So I finally did my first ever POTA activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from me (K-4861 if anyone's curious) and honestly I was not prepared for how much fun it was. Set up my KX2 with a 40m end fed wire thrown up into a pine tree, maybe 20 feet of height, nothing fancy at all.

Got my 10 contacts in about 35 minutes which I know isn't blazing fast but for a first time out I was pretty happy. Mostly 40m SSB with a couple guys on 20m toward the end. A few people spotted me on the POTA app and that definitely helped the pile up situation, small as it was lol.

Anyway my question is about park references — when I upload my log do I just put the one park number in? I was right on the edge of the park boundary and there was another unit of the same state park system maybe a half mile down the road but I didnt actually operate from that trailhead. Can you count it? And also how strict are they about the boundary thing, like is GPS required or just a reasonable effort to be inside the park?

Already planning my next one. Thinking about doing a two-fer if I can find parks close enough together to do in one day.

congrats on the first activation, 35 minutes to 10 contacts on your first time out is honestly pretty solid especially if you weren't pre-spotted before you set up. some folks struggle to get the 10 the first couple times.

on the boundary question — you can only log the park you were actually operating from. even if the other unit is a quarter mile away you'd need to physically go there and operate to claim it. the honor system is pretty much how it works, theres no GPS verification or anything like that, but the community takes it seriously and most people are pretty honest about it. if you were clearly inside K-4861 then that's your activation, done.

two-fers are great when you can pull them off. i did three parks in one day last fall and it was exhausting but really rewarding. just watch your time — moving between parks eats up more time than you think, especially if you're trying to get a good run going at each one before packing up.

yeah what he said about the boundaries, its basically trust based. i think the rules just say you need to be within the boundary of the designated park unit, so as long as you were actually inside the park you're fine.

also just a tip for your two-fer idea — the POTA website has a map where you can look up park locations and a lot of times you can find parks that share a border or are basically adjacent. some areas have state forests right next to state parks and stuff like that. makes for an easy same-day double activation without a ton of driving.