for visitor centers, museums and trailsBeta

Your guest book already knows who visited.

Photograph your visitor guest book with any phone, old pages too. Public Lands Log reads the names, hometowns and dates and turns them into monthly visitor counts and a map of where people came from.

  1. Photograph your guest book, old pages too
  2. Make a QR check-in code for each site or trailhead
  3. Print your sign: a big QR code with your logo
Start free trial Try a QR check-in

30 days free. No card, no app to install, no setup call. Managing 10 or more sites? Talk to us

Lolo Pass Visitor Center
Lolo Pass Visitor Center
what you do

Start with the guest book you already keep.

Three things, all from a phone or computer you already have. Nothing to install, and no one has to come out to set it up.

  1. Photograph your guest book

    Use any phone, right in the browser, or upload scans and PDFs. The names, hometowns and dates are read in seconds, about 20 entries a page, and your staff check each row against the page before it counts. Old pages work too.

    no guest book? Print ours: blank sign-in sheets with your logo, made to be photographed and read back in.

    How guest-book reading works

  2. Make QR check-in codes

    Create a code for each site, trailhead or boat ramp in your dashboard. Visitors scan it with their phone camera and their visit is recorded. No app, no account. They can then answer two optional questions: where they're visiting from, and whether they're staying overnight.

    How QR check-ins work

  3. Print your signs

    A sign is a big QR code with your logo. Download a print-ready PDF in Letter, 8 × 10, 12 × 18 or 18 × 24 inches and print it at your desk or at any print shop. Weatherproof aluminum signs are coming soon.

    About the signs
how it works

From a page of handwriting to a report you can share.

  1. Photograph the pageSnap a guest-book page with any phone, right in the browser, or upload scans and PDFs. Keep the book you already have.
  2. Check what was readEach name, hometown and date sits next to the original page. Your staff fix anything that was misread, then publish the page so it counts.
  3. Share the numbersMonthly counts by site and source, a map of the hometowns visitors wrote down, and exports for your funders. Download CSV or PDF.

old pages count too A national historic trail added 151 guest-book sheets covering 2024 to 2026, and its staff checked a new batch of 38 sheets the same afternoon they came in.

T-Bone Trailhead, Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Utah
QR code: scan to try the demo check-in
T-Bone Trailhead, Red Cliffs NCA, Utah
at the trailhead

At the trailhead, a sign is enough.

Make a QR check-in code in your dashboard and print the sign: a big QR code with your logo. Visitors scan it, and their visit is recorded. You don't need an app, an account or anyone on site.

QR check-ins are voluntary, so we report them as check-ins, not as total visitation.

How QR check-ins and signs work
the report

Every number says where it came from.

Guest-book entries, QR check-ins, kiosk sign-ins and counter detections stay separate in every report, so nothing is counted twice.

Export the forms funders ask for: Washington lodging-tax (JLARC) fields, Texas hotel-tax post-event attendance with ZIP codes, heritage-area partner attendance and monthly counts.

  • Guest-book entries
  • QR check-ins
  • Kiosk sign-ins
  • Counter detections
See the reports and exports
who it's for

Built for three kinds of places.

Each one already collects visitor information. Each one has a reason it never turns into a number anyone can use.

Begich Boggs Visitor Center, Alaska
Begich Boggs Visitor Center, Alaska

Visitor centers and museums

Independent, nonprofit or agency-run
the problem

Thousands of people sign your book every year. Those pages are the best record you have of your reach, and they end up in a box.

what changes

Photograph a page at the desk, or a box of old ones. Your staff check the names and hometowns against the original before anything counts.

what you get

Monthly counts and hometowns ready for your board, your funders or a grant application.

what you'd use Guest-book scanning Front-desk kiosk QR check-in signs
Mallard Creek Trailhead, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Mallard Creek Trailhead, Wyoming

Trails and parks

Trailheads, boat ramps and overlooks
the problem

Trailheads have no front desk. Unless you buy and maintain counters, a season of use goes unrecorded.

what changes

Print a QR sign and post it. Hikers scan it with their phone camera, with no app. Import Eco-Counter or TRAFx counts alongside it.

what you get

Check-ins by day and site, labeled as check-ins, from a sign you print and post yourself.

what you'd use QR check-in signs Counter imports
Visitor center, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas

Byways and heritage areas

Many sites, one organization
the problem

Every site along the route keeps its own guest book. Nobody can say how many travelers the whole route brings in, or where they come from.

what changes

Add each site to your organization. Each one photographs its pages or posts a QR sign, and staff can be limited to their own site.

what you get

Counts for the whole route, broken down by site, with an origin map for tourism boards and funders.

what you'd use Guest-book scanning QR check-in signs Multi-site reports How it works for many sites
pricing

Priced per site, not per visitor.

Every plan includes unlimited QR signs and check-ins, unlimited users, monthly reports, the origin map and funder exports, and starts with 30 days free. No card.

Small

$190 a year

One small site.

Standard

$490 a year

Any site with a front desk, plus more sites as you need them. Or $49 a month for one site.

Network

From $2,900 a year

Park systems, heritage areas, trails and any organization with 10 or more sites.

founding sites Start Standard by January 31, 2027 and pay $390 a year for as long as you stay subscribed.

See plans and pricing
short answers

What people ask first.

Do we need to install anything or schedule a call?

No. Public Lands Log runs in a web browser on the phones and computers you already have, and you can set it up yourself in a few minutes. Start a 30-day free trial from the sign-up page. No card is needed. Organizations with 10 or more sites can book a time to talk first.

Can we add old guest books?

Yes, every year you have. Old pages work the same way as new ones, and each entry keeps the date written on the page, so past seasons land in the right months. A national historic trail added 151 guest-book sheets covering 2024 to 2026, and its staff checked a new batch of 38 sheets the same afternoon they came in. Plans include old pages in your first year, and more are $99 for each 1,000, one time. See pricing.

Does it count every visitor?

No, and every report says so. It counts the people who signed your book, scanned your sign or used your front-desk kiosk. QR check-ins are reported as check-ins, not as total visitation, and trail counter totals are kept separate, so nothing is counted twice. Each report says where every number came from.

Is it a replacement for Placer.ai, Datafy or Zartico?

No. Those services estimate visits from phone location data. Public Lands Log records the people who actually signed your book or scanned your sign at the site. If you already buy phone-location estimates, on-site counts like these are a way to check them.

All questions and answers

Reference photographs of public lands locations. They are not customer sites and do not imply agency endorsement. Photo credits

Mallard Creek Trailhead, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Mallard Creek Trailhead, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center, Mount St. Helens, Washington
Coldwater Ridge, Washington
Bright Angel Trailhead, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Bright Angel Trailhead, Arizona
East Slough Overlook Trailhead, St. George Island State Park, Florida
East Slough Overlook, Florida
Visitor center, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Palo Duro Canyon, Texas
Forest Park Nature Center, Peoria Heights, Illinois
Forest Park Nature Center, Illinois
Cave Area Trailhead, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho
Cave Area Trailhead, Idaho

Start with one page from your guest book.

Create your account, add your site and photograph a page. The names and hometowns are read in seconds. No call, no app to install, no card: the first 30 days are free.

Plans from $190 a year. See pricing · Managing 10 or more sites? Talk to us

Start free trial Try a QR check-in