Parks on the Air (POTA)

Look up Parks on the Air (POTA) data through its keyless public API: the live feed of activator spots, full park details and activation history, park and operator statistics and leaderboards, parks by location or grid square, and the program and location reference lists. No account or API key required.

Actions

Action	What it does
Get current activator spots	Get the current spots rolled up to one enriched row per active activator, park, and frequency.
Get current spots	Get every current POTA spot, the live feed of operators on the air right now, including duplicate and automatic (Reverse Beacon Network) spots.
Get operator profile	Get a public operator profile by callsign: their name and location, activator and hunter statistics, recent activations, and awards.
Get operator statistics	Get an operator's compact all-time totals by callsign: their activator numbers (activations, unique parks, contacts) and hunter numbers (parks, contacts), plus award and endorsement counts.
Get park	Get full details for one park by its reference: name, coordinates, grid square, park type, managing agencies, access and activation methods, location, and its first activator.
Get park activation history	Get every logged activation at one park, most recent first: the activator, date, and QSO counts broken down by CW, data, and phone.
Get park leaderboard	Get the top operators at one park: the activators with the most activations, the activators with the most contacts, and the hunters with the most contacts.
Get park statistics	Get a park's all-time totals: activation attempts, successful activations, and total contacts (QSOs) logged there.
Get parks in a grid square	Get all parks inside a Maidenhead grid square: each park's reference, name, and coordinates.
Get parks in a location	Get every park in one location (a US state, a Canadian province, or another entity subdivision) with each park's coordinates, grid, and all-time activation totals.
Get spot comments	Get the recent spot and comment history for one activator at one park: every time they've been spotted in this activation, with band, mode, frequency, and any hunter comments.
List locations	List every POTA location (entity subdivision, such as a US state or Canadian province) with its descriptor, name, and center coordinates.
List programs	List every POTA program, the participating entities (countries and territories), with each one's prefix, name, and the term it uses for its subdivisions (state, province, and so on).

Get current activator spots

Get the current spots rolled up to one enriched row per active activator, park, and frequency. Adds the park's name, coordinates, and grid square, how many times it's been spotted, and how many minutes until the spot expires.

Inputs

None.

Outputs

spotslist

Example output

{
  "spots": [
    {
      "activator": "N6FCM",
      "comments": "",
      "count": 22,
      "expire": 209,
      "frequency": "18147",
      "grid4": "DM13",
      "grid6": "DM13dl",
      "invalid": null,
      "latitude": 33.4608,
      "locationDesc": "US-CA",
      "longitude": -117.678,
      "mode": "SSB",
      "name": "Doheny State Beach",
      "parkName": null,
      "reference": "US-3426",
      "source": "Web",
      "spotId": 55104030,
      "spotTime": "2026-08-13T20:28:12",
      "spotter": "KN4SWS"
    }
  ]
}

Get current spots

Get every current POTA spot, the live feed of operators on the air right now, including duplicate and automatic (Reverse Beacon Network) spots. Each spot has the activator's callsign, frequency, mode, park reference, and who spotted them.

Inputs

None.

Outputs

spotslist

Example output

{
  "spots": [
    {
      "activator": "N0RWY",
      "comments": "",
      "frequency": "14075",
      "locationDesc": "US-IA",
      "mode": "FT8",
      "name": "Backbone State Park",
      "reference": "US-2277",
      "source": "GT2",
      "spotId": 55104977,
      "spotTime": "2026-08-13T20:54:19",
      "spotter": "KB0TYJ"
    }
  ]
}

Get operator profile

Get a public operator profile by callsign: their name and location, activator and hunter statistics, recent activations, and awards.

Inputs

CallsigncallsigntextRequired: An operator's amateur-radio callsign, e.g. 'K8ZT'.

Outputs

profileobject

Example output

{
  "profile": {
    "callsign": "K8ZT",
    "gravatar": "f8b43d636743484a3bfd796a75772fac",
    "id": 741,
    "name": "Anthony Luscre",
    "other_callsigns": [],
    "qth": "Stow, Ohio",
    "recent_activity": {
      "activations": [
        {
          "cw": 3,
          "data": 0,
          "date": "2026-04-17",
          "location": "US-MI",
          "park": "Sterling State Park",
          "phone": 9,
          "reference": "US-1542",
          "total": 12
        }
      ]
    },
    "stats": {
      "activator": {
        "activations": 38,
        "parks": 15,
        "qsos": 1996
      },
      "attempts": {
        "activations": 45,
        "parks": 16,
        "qsos": 2023
      },
      "awards": 24,
      "endorsements": 98,
      "hunter": {
        "parks": 667,
        "qsos": 991
      }
    }
  }
}

Get operator statistics

Get an operator's compact all-time totals by callsign: their activator numbers (activations, unique parks, contacts) and hunter numbers (parks, contacts), plus award and endorsement counts.

Inputs

CallsigncallsigntextRequired: An operator's amateur-radio callsign, e.g. 'K8ZT'.

Outputs

statsobject

Example output

{
  "stats": {
    "activator": {
      "activations": 38,
      "parks": 16,
      "qsos": 2023
    },
    "attempts": {
      "activations": 45,
      "parks": 16,
      "qsos": 2023
    },
    "awards": 24,
    "callsign": "K8ZT",
    "endorsements": 98,
    "gravatar": "f8b43d636743484a3bfd796a75772fac",
    "hunter": {
      "parks": 667,
      "qsos": 991
    },
    "name": "Anthony Luscre",
    "qth": "Stow, Ohio"
  }
}

Get park

Get full details for one park by its reference: name, coordinates, grid square, park type, managing agencies, access and activation methods, location, and its first activator.

Inputs

Park referencereferencetextRequired: A POTA park reference such as 'US-0001'. Find references with the 'Get parks in a location' or 'Get parks in a grid square' actions, or reference one from a previous step.

Outputs

parkobject

Example output

{
  "park": {
    "accessMethods": "Automobile,Boat,Foot",
    "activationMethods": "Automobile,Cabin,Campground,Pedestrian,Shelter",
    "active": 1,
    "agencies": "National Park Service",
    "entityId": 291,
    "entityName": "United States of America",
    "firstActivationDate": "2010-06-26",
    "firstActivator": "K8ZT",
    "grid4": "FN54",
    "grid6": "FN54vh",
    "latitude": 44.31,
    "locationDesc": "US-ME",
    "locationName": "Maine",
    "longitude": -68.2034,
    "name": "Acadia",
    "parkId": 1,
    "parkURLs": "https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm",
    "parktypeDesc": "National Park",
    "parktypeId": 41,
    "reference": "US-0001",
    "referencePrefix": "US",
    "website": "https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm"
  }
}

Get park activation history

Get every logged activation at one park, most recent first: the activator, date, and QSO counts broken down by CW, data, and phone.

Inputs

Park referencereferencetextRequired: A POTA park reference such as 'US-0001'. Find references with the 'Get parks in a location' or 'Get parks in a grid square' actions, or reference one from a previous step.

Outputs

activationslist

Example output

{
  "activations": [
    {
      "activeCallsign": "K1VW",
      "locationDesc": "US-ME",
      "qso_date": "20260811",
      "qsosCW": 4,
      "qsosDATA": 17,
      "qsosPHONE": 2,
      "totalQSOs": 23
    }
  ]
}

Get park leaderboard

Get the top operators at one park: the activators with the most activations, the activators with the most contacts, and the hunters with the most contacts.

Inputs

Park referencereferencetextRequired: A POTA park reference such as 'US-0001'. Find references with the 'Get parks in a location' or 'Get parks in a grid square' actions, or reference one from a previous step.

Outputs

leaderboardobject

Example output

{
  "leaderboard": {
    "activations": [
      {
        "callsign": "K1GC",
        "count": 116
      },
      {
        "callsign": "W3NY",
        "count": 22
      }
    ],
    "activator_qsos": [
      {
        "callsign": "K1GC",
        "count": 2714
      },
      {
        "callsign": "W1DED",
        "count": 1500
      }
    ],
    "hunter_qsos": [
      {
        "callsign": "K9ICP",
        "count": 54
      },
      {
        "callsign": "NC4XL",
        "count": 46
      }
    ]
  }
}

Get park statistics

Get a park's all-time totals: activation attempts, successful activations, and total contacts (QSOs) logged there.

Inputs

Park referencereferencetextRequired: A POTA park reference such as 'US-0001'. Find references with the 'Get parks in a location' or 'Get parks in a grid square' actions, or reference one from a previous step.

Outputs

statsobject

Example output

{
  "stats": {
    "activations": 572,
    "attempts": 641,
    "contacts": 18980,
    "reference": "US-0001"
  }
}

Get parks in a grid square

Get all parks inside a Maidenhead grid square: each park's reference, name, and coordinates. Accepts a 4-character square (e.g. 'FN54') or a 6-character subsquare (e.g. 'FN54vh').

Inputs

Grid locatorgridtextRequired: A Maidenhead grid locator, e.g. 'FN54' or 'FN54vh'.

Outputs

parkslist

Example output

{
  "parks": [
    {
      "latitude": 44.31,
      "longitude": -68.2034,
      "name": "Acadia National Park",
      "reference": "US-0001"
    }
  ]
}

Get parks in a location

Get every park in one location (a US state, a Canadian province, or another entity subdivision) with each park's coordinates, grid, and all-time activation totals. Pick the location by name.

Inputs

LocationlocationtextRequired: Pick a location, or reference a location descriptor (e.g. 'US-ME') from a previous step.

Outputs

parkslist

Example output

{
  "parks": [
    {
      "activations": 572,
      "attempts": 641,
      "grid": "FN54vh",
      "latitude": 44.31,
      "locationDesc": "US-ME",
      "longitude": -68.2034,
      "name": "Acadia National Park",
      "qsos": 18980,
      "reference": "US-0001"
    }
  ]
}

Get spot comments

Get the recent spot and comment history for one activator at one park: every time they've been spotted in this activation, with band, mode, frequency, and any hunter comments.

Inputs

Activator callsignactivatortextRequired: The activator's callsign, e.g. 'K8ZT'.
Park referencereferencetextRequired: The park the activator is operating from, e.g. 'US-0001'.

Outputs

commentslist

Example output

{
  "comments": [
    {
      "band": "17m",
      "comments": "Loud signal into SoCal",
      "frequency": "18147",
      "mode": "SSB",
      "source": "Web",
      "spotId": 55104030,
      "spotTime": "2026-08-13T20:28:12",
      "spotter": "KN4SWS"
    }
  ]
}

List locations

List every POTA location (entity subdivision, such as a US state or Canadian province) with its descriptor, name, and center coordinates. Useful for populating a location picker.

Inputs

None.

Outputs

locationslist

Example output

{
  "locations": [
    {
      "entityId": 291,
      "entityName": "United States Of America",
      "iso": "US-ME",
      "latitude": 45.3695,
      "locationDesc": "US-ME",
      "locationId": 15,
      "locationName": "Maine",
      "longitude": -69.2428
    }
  ]
}

List programs

List every POTA program, the participating entities (countries and territories), with each one's prefix, name, and the term it uses for its subdivisions (state, province, and so on).

Inputs

None.

Outputs

programslist

Example output

{
  "programs": [
    {
      "isActive": 1,
      "isocc": "US",
      "isolang": "eng",
      "location_unit": "State",
      "programId": 1,
      "programName": "United States Of America",
      "programPrefix": "US"
    }
  ]
}

Parks on the Air (POTA)

ActionsCopy Anchor Link

Get current activator spotsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get current spotsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get operator profileCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get operator statisticsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get parkCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get park activation historyCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get park leaderboardCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get park statisticsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get parks in a grid squareCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get parks in a locationCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

Get spot commentsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

List locationsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

List programsCopy Anchor Link

Inputs

Outputs

On this page

Actions

Get current activator spots

Get current spots

Get operator profile

Get operator statistics

Get park

Get park activation history

Get park leaderboard

Get park statistics

Get parks in a grid square

Get parks in a location

Get spot comments

List locations

List programs