Walk the Parks — Support
Need a hand? Email walktheparkssupport@gmail.com and a real person (the developer) will reply. The answers below cover almost everything people ask.
My steps aren't updating unless I open the app
Two settings on the phone cause this, and neither is the app.
- Low Power Mode. iOS pauses background refresh for every app while it's on, so the widget and landmark alerts wait until you open Walk the Parks. The Journey screen and the widget show a small "Low Power Mode" note while this is happening. Turn it off in Settings › Battery and background updates resume on their own.
- Background App Refresh. Settings › General › Background App Refresh must be on, and Walk the Parks must be on in that list.
Opening the app always syncs immediately regardless of either setting.
Does it work with my Garmin, Oura or Fitbit?
Yes, through Apple Health. Turn on Apple Health sharing in the device's own app (Fitbit needs a sync app), and Walk the Parks picks up your steps.
- Garmin. In the Garmin Connect app, turn on Apple Health under Connected Apps and allow Steps.
- Oura. In the Oura app, turn on Apple Health sharing.
- Fitbit. Fitbit doesn't share with Apple Health on its own. A sync app from the App Store can copy your Fitbit steps into Health.
An Apple Watch needs nothing extra; it already writes to Health.
My Garmin / Fitbit / Apple Watch steps look wrong or doubled
Walk the Parks reads steps from Apple Health, not from the watch directly. When a watch app and the iPhone both write steps to Health, the app keeps the larger of the two for each day and never adds them together. If your miles still look wrong (this can happen right after connecting a new watch), open Settings › Apple Health › Recalculate from Apple Health. It rebuilds every journey from scratch, one source per day.
For the most accurate count, keep the phone in a pocket rather than a bag or on a desk; Health credits steps the phone itself can see.
The Unlock button is greyed out
The paywall says why. The three causes, in order of likelihood:
- In-app purchases are switched off on the phone. Screen Time, parental controls, and company-managed (work) phones do this. Check Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases › In-app Purchases. On a managed phone only the administrator can change it. Everything free still works.
- The phone can't reach the App Store. Hotel and café Wi-Fi with a sign-in page, a VPN, or an ad-blocking DNS profile will do this. Switch to cellular or turn the VPN off, then tap Try Again.
- The store is still catching up. Rare; wait a few minutes and tap Try Again.
Landmark photos aren't loading
Photos come from the National Park Service's own website and need an internet connection the first time each one is shown. On a Wi-Fi network with a sign-in page they will fail quietly; switch to cellular or accept the sign-in page and reopen the celebration. Once a photo has loaded it stays cached.
I want to walk a different park without losing my progress
Open any park and tap "Switch to This Park." Your current journey is paused exactly where it is, and its page shows a Resume button whenever you want to go back. Steps are never counted toward two parks at once.
How does the app know today's weather?
It doesn't — there is no location access and no forecast. Each park has its own plausible weather that changes day to day (cold trails snow, wet trails rain, deserts stay mostly clear), plus a real sun and moon that follow your phone's clock.
Where is my data stored?
Only on your phone. There is no account, no server, and nothing is uploaded. Deleting the app deletes the data. Apple Health access is read-only: the app never writes to Health.
Refunds
Purchases are handled by Apple. Request a refund at reportaproblem.apple.com; the app doesn't see or hold any payment information.