Pocket Outside gives you a park plan to print

Pocket Outside is an app that helps you find a short outdoor break in Mississauga. Simply tell it what you're looking for, such as a park with trees or a wetland boardwalk, and it will suggest a park plan you can print. The app has eight parks, each with short descriptions verified against official city and conservation pages. When you request details like a Japanese garden or birdwatching spot, the app uses AI to match your request with the park descriptions.

For instance, a river-and-trees request will suggest Riverwood, while a Japanese-garden request brings up Kariya Park. If the island bridge at Erindale Park is closed, the plan will show the closure notice. To use Pocket Outside, download the roughly 45-50 MB app while connected to the internet. The time you choose will determine the suggested activity, but the app does not calculate a route or travel time.

You can always check the official page for current conditions. The code for Pocket Outside is open-source and available on GitHub. It's built with plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and uses the MiniLM sentence model to find matching park records. The project was built within the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge window, and is licensed under MIT.

The app's simplicity makes it easy for others to update with their own local parks, or change the AI model if desired. Updating just one park record is enough to correct issues like a bridge closure.