Make a Free Food Trail From Your List

A free food trail is a walking route made from a list of places, with a note at each stop. In Mosey you pick three to twelve places from a list, set the route, add a tip for each stop and name the trail. A stop counts when you rate the place or tap "I'm here," and a finished trail goes in your passport.

What is a free food trail?

It is a route you make yourself. Where a list says "these places are good," a trail says "visit them in this order, and here is what to get." There is no ticket, no price and nothing to buy to follow one. It is built from places you have rated, and your list stays exactly as it was.

People use trails for a Saturday on foot, a visit from friends or a favorite neighborhood. The app's own line for it is clear: "Turn these places into a route with a note at each stop. Your list stays as it is."

How do you make a trail from a list?

Open a list and tap "Make a trail from this list." The app walks you through four steps. First, pick the places: a trail needs at least three and can have up to twelve. Second, set the route, either any order or a suggested order. Third, add a note for each stop, which is optional and signed with your name. Fourth, give the trail a title and, if you like, a theme such as brunch, bakeries or late night.

The notes are the heart of it. The prompt asks "What should people order, or where should they sit?" so a note might name the dish to try or the best table. A cover photo can be one of your own pictures from these places.

What goes in a note for each stop?

Something only someone who has been can say. "Get the soup, skip the salad." "Sit at the back, it is quieter." "Share the dessert." The note is signed with your name, so it reads like a tip from a friend rather than an ad, and it is optional, so a stop with nothing to add can stay blank. A trail with a note at every stop feels like a guided walk, and a trail with none is just a route.

What are the rules for a trail?

The app checks a few things before you can publish. You must have rated at least half the places yourself. Every stop has to serve food, so a place that only serves drinks cannot be on a trail. The places must be close enough together to keep the trail within a city, and your account has to be over a week old. Anything that is not ready is listed as "Not quite ready to publish."

You do not have to publish. "Keep it private" saves the trail so that only you and anyone making it with you can see it, until you decide otherwise.

How does a stop count when you follow a trail?

A stop counts when you rate the place or tap "I'm here" when you arrive. The app says it in one line: "A stop counts when you rate the place, or tap I'm here when you arrive." Tapping "I'm here" checks your location once and never keeps it, and if you are not near the place yet, it asks you to try again when you arrive. If a place has no location the app can check, you rate it to tick it off.

A progress line shows "2 of 6 stops" as you go. A stop you finished is marked "Done: you were here" or "Done: you rated it."

How do you follow a trail someone else made?

Open the trail, read the stops and tap "Start this trail." The page shows the facts: how many stops, the walk, the time and whether the order is any or suggested. Go in the order that suits you if it is any order, and follow the suggestion if there is one. Each stop shows a prompt, "Rate it, or tap I'm here when you arrive," so you always know how to tick it off.

What happens when you finish?

The app shows "Trail finished," with the title and the number of stops, and notes that it is in your passport. You can rate the trail itself, which rates the route and not the places on it, and share it with friends. If friends finished it too, the screen says so.

If you want to stop partway, "Stop the trail" keeps your progress, and starting again begins a fresh run. A trail you made can also be taken down, and people already on it can still finish. Next to the share button is a report option, so a trail that is wrong, closed or abusive can be flagged, and Mosey will look at it.

Which kinds of trails work best?

Short ones. Four or five stops in one neighborhood, with a tip at each, are easier to finish than twelve. Pick a theme so the trail has a point, such as coffee stops, bakeries or a late snack. Keep the walk under an afternoon and mix a quick bite with one sit-down stop. The food crawl guide has more on pacing, and the guide to building a food list with friends covers the list a trail starts from.

How does a trail help local places?

A trail sends people to several small places in one outing, with a recommendation from someone they trust. It costs the walker nothing, and Mosey is free for a place to list, with no hidden fees and affordable tools, so the attention goes to the places themselves. That is supporting local on foot.

Start with a list you already have, using the lists feature page if you need a refresher, and browse the US food guides for more ideas.

Open a list in the Mosey app, choose "Make a trail from this list" and write a tip for the first stop.