---
name: ev-backroads-trail-commons
description: Define and submit an EV Backroads community trail, backroad, campsite, campground, RV park, or overnight stop to a private human editorial queue.
homepage: https://www.evbackroads.com/guides/trail-commons
metadata:
  version: "1.0"
  openapi: https://www.evbackroads.com/api/v1/community/openapi.json
---

# EV Backroads Trail Commons

Use this skill only when the user wants to draft or submit a community trail or campsite. Every submission remains private until a human editor approves it.

## Before you write

1. Read the [OpenAPI 3.1 document](https://www.evbackroads.com/api/v1/community/openapi.json) and [current submission JSON Schema](https://www.evbackroads.com/api/v1/community/schemas/submission.json). Do not invent fields.
2. Ask whether the place is a **trail** or **campsite**.
3. Collect a useful name, summary, full field detail, coordinates, access notes, difficulty, season, land manager, optional official access URL, and optional onX or Trails Offroad link.
4. For a trail, collect an ordered LineString and editable waypoints. A GPX track can supply route coordinates; reduce it to at most 500 points while retaining both endpoints. Trail waypoints can use the **campsite** tag and campsite details.
5. For a campsite, collect its type, site type, exact or approximate location, and any electric hookup, amps, plug types, and limitations.
6. Photos are optional. If the user supplies them, upload each one with the **uploadPhoto** operation and put the returned IDs in the submission.

## Required approval gate

- Show the complete final payload to the user before submission.
- Do not infer either attestation. Ask the user to explicitly confirm that access is believed legal and that the location does not expose a sensitive place.
- Ask which email the editor may use privately. Never publish or repeat that address outside the write request.
- Submit only after the user approves the payload and both attestations.

## Submit

POST JSON to [the Trail Commons places endpoint](https://www.evbackroads.com/api/v1/community/places) with **Content-Type: application/json**. No API key is required. Respect **429 Retry-After**; do not bypass rate limits. A successful response is **202** with status **pending**, not publication.

After submission, tell the user that a human editor must review the access, route, location, and safety context before the place appears on the Backroads Map.