Rec-MCP: Recreation & Campground Search
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for finding camping facilities and recreational areas using Recreation.gov's Recreation Information Database (RIDB) API and Google Maps Geocoding API.
Features
- 🏕️ Find Camping Facilities: Search for campgrounds and recreational facilities near any location
- 🌍 Geocoding Support: Convert city names to coordinates using Google Maps API
- 🔍 Flexible Search: Customize search radius, result limits, and activity types. Change your prompts to locate reservable vs. first-come, first-serve campgrounds, etc.
- 📊 Rich Data: Get detailed facility information including contact details, amenities, and image URLs
- 🛠️ MCP Integration: Works seamlessly with MCP clients
Prerequisites
- Python 3.12 or higher
- API keys for:
Setup
- Clone the repository
- Install dependencies
uv add requests python-dotenv mcp
- Create a
.envfile in the project root:- env RIDB_API_KEY=your_recreation_gov_api_key_here
- GOOGLE_GEOCODE_KEY=your_google_maps_api_key_here
- Run the server
uv --directory /your_file_path/rec_mcp/ run ridb_mcp_server.py
Testing the MCP Server
Use the MCP Inspector to ensure the MCP Server is working before integrating it into any clients.
Install MCP inspector globally
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector
Run the inspector
mcp-inspector uv run python ridb_mcp_server.py
Integrating the MCP Server with Clients
The MCP Server can be integrated into clients such as Claude Desktop and VSCode.
For Claude Desktop, add the server to the claude_desktop_config.json file.
Credits
JetBrains AI Pro generated 90 % of the code written for this project in PyCharm.