How we handle your visit

Privacy, stated
specifically.

Plain-English version: we ask for exactly one thing, your email, and only if you want the newsletter. We don't run ads and we don't sell anything about you. But parts of this site load content from other companies, and those companies see that you visited. This page names them.

Last updated August 28, 2026.

What we ask you for

One thing: your email address, and only if you choose to subscribe for a state Trail Guide or the newsletter. It goes to Buttondown, our newsletter provider, along with which state you asked about and which page you signed up from. It is not stored in our own database, it is never sold, and you can unsubscribe from any email we send.

We do not ask you to create an account, and there is nothing to log into. Trip Builder itineraries are saved in your own browser's local storage and never reach us.

What happens automatically

Visiting any website means a handful of companies see the request. Here is ours, honestly:

  • Plausible — our analytics. It is cookieless and does not build a profile of you or follow you across sites. We see aggregate counts: pages viewed, rough country, referring source.
  • Cloudflare — sits in front of the site to absorb scraping and attacks. It processes your IP address and sets one cookie, __cf_bm, to tell humans from bots. This is security infrastructure, not advertising.
  • Mapbox — draws the maps. When a page shows a map, Mapbox receives the request for those map tiles. If you use the search box or Trip Builder routing, it also receives what you typed or the coordinates you routed between.
  • DreamHost — our web host, which keeps standard server logs.

The nearby-stays map, which is the big one

Most venue pages carry a "Find a place to stay near [venue]" map. It is supplied by Stay22 and runs inside an embedded frame from their servers. It does not load when the page opens. It loads only when you scroll far enough down the page to reach it, so if you never scroll that far, none of the following happens.

When it does load, that frame brings its own third parties with it. We measured this rather than take it on trust, and we would rather name them than describe the embed as just "a map":

  • Stay22 — the lodging search itself. Sets a session22 cookie and a Cloudflare bot cookie.
  • Hotjar — analytics that can record interaction inside that frame. It does not have access to the rest of the HauntBound page.
  • Google Tag Manager — a tag loader, which means Stay22 can add further tools to that frame without us being notified.
  • Sentry — error reporting for their product.
  • Stadia Maps and Font Awesome — the map tiles and icons the embed draws with.

These are Stay22's choices inside their own frame, not ours, and they are governed by Stay22's privacy policy. We are telling you because "a lodging map" does not sound like five companies, and you deserve to know which it is. If you would rather none of it loaded, a content blocker will stop it, and the rest of the page works without it.

Affiliate links

When you click a booking or ticket link that earns us a commission, the partner sets its own cookie to remember that you arrived from us. That is the entire mechanism by which we get paid. It costs you nothing and you pay the same price either way. Which programs we use, and the firewall that keeps them out of our rankings, is set out in full on our affiliate disclosure page.

What we don't do

  • We don't run programmatic advertising. There are no ad networks on this site.
  • We don't sell, rent, or share your email address.
  • We don't build advertising profiles or track you across other websites.
  • We don't require an account, and we don't ask for payment details anywhere on the site.

Your choices

  • Email: don't subscribe, or unsubscribe from any email. To have your address deleted outright, write to us and we'll remove it from Buttondown.
  • The nearby-stays embed: it loads only if you scroll to it. A content blocker prevents it entirely.
  • Everything else: standard browser privacy controls apply. Nothing on this site depends on being tracked.

If you are in a jurisdiction with a statutory right of access, correction, or deletion, write to us and we will honour it. In practice the only record we are likely to hold is a newsletter subscription.

Children

HauntBound is written for adults planning travel, including family travel. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.

Questions or requests

Email editor@hauntbound.com. HauntBound is operated by Firefly Hollow Enterprises LLC (Michigan, USA).

If this page ever disagrees with what the site actually does, the page is the thing that's wrong. Tell us and we'll correct it.