FogTrail

Walking safely

Last updated: October 5, 2026

The places are real. The detail is illustrative.

FogTrail ships with a small set of example places around Vancouver's North Shore and East Vancouver so the fog mechanic works on a real walk. The coordinates are real, but the drawn line is not a surveyed trail. It is a shape generated so the fog has something to lift. The difficulty, surface, amenity and note fields are example values written for the app, not a report from anyone who walked there. The photographs are illustrative artwork, not pictures of those locations.

Treat all of it as decoration on top of real ground. Get your actual trail information from the park authority that manages the land.

Look up

The fog lifts while a walk is running, and a walk keeps recording with the screen off, so you never need to look at the phone to keep walking. Start the walk, put the phone in your pocket, and watch the ground. Put it away on rough, steep or exposed sections. A trail you did not clear today will still be there tomorrow.

Steep ground on the North Shore

Several of the example places sit on or near terrain that generates real search-and-rescue calls every year. Rain, snow, mud, root and rock, and early winter darkness change these walks completely. Before you go:

• Check the park's own trail report and closures.
• Check the forecast and the sunset time, then plan to be out well before it.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.
• Carry water, a layer, a light, and food.
• Turn back rather than push on. This is a game about fog, not about summiting.

Young walkers, and walking with others

FogTrail is for people aged 13 and over; anyone under 19 should use it only with a parent or guardian's permission (see the Terms of Use). If you are under 18, or you are a parent or guardian of someone who is:

• Walk with an adult or a group, not alone, on anything steep, remote or wooded. Fog is never worth getting separated for.
• Be back before dark, and tell a parent or guardian where you are going and when you will return.
• Never go to meet someone you only know online, and never go to a place because a stranger sent you its file.
• Do not walk near roads, water, cliffs or private land because the map says there is fog to clear. Stay on marked, open public paths.
• You decide who gets a place file. Do not send one that shows your home, school or regular routes; set a Privacy Zone around them first.
• If anything online or in a file makes you uncomfortable, stop, tell a trusted adult, and email us.

Sharing places and your location

A place file carries a real name and a real line. Send one only to someone you know and trust, and only for ground that is safe for them. Use Privacy Zone in Settings to keep your home and other private areas out of anything you share; shared Fogprint pictures and place files leave those parts out, and your own map stays complete. A backup file keeps your full routes including protected areas, so keep it private.

Health and step data

Step counts, distance and elevation shown in FogTrail are estimates from your phone's sensors or from Apple Health. They are not medical measurements and are not a fitness or health assessment. If you have a condition that walking could affect, talk to a clinician rather than to a leaderboard.

In an emergency

Call your local emergency number. In British Columbia that is 911, and search and rescue is dispatched through it. Do not attempt to use FogTrail to report or locate an incident. If someone is in danger because of something you saw in or through the app, call your local emergency number first.