We built the app
we wished existed.
After years of juggling Google Maps, Yelp, and random blog posts to find decent stops, J & L built SmartStops for their own kids. Now thousands of families use it every weekend.
Two parents.
One software engineer.
A lot of road trips.
L is a software engineer with over a decade of experience. J is the mom who makes sure the app works for real families on real trips.
We started SmartStops after one too many highway meltdowns and one too many "let me check three apps real quick" moments. The tools we needed didn't exist — so we built them.
Today SmartStops is used by thousands of families across the US, with a verified database of 194,000+ parks and a 5.0 App Store rating from real road-tripping parents.
What we believe
Real data, not AI guesses
Every park is verified. We don't hallucinate amenities or recommend closed locations.
Kids first
We optimize for kid comfort and energy levels, not shortest distance or fastest route.
Use what you love
We're a planner, not a navigator. Apple Maps and Google Maps already do that part well.