How to get listed on AllTrails, Hipcamp, The Dyrt, and recreation-specific directories

Your website is one of many places potential customers find you online. Maybe not even the first place. When someone types “camping near Bend” or “guided hikes in Asheville,” Google pulls from platforms, directories, and review sites to decide who shows up. If you’re not listed where outdoor travelers actually search, you’re missing a chunk of results that matter.

Listing on recreation-specific directories like AllTrails, Hipcamp, and The Dyrt does two things at once. It puts you in front of people planning trips. And it sends Google a signal that your business is real, active, and tied to a specific location. Those signals feed into the local SEO factors that determine whether you rank in maps and local pack results.

Here’s how to get on each platform and what to do once you’re there.

Alltrails: get your trails on the map

AllTrails has more than 55 million users. A lot of those people are researching hikes, trail runs, and bike rides before they visit an area. The platform doesn’t have a formal business listing program. But if your business operates near trails or on trails you maintain, getting those trails into the AllTrails database ties your operating area to one of the biggest outdoor platforms on the internet.

You can submit a trail through the AllTrails app or through the desktop portal at alltrails.com/portal. On desktop, go to the Trails tab and click Add Trail. On the app, record your activity, then tap the three-dot menu and select Suggest as New Trail.

AllTrails requires that submitted trails start and end at a parking area, sit on public land, and include a drawn route. Fill out the trail name, difficulty rating, seasonal availability, and the activities it supports. Add as many details as you can. Moderators review every submission, and the more complete your entry is, the faster it gets through.

Say you run a fly fishing guide service in western North Carolina. You could submit the trails that lead to your most popular river access points. A rafting company in Moab might make sure every put-in and take-out along their routes has an accurate AllTrails entry. When someone plans a trip and browses trails in your area, your operating territory shows up in the results.

Hipcamp: list your property for free

If you own or manage land where people can camp, glamp, park an RV, or stay in a cabin, Hipcamp is one of the first places you should list. The platform is free to join. Hipcamp only charges a 10 to 12.5 percent commission on confirmed bookings, so there’s no upfront cost.

Go to hipcamp.com and click Start Hosting. The setup walks you through everything: property address, acreage, a description of the site, amenities, access instructions, pricing, and availability. You’ll also upload photos. The one hard requirement is that guests must have access to a toilet, whether that’s their own (in an RV) or one you provide on-site.

Spend time on your description and photos. A dude ranch near Cody, Wyoming that lists its property on Hipcamp with clear photos of the campsites, nearby trails, and the view from the fire ring is going to outperform a listing that just says “camping on private land.” Treat it like your trip pages – specific details about the experience sell better than vague promises.

Check your local regulations before you go live. Hipcamp requires hosts to comply with state, county, and municipal permitting rules, and those rules vary widely depending on where you operate.

The dyrt: claim or create your listing

The Dyrt is a campground discovery platform used by campers looking for both public and private sites. If your campground or property already appears in their database, you can claim it in about two minutes. Search for your business on thedyrt.com. If it shows up, click Claim This Listing. You’ll get access to the manager portal, where you control photos, descriptions, pricing, and booking settings.

If your property isn’t listed yet, add it at thedyrt.com/add-campground. Approval typically takes up to three business days. Once approved, claim the listing to get full editing access.

One thing that sets The Dyrt apart is that bookings processed through the platform are commission-free. Compare that to Hipcamp’s 10 to 12.5 percent cut. A campground operator in the Ozarks or a glamping site in the Catskills could list on both and see which one drives more reservations, knowing The Dyrt won’t take a slice.

State and regional recreation directories

Most states now have an Office of Outdoor Recreation, and many of them maintain public business directories. Colorado’s OREC directory, Maryland’s Outdoor Recreation Business Directory (which lists more than 600 businesses), and Wisconsin’s Office of Outdoor Recreation directory are three examples. These are free to join and often categorize businesses by type: guides, gear shops, rental providers, conservation organizations, and infrastructure services.

To find yours, search for “[your state] office of outdoor recreation business directory.” If your state doesn’t have one, check the state tourism board’s website instead. Most tourism boards have some form of business listing, and they’re usually free.

State-level listings matter for local SEO because they’re usually on .gov domains, and Google gives those a lot of weight. One listing on your state’s tourism site can be worth more than a dozen on low-authority general directories. This ties directly into how citations work for outdoor businesses.

Niche directories worth your time

Beyond the big three and state directories, there are a handful of niche platforms where outdoor businesses should also have a presence:

• Recreation.gov, the federal reservation platform covering 14 agencies, if you operate on or adjacent to federal land
• ReserveAmerica, for campground and lodging reservations
• America Outdoors, the industry association for outfitters and guides
• Your regional or local tourism bureau, visitors bureau, or chamber of commerce
• Activity-specific associations (state fishing guides association, state outfitters association, mountain bike trail organizations)

Each listing reinforces your NAP consistency across the web, which is one of the core signals Google uses to verify your business information. Every time your business name, address, and phone number appear identically on another trusted site, your local search credibility goes up.

How to make your listings actually work

Getting listed is step one. Making those listings actually perform takes some ongoing attention.

Use real photos, not stock images. A kayak rental outfit in the Florida Keys that uploads photos of their actual fleet on the actual water will convert browsers into bookers at a higher rate than one using generic paddling shots. Every photo should look like it was taken by someone who was there, because it should have been.

Write descriptions like you’re talking to a friend who asked what your business does. Skip the marketing speak. Say what the experience includes, where it happens, and what makes it worth the drive.

Keep your information current. If your hours change seasonally, update them. If you add a new campsite or a new trip, add it to every platform where you’re listed. Stale listings make you look abandoned, and Google notices too.

Respond to reviews on every platform that allows it. Reviews are a local ranking factor, and they also show potential customers that a real person is behind the business.

The payoff is cumulative

No single directory listing will transform your search rankings overnight. The value is in the accumulation. Each listing on a trusted, relevant platform adds another data point telling Google your business is real and connected to a specific place and activity.

Think about a guided fishing operation in Montana that shows up on AllTrails for trail access to their river beats, Hipcamp and The Dyrt for their riverside campsites, the Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation directory, the local visitors bureau, and America Outdoors. That’s a web of citations a competitor with only a Google Business Profile can’t touch.

Start with the platforms that fit your business type. Claim or create your listings, fill them out completely, then move on to the next one. An afternoon of directory work can produce local SEO results that compound for years.