That is a fundamentally different problem — one that requires trail-level data, multi-source verification, and cross-agency synthesis that no consumer weather app provides.
PeakScout covers hiking, backpacking, peak-bagging, fishing, paddling, OHV/off-road, hunting, climbing, backcountry skiing, and hot springs — across 10 states and growing. It is built for people who go outside regularly and need reliable, layered condition intelligence before they commit to a trip.
Decision support, not safety guarantee
PeakScout synthesizes public data from official agencies. It does not replace calling the ranger station, checking the full avalanche forecast, or using your own judgment. See our Limitations page for an honest accounting of where the platform has coverage gaps.
The data pipeline
PeakScout ingests from 15+ independent sources, normalizes them into a common schema, applies scoring logic, and delivers results through the briefing page, trail detail pages, and subscription alerts. Here is how it works step by step.
Step 1
Ingest
Pulls from NOAA, CAIC, GNFAC, BTAC, NAAE, CDOT, USFS, BLM, NPS, NIFC, AirNow EPA, Rec.gov, and more. Polled on schedules from 5 min to 6h depending on source.
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Step 2
Normalize
All sources mapped to a common schema — trails, zones, elevations, timestamps. Inconsistent agency formats unified into a clean data layer.
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Step 3
Score
Go Score, Hazard Scores, Route Risk, Weather Confidence, Avalanche Indicators computed per-trail. Hourly recompute via automated job.
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Step 4
Deliver
Trail cards, briefing page, email alerts, push notifications. All signals surfaced in context — not raw data dumps.
PeakScout does not sell, share, or republish raw source data. All outputs are PeakScout's own synthesis. Source attribution is shown on every data card.
PeakScout vs. generic weather apps
A standard weather app tells you the forecast for a city. PeakScout tells you whether a specific trail is ready for you today. Here is what that difference means in practice.
Condition
Generic Weather App
PeakScout
Weather data resolutionCity or county level
One forecast for the nearest city
Elevation bands: trailhead, treeline, summit
Trail conditionsMud, snow, ice, stream crossings
Not tracked
Trail community reports + agency closures
Road statusTrailhead access roads
Highway status only, if at all
CDOT, USFS, BLM, MT DNRC road closures
Avalanche dangerBackcountry terrain risk
Not tracked
CAIC, GNFAC, BTAC, UAC zone forecasts
Wildfire smoke (AQI)Air quality at elevation
City-level AQI, not elevation-corrected
AirNow EPA + elevation penalty above 8,000 ft
Wildlife & seasonal closuresBighorn sheep, raptor nesting, mud season
Not tracked
USFS, BLM, NPS ArcGIS closure layers
Go Score (0–100)Composite trail conditions score
Not tracked
Hourly recompute from 7 signal dimensions
Daily briefing emailMorning summary for your target state
Not available
Free + email; full breakdowns for Pro
Campsite availabilityFederal recreation site open slots
Trail popularity tiers affect crowding modifier in Go Score
State coverage
PeakScout has full trail intelligence in 10 states. Basic weather and NPS alerts cover all 50 states.
Colorado
Full: Go Scores, 58 14ers, avalanche, OHV
Montana
Full: Go Scores, GNFAC, MT OHV, roads
Wyoming
Full: BTAC avalanche, trail conditions
Idaho
Full: trails, OHV, climbing, whitewater
Utah
Full: trails, OHV, climbing, boating
Nevada
Full: OHV, hot springs, climbing
New Mexico
Full: trails, OHV, climbing
Arizona
Full: trails, OHV, climbing, hot springs
Washington
Trails + camping
Oregon
Trails + camping
Alaska
Avalanche + statewide
Other 39
Weather + NPS alerts
"Full" means Go Scores, trail conditions, road status, avalanche danger (where applicable), wildlife/seasonal closures, and community reports are all active. Coverage expands continuously.
Subscription tiers
PeakScout is free to use. The tier system unlocks depth, not access.
Free
$0 / always
Core platform for casual outdoor recreation.
Go Score (number only)
Basic trail conditions
HuntScore number
Basic river conditions
Hot springs access
Community reports
Daily briefing (web)
3 campsite alerts
Pro
$9.99 / mo or $79/yr
Full intelligence for regular outdoor recreation.
Full Go Score breakdowns
Unlimited location alerts
Dog Mode trail access
Push notifications
Pre-trip weather alerts
Full river & climbing intel
Smoke forecast intel
Annual activity recap
Summit
$8.99 / mo
Professional tier for guides and group leaders.
Everything in Pro
5× alert volume
Bulk trip planning
Group leader tools
Priority support
Guide marketplace access
Export trail data
Multi-user team view
Summit is priced lower than Pro — it's volume-optimized for professionals who need high alert throughput for their clients, not individual consumers. See full pricing details →
Data freshness
Each data type has a defined refresh schedule. The "Last updated" timestamp on every data card tells you when that signal was last polled from its source.
⚡
Go Score
Hourly recompute
☁
Weather (Open-Meteo + NWS)
Every 15 minutes
⚠
Avalanche danger (NAAE + centers)
Every 1–6 hours (center-dependent)
🌡
NPS alerts
Every 30 minutes
🐾
Wildlife / seasonal closures
Daily or on-change (ArcGIS)
🌫
Wildfire perimeters (NIFC/WFIGS)
Every 15–30 min during fire events
⛰
Road status (CDOT/USFS/BLM)
Daily scan + on-change events
🏥
Campsite availability (Rec.gov)
Hourly polling
📸
Trail community reports
Real-time (user-submitted)
Green = high freshness (under 30 min). Yellow = moderate freshness (30 min – 6 hours). Orange = batch refresh (hourly or longer). During rapidly changing events — active fires, storm cycles, avalanche warnings — key signals refresh more frequently. See detailed scoring refresh rules →
Frequently asked questions
How is PeakScout different from a weather app like Weather.com or the built-in iPhone forecast?
Standard weather apps give you a single forecast for a ZIP code or city — sometimes even just the county. They do not know what trail you are hiking, what elevation you will reach, or what conditions exist on the route. PeakScout answers a completely different question: "Is this specific trail ready for me today?" It layers trail-level data (road status, community reports, wildlife closures, avalanche zones) on top of weather, giving you a situation-specific read-out rather than a generic forecast.
What is the daily briefing and who receives it?
The daily briefing is a single-page summary of conditions across your target state — trail conditions, weather windows, wildfire smoke, avalanche danger, campsite availability, and road status. It is delivered to email subscribers each morning at 6am. Free users can access the briefing on the site. Pro subscribers receive it by email and get full Go Score breakdowns and unlimited location alerts embedded in the briefing.
Which states does PeakScout cover?
PeakScout covers 10 states with full trail intelligence: Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon. Alaska coverage is available for avalanche and statewide conditions. The deepest feature coverage is in Colorado and Montana — the states with the most trail data, avalanche forecast centers, and community engagement. All 50 states have basic weather, NPS alerts, and campsite data.
How often does PeakScout update its data?
Data refresh rates vary by source. Go Scores recompute hourly. Weather data (Open-Meteo + NWS) refreshes every 15 minutes. Avalanche danger updates every 1–6 hours depending on the forecast center. NPS alerts poll every 30 minutes. Wildfire perimeters update every 15–30 minutes during active fire periods. Trail community reports are user-submitted and update in real time. The "Last updated" timestamp on each data card tells you exactly when that signal last refreshed. See the Forecast Models page for per-source details.
What is the difference between Free and Pro?
Free gives you Go Score (a number), basic trail conditions, HuntScore, basic river conditions, and community reports. Pro ($9.99/mo or $79/yr) unlocks full Go Score breakdowns with per-signal detail, unlimited campsite and location alerts, Dog Mode trail access, river and climbing intel, pre-trip notifications, and push notifications. Summit ($8.99/mo) is oriented toward guides, outfitters, and professional trip leaders with higher alert limits and bulk data access. All plans include access to this methodology documentation.
Does PeakScout work offline?
The web app works online. For offline access, Pro subscribers receive pre-trip push notifications with key condition summaries before leaving cell range. Planned offline map layers and GPS trail tracking are on the roadmap. The web app includes a manifest for partial offline caching of previously viewed pages.