Skip to content
BikeTheRail logo

BikeTheRail MCP server

Which MCP servers are BikeTheRail's own, from the official registry and from asking its own domain, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-10-28

← Back to BikeTheRail

Whose server it is
  • Registry nameorg.biketherail/trailsverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under biketherail.org. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-10-28
  • Stateanswerschecked 2026-10-28
  • Tools4
  • Server calls itselforg.biketherail/trails
  • Server version1.0.0
  • Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-10-28 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 335 ms.

Should an agent connect itNot proven either way yet
  • Its tools do every use case we checked: search rail trails by name or state; check trail surfaces and lengths before riding; look up reported trail closures and detours.
  • Checked on 6 of the 7 days it takes to judge reliability.

Once connected

  • For "search rail trails by name or state", the likely first call is search_trails.
  • For "look up reported trail closures and detours", the likely first call is list_closures.

Said by rules from the measurements above. The likely first call is a model's pick from the tool list; read its description before relying on it.

Measured dailydaily checks: 6, the first on 2026-10-29
  • INITE MCP scoreafter a weeka score needs 7 daily checks: 6 so far
  • What an agent can do with it3 of 3 use cases
  • Answeredmeasuring6 of the 7 daily checks it takes to print a share
  • Median first answer204 ms
  • Space in an agent's context≈ 962 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (4), which an agent carries on every turn
  • Tool definitionsA · 100 of 100
  • Typed results0 of 4 toolsdeclared outputSchema: results come typed, read once
  • Every tool passes all six checks.

What an agent can do with it

  • can do · search rail trails by name or state
  • can do · check trail surfaces and lengths before riding
  • can do · look up reported trail closures and detours

Each of the product's use cases, put to Jev against this server's tool list: can an agent do it with these tools?

Worth a look

None of the five warning signs in these definitions.

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The score weighs what was measured and nothing else: answering (25%), doing the product's job (25%), definitions (20%), context (10%), use (10%) and how readily a client connects (10%). A part that was not measured is left out, and a hidden instruction caps the score at 40. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers4 tools · read 2026-10-28
  • search_trails

    Find U.S. rail-trails, canal towpaths and greenways by name, state, surface, kind and length. Returns each trail's page URL and slug (for get_trail). With no query, lists the longest trails that match the filters.

  • get_trail

    One trail's facts (length, surface, states, managing organization, official website, year opened), trailheads with parking, restrooms and water, any current closure, the opening of its "About this trail" article, its numbered sources and…

  • trails_near

    Trails within a radius of a latitude and longitude, nearest first, with the distance to the closest point of each trail. For a town or address, pass its coordinates. Optional filters as in search_trails.

  • list_closures

    Current trail closures and detours posted by trail managers and agencies, optionally for one state, with the source notice. Trails not listed have no reported closure.

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trails": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add it

Claude Code, in a terminal

claude mcp add --transport http biketherail https://biketherail.org/mcp

Add to CursorAdd to VS Code

claude.ai, ChatGPT and other clients: add https://biketherail.org/mcp as a custom connector in the settings.

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.