About Put-In
A free trip planner for people who pick the water first and figure out the rest after.
What this site is
Put-In has a page for every named lake, reservoir, river and creek in California and Arizona, with more states coming one at a time. Each page pulls together what you need to plan a day or a weekend: boat ramps and marinas, campgrounds, nearby trailheads, which fish live there and when they bite, current fishing limits, river flows and lake levels, the weather, and photos of the place itself.
It's built for anglers, boaters, paddlers and families who would rather spend their time on the water than across ten browser tabs.
Who runs it
Put-In is run by [site owner name], based in California. It is an independent site. It is not affiliated with any government agency, park, or the companies we link to.
Where the information comes from
- Lakes and rivers: the U.S. Geological Survey's 3D Hydrography Program.
- Campgrounds and recreation areas: Recreation.gov and the National Park Service.
- Boat ramps, marinas, campsites and trailheads: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Fish stocking: California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Arizona Game and Fish Department planting reports.
- Fish species: stocking records plus verified observations shared through GBIF.
- Flows, lake levels and weather: USGS water gauges, the California Data Exchange Center, and the National Weather Service.
- Photos: free-to-use photos from Wikimedia Commons, the National Park Service and Recreation.gov, each credited on the page and on our photo credits page.
Some details, like the ramps and campgrounds on our most popular lakes, are checked by hand. Those are marked "Hand-checked" on the page.
Fishing rules
We check the state fishing regulations every week and show the date we last confirmed them. When a state changes its rules, that state's pages say "Limits under review" until we've updated them. Rules can change at any time, so always confirm with the state wildlife agency before you fish.
How the site makes money
The site is free and has no ads. When you click through to rent a boat, book a guided trip, reserve a private campsite, rent an RV or buy gear, we may earn a commission from that company at no extra cost to you. Every link that leaves this site is one of these affiliate links.
Commissions never decide what we list. Public ramps and campgrounds appear whether or not they earn us anything, and most of them don't.
Spotted a mistake?
Ramps close, campgrounds change hands and lakes drop. If something on a page is wrong or out of date, please tell us. Corrections from people who were just there are the most useful thing we get.