This article is about the Proxi admin app at app.proxi.co.
Fall is the most mappable season there is: a fall foliage map, leaf peeping guide, pumpkin patch map, apple picking guide, corn maze trail, cider trail, fall foodie map, or one big "Fall Fun Guide" that holds it all. It pairs with a Halloween map the way hot cider pairs with a donut — and it's a tourism draw with a two-month shelf life every single year.
1. Pick Your Shape: One Big Guide or Focused Maps
Both work. A single "Fall in Door County" map with categories — "Foliage Views, Pumpkin Patches, Orchards, Corn Mazes, Cider & Donuts, Fall Events" — gives visitors one link for the season. Focused maps (just foliage, just patches) are easier to promote to a specific audience. Either way, build one collection; you can always spin additional maps from it.
2. The Farm and Orchard Directory Layer
Create listings for the farms, orchards, and cideries — Add Item on the Listings page searches for each business and pulls in its details; Get data fills the gaps.
Add the fields families actually filter by (Fields → Add a field on the collection): an Hours field, plus checkboxes for "U-Pick," "Hayrides," "Corn Maze," "Cider Donuts," and "Dog Friendly." Turn them on under Filters → Field filters, and add the search bar (Filters → Search bar, placeholder "Search farms and orchards…").
Farm hours change with the weather and the crop — so hand the updates to the farms. On each listing, add the farmer as a contact with the Manager role and send the portal invite: they get a "Manage your listing" email, sign in with a 6-digit code, and update their own hours, photos, and "u-pick is open" status under Details — live on the map the moment they save. Check the "Last signed in" date before peak season to see who needs a text.
Style for the season: an Outdoor or Topographic map style, oranges and golds in Brand colors, a leafy Cover image, and marker icons per category (there's a leaf, a tractor, and an apple in the icon search).
3. The Foliage Map: Crowdsource the Color
Peak color moves week by week, and your community knows where it is before you do:
Turn on Public submissions for a foliage collection and shape the form in Edit Form: public title "Where's the color right now?", a photo field, and your location field — nothing else (every extra question costs submissions). Keep Require approval before publishing on so you curate, and grab the share link and website embed code from the Share popover.
Add viewpoints, scenic drives (draw them as route lines in Shapes & Overlays), and trailheads yourself as the backbone — double-click works for overlooks with no address.
Re-share the map weekly as color moves — "the map's updated, northern routes are peaking" — every approval is fresh content, and the same link keeps working all season.
4. Fall Events on Top
Add a Date & time field for festivals, haunted hayride nights, and harvest dinners, and switch on the date filter with "Hide past events" — the guide always answers "what's happening this weekend?" For the gamified layer, a fall Passport ("Visit 6 orchards, win a pie") runs exactly like the fundraiser and restaurant week builds — and Photo Check-in in October produces the best photo feed of the year.
5. Where It Spreads
A gorgeous link preview image is non-negotiable — foliage maps are made for Facebook shares.
QR codes at trailhead kiosks, farm stands, and the visitor center; print the guide for hotel lobbies with the list grouped by Category.
Embed it on the tourism site, turn on List Publicly, and check Analytics in November — foliage-season view counts make great board-meeting slides, and Duplicate Map next September starts you warm.
Worth a read on the Proxi blog: creating a community fall foliage map, pumpkin patch adventure maps, apple picking adventure maps, fall hiking maps, fall foodie finds, and building fall festival and event maps.