Publishing Location Hours and Fees

Publish when a place is open and what it costs so visitors can plan their trip. Hours and fees are available for areas, trails, points of interest, and outings. In Manager, open a location’s Info tab and go to its Hours or Fees section, or select them in the On This Page links at the top of the tab.

Visitors see hours and fees on the location’s page. When a location has no hours or no fees, visitors don’t see that section at all. No hours is different from closed, and a missing fee is never shown as free.

Before You Begin

Hours and fees are records that save in their own editor, like closures and alerts. The Info tab’s Save button saves the location’s own fields, not these records.

Each record shows what it covers, its date, and its source. The bottom of the record shows Added by with the organization that added it, along with its revision.

Hours and fees belong to the location, not to the organization that added them. If your organization manages the location, you can edit or withdraw any of its hours and fees, including records another organization added. The Added by organization stays the same after you edit.

If your organization can see a location that another organization stewards, such as a location owned by a child organization, you can review its hours and fees and withdraw the records your organization added. You can’t add records, edit records, or change the location.

Add Hours

1. On the location’s Info tab, go to Hours and select Add Hours. The hours open on their own page.
2. Under Where These Hours Apply, leave Applies To blank when the hours cover the whole location. Fill it in only when the source limits these hours to a section or purpose, such as a commuter route.
3. Check the time zone. Hours use your organization’s time zone, shown as “Times are in…”; select Change Time Zone if the location uses a different one. Visitors see hours in this time zone, not their device’s.
4. Under Weekly Hours, choose the Days and set the Status to one of the options below. Select Add Weekly Hours for another set of days.
5. Under Date Exceptions, select Add Exception for each holiday or other single date that differs from the weekly hours.
6. Under Source and Notes, enter a Source Name and Source Link when the hours come from a published schedule, along with any Notes visitors need.
7. Select Save. Manager returns you to the Hours section of the Info tab.

If you leave the page with unsaved changes, Manager asks before discarding them.

Choose the Status

• Open Hours — the place opens and closes at set times. Enter the opening and closing times, and select Add Another Time for a second period on the same days, such as a midday closure.
• Open 24 Hours — the place is open all day. Don’t enter identical opening and closing times for this.
• Closed — the place is closed on those days.
• Not Recorded — the source doesn’t say. Unknown hours never tell visitors a place is open.

For an overnight period, such as 6 PM to 2 AM, select Closes the Next Day.

Use Sunrise and Sunset

For hours like “open from sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset,” change Time next to an opening or closing time to Sunrise or Sunset. Enter the number of minutes, then choose Before or After. Enter 0 for sunrise or sunset itself.

Under Sunrise and Sunset Location, enter the Latitude, Longitude, and Reference Point the source gives. Don’t guess a center point. Visitors see these as approximate times.

Add Seasons and Priority

Expand Season and Note to limit weekly hours to a season with Valid From and Valid Through. Season dates apply to one year only and don’t repeat automatically, so add next year’s season when you have it.

When weekly hours overlap, the higher Priority wins. Priority appears under Season and Note when weekly hours already have one, or when you save weekly hours that overlap. For example, give summer hours a priority of 1 so they replace year-round hours with a priority of 0 during the summer. Manager won’t save overlapping weekly hours with the same priority.

Add Date Exceptions

An exception replaces that day’s weekly hours. Use it for holidays, special events, or a one-day change. Each date can have only one exception.

Hours and Closures

A current closure always takes precedence over hours. Hours never reopen a location that has an active closure, and you don’t need to change the hours when you close a location. Select Manage Closures under Hours to review them, or see Closures.

Use hours for the regular schedule. Use a closure when access is restricted for a reason visitors need to know, such as storm damage, maintenance, or a seasonal closure.

Add a Fee

1. On the location’s Info tab, go to Fees and select Add Fee.
2. Enter a Fee Name that visitors will recognize, such as “Day Use Parking,” and choose its Type: Entry, Parking, Camping, Activity, Permit, or Other.
3. Choose the Price:
• Free — the source says there’s no charge.
• Fixed Price — one amount.
• Price Range — a minimum and maximum amount.
• Starting Price — the lowest amount, when the price varies.
• Not Recorded — the source doesn’t give a price.
4. For a price with an amount, enter it without a currency symbol, such as 12.50. Choose the currency beside the amount; it starts as USD.
5. Enter what the fee is Charged Per, such as vehicle, person, or night, and any Conditions, such as who pays, what the fee covers, and exemptions.
6. Expand More Details when you need them. Set Valid From and Valid Through when the fee applies only part of the year. If your organization sells a matching pass, reservation, or ticket in OuterSpatial, choose it under Related Pass, Reservation, or Ticket. Add the source under Source Name and Source Link, and any Notes.
7. Select Save.

Fees are shown to visitors for information only. A fee doesn’t sell anything or confirm that a visitor is eligible, and a related product doesn’t guarantee availability or replace its checkout price.

Keep Charges Separate

Add each charge as its own fee. For example, a nightly camping fee and a reservation fee are separate records. Manager doesn’t add them into a total.

Free admission doesn’t mean free parking, reservations, or permits. If parking costs money but entry is free, add both fees.

Hours and Fees From a Parent Area

When a trail, point of interest, or outing has no hours or fees of its own, Manager tells you which parent areas publish hours or entry fees, with a link to each area your organization can open. A location inside several areas lists each one.

This note is for your reference. Visitors don’t yet see a parent area’s hours or fees on the locations inside it. Add hours or fees to the location itself when visitors need them there.

Correct or Withdraw a Record

Use Edit to correct hours or a fee on a location your organization manages, whichever organization added it.

Use Withdraw to remove a record from visitor display. Enter a Reason for Withdrawal so your team understands the change later. Withdrawn and replaced records stay in the section’s history; select Show History to review them.

Troubleshooting

My changes weren’t saved because the record changed. Your entries stay on the form. Copy anything you need, then refresh the page before trying again. Someone else may have edited the record, or your organization’s permissions may have changed.

Manager says my weekly hours overlap. Two sets of weekly hours with the same priority cover the same day and season. Change the days, the season dates, or the Priority that appears with the message.

Manager won’t accept a closing time. For hours that end after midnight, select Closes the Next Day. Otherwise, choose a closing time after the opening time.

The location shows as closed during its open hours. Check for an active closure under Manage Closures. A closure always takes precedence over hours.

See Publishing Trail Access Information for the Accessibility section on the same Info tab.