Scout: Travel Patch Passport

improvements to the experience

Go somewhere real. Get the patch.

Scout is a travel tracker for people who collect places instead of points. Walk into a national park, wander a historic district, or pull over at a roadside giant — Scout knows you're there and hands you an embroidered digital patch for it. Over 1,200 places are waiting.

WHAT YOU CAN COLLECT

• National Parks — every U.S. national park, plus Utah's Mighty 5 and a National Parks After Dark set • National Forests — more than 90 of them • US States — all 50, one patch each • Civil War Battlefields — Gettysburg, Antietam, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Appomattox • Route 66 — iconic stops from Illinois to California • Frontier & the Wild West — ghost towns, forts, and outlaw country • NFL Stadiums — every one of them • Haunted America — haunted hotels, mansions, asylums, and penitentiaries • Giant Roadside Attractions — the world's largest whatever, and the rest of the roadside oddities • Major Cities — landmarks in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, St. Louis and dozens more • Zoos & Aquariums • Plus Founding & Revolution, Presidents & Statesmen, The Long Road to Civil Rights, Ancient & Native America, Monuments & Memorials, Famous Graveyards, and Industry & Innovation

HOW IT WORKS

Patches unlock by GPS. Small sites need you within about 50 meters. Big ones — national parks, national forests — unlock anywhere inside the boundary. The moment you cross the line, the Patch Collected screen takes over: a full-screen animation, a "Badge Unlocked" title, and the embroidered artwork before it settles into your collection.

Away from a patch, the Scout compass points you toward whatever's interesting nearby. Proximity hints — "Closing in," "You're getting close" — tighten as you close the gap on foot. It's built for wandering, not turn-by-turn. If you'd rather drive, one tap hands off to Apple Maps or Google Maps.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Compass navigation — full-screen, real-time, auto-collects the instant you arrive • Explorer map — every nearby patch color-coded by status, filterable by type and radius • Day trips — swipe through nearby patches to build an itinerary for the afternoon • Field-guide detail on every location — Overview, History, a type-specific tab (battlefields surface commanders and casualties; aquariums get aquarium context), Gallery, and a Community thread • Patch browser — search the full catalog, filter by radius, status, category, or collection • Camera roll import — Scout scans your photo library for GPS-tagged shots and retroactively unlocks the patches for places you have already been. Original photo dates are preserved • Submit a Patch — pitch a spot worth memorializing; it goes straight to the team • Profile — your stats, your recent patches, your full history

GETTING STARTED

Free to download. Free to collect. Sign in with Apple, Google, or just start as a guest — no account required. Guest data stays on your device until you make an account, then everything syncs and follows you across devices. A short tutorial walks you through the discover–compass–collect loop. Location is required (it's how Scout knows you arrived); notifications are optional.

THE POINT

No streaks. No leaderboards. No competing with strangers. Just going places, and having something to show for it. The patch is proof you were there.