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Guide · operating in the field

POTA and SOTA:
radio from parks and summits

POTA and SOTA are programmes for portable operation from parks and summits. In Poland there are 2981 active POTA parks with the PL‑ prefix and 211 SOTA summits in the SP association. A park counts after 10 QSOs in a single UTC day, and points for a summit after 4 QSOs with different stations. This page includes a map with the nearest parks and summits.

2981 PL‑ parks 211 SP summits POTA: 10 QSO SOTA: 4 QSO

Map of parks and summits POTA, SOTA, WWFF

A radio amateur in a hat sits on a rocky summit and speaks into a handheld radio’s microphone; backpacks beside him, pink guy lines on the antenna mast, snow-capped mountains in the background

Map · data as of 14.10.2026

Where in Poland you can activate

Filters narrow the view, and clicking a point selects a park or summit. Clicking anywhere on the map or the location button shows the nearest ones.

POTA parks SOTA summits

park or reservenational parkSOTA summit

The map will load data when you scroll to it.

Data are from the POTA API and the SOTA summit list as of 14.10.2026, and park names come from the POTA database. Within 30 km of central Warsaw there are 77 parks, and the nearest SOTA summit to Warsaw is Łysica, about 149 km. Distances on the map are straight‑line to the park’s or summit’s reference point, not to the boundary or a car park.

Parks on the Air

POTA: ten contacts from a park

Parks on the Air is a programme for portable operation from protected areas. It grew out of the one‑year National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) event run by ARRL in 2016 for the centenary of the US National Park Service. The POTA organisation has been active since 2018.

An activator is a licensed radio amateur who is in a park from the POTA list and makes contacts with other licensed stations. A hunter is any other licensed operator who makes a QSO with them. A hunter is sometimes called a chaser.

A successful activation is at least 10 QSOs from a listed park within a single UTC day. POTA does not require a specific exchange in the QSO. There is no power limit beyond your licence and the band plan, and you should use the minimum power needed to complete the contact. You may operate from a vehicle parked on public land within the park boundaries. The operator and all equipment must be within those boundaries. All bands and modes allowed by your licence class are permitted. Terrestrial repeaters are prohibited; satellite repeaters are allowed. Fully automated QSOs are prohibited.

You can self‑spot on the POTA spotting page. A hunter can also post a spot or refresh it. A spot disappears about 30 minutes after the last spot or when the comment indicates QRT. Only the activator submits the ADIF log. The hunter does not send a log and gets credit from the activator’s log. There is no time limit for submitting a log.

Polish parks have numbers PL-xxxx. In reports from 2023 you’ll see SP-xxxx with the same numbers. The date the prefix changed for Poland is not confirmed. PL-0695 is Kampinoski Park Narodowy. PL-0576 is Warszawski Obszar Chronionego Krajobrazu, 956 activations, the second highest in Poland. The most frequently activated is PL-1517 Bory Tucholskie, 4339 activations. A hunter may be at home. If they are in another listed park, the QSO becomes Park to Park (P2P). Activating several parks at once — a two‑fer or three‑fer — is allowed if there is an area where all those park boundaries overlap.

A folding table with a radio and a Morse key on a grassy clearing, a camping stool beside it, in the background a mast with a wire antenna strung up, and trees

Summits on the Air

SOTA: four contacts from a summit

Summits on the Air has run since 2.03.2002, from an idea by G3WGV developed together with G3CWI. The SP association has been in the programme since 1.04.2008 and has 211 summits in 15 regions.

SOTA General Rules 1.21 of 1.06.2022 apply. The programme is for portable operation (/P) and does not permit operation from a vehicle. You must not transmit in a vehicle or near it. No part of the station may be connected to the vehicle. The operator’s position must be in the activation zone. In the General Rules this zone is usually within 25 m vertically below the summit. The value for the SP association is not confirmed, as the SP ARM was unavailable. The activation team carries the equipment to the site. Power must be from portable sources only, for example batteries or solar cells. Fossil‑fuel generators and permanently installed sources are prohibited.

One QSO from the summit is enough for the activation to count. Summit points require at least 4 QSOs with different stations, with callsigns and reports exchanged. A QSO with another station in the same activation zone does not count. Nor do QSOs via terrestrial repeaters. Satellites and balloon repeaters are allowed. An activator can claim points for a given summit once per calendar year. The activation log must be uploaded to the SOTA database, via the form or as a file.

A chaser scores points for a QSO with the activator, with callsigns and reports exchanged both ways. For a given summit, one QSO per day counts, from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC. An activator can also claim chaser points for QSOs with other summits. Anyone can take part as an SWL, even without a licence. QSL cards are not required; verification is in the SOTA database. A summit gives 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 points. The bonus is +3 points: in the General Rules the winter bonus is only for higher summits, the summer bonus for all. In the SP summit list the +3 bonus is only on 8‑ and 10‑point summits. The winter bonus period in SP is not confirmed.

The most frequently activated summit in SP is Babia Góra (Diablak), SP/BZ-001, 1725 m, 348 activations. The highest Polish summit in the programme is Mięguszowiecki Szczyt, SP/TA-001, 2432 m. Łysica is SP/GS-001 and 612 m. Śnieżka currently has no active reference in the SP association. Entry SP/KA-001 was valid until 30.09.2017; the valid one is Czech OK/KR-001. Rysy does not appear in the SP association; only OM/PO-092 exists.

A man sits cross-legged on a rock in the forest and speaks into a microphone; in front of him a radio and notes, beside him a vertical antenna with a red pennant

The grassy, open ridges of Tarnica under a blue sky, with a well-trodden trail in the foreground — **Tarnica (1346 m, SP/BI‑001) – the highest peak in the Polish Bieszczady and a popular SOTA activation destination** · photo: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sunrise over the snow-covered summit of Babia Góra, wind blowing spindrift across the ground, the outline of the Tatras on the horizon — **Dawn on Babia Góra (SP/BZ‑001): a winter activation calls for warm gloves and spare batteries** · photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0

A lone tree in fog in a meadow, behind it an orange sun rising over the Kampinos Forest — **Kampinos National Park (POTA PL‑0695) at dawn – a park near Warsaw from which you can operate in the POTA programme** · photo: McBartosz, CC BY 3.0

Radios and a battery on a concrete plinth on a rocky summit, an antenna on a tripod, snow-capped mountains in the background — **SOTA station on an Alpine summit** · photo: Ptolusque, CC BY-SA 4.0

Vertical antenna on a mast by the lake shore; on a stump in the grass lies a small radio with a battery — **POTA activation by the water** · photo: Jeepinjeepin, CC BY-SA 4.0

A grassy slope below the rocky summit of Babia Góra, clouds above — **Diablak in summer, SP/BZ‑001, the most frequently activated summit in SP** · photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0

← swipe sideways →

Activation zone. The diagram shows the strip below the summit in which the operator must be. In the General Rules this strip is usually 25 m vertically.

Points	Heights in the group (min–max)	Number of summits	Bonus
1	225–598 m	24	—
2	609–696 m	23	—
4	701–848 m	47	—
6	850–998 m	55	—
8	1004–1297 m	43	+3
10	1307–2432 m	19	+3

The ranges show the lowest and highest summit in each points group of the current list, not the thresholds from the association rules (the SP ARM was unavailable). Only 8‑ and 10‑point summits have the +3 bonus; the winter bonus period in SP could not be confirmed.

Comparison

POTA, SOTA and WWFF side by side

	POTA	SOTA	WWFF
Where	parks and protected areas	summits from the association list	protected natural areas
In Poland	2981 parks PL‑xxxx	211 summits SP/xx‑nnn	3150 SPFF‑nnnn sites
A valid activation	10 QSOs in a UTC day	1 QSO, points from 4 QSOs	44 QSOs for activator awards
From a car	yes, on public land within the park boundaries	no, not even near it	—
Power	no requirement for portable power	portable only	—
Log	ADIF from the activator	the SOTA database	—
Since when	organisation since 2018	2.03.2002 (SP since 2008)	2008 (WFF), 2012 (WWFF)

A dash means I haven’t checked that WWFF rule in the regulations. Always refer to the current programme rules for details.

WWFF: the third programme

WWFF, or World Wide Flora and Fauna, is the third programme alongside POTA and SOTA: portable operation in protected flora and fauna areas. The movement began in 2008 as WFF, initiated by the Russian Robinson Club, and in November 2012 restarted as WWFF. An activation counts towards WWFF activator awards with a minimum of 44 QSOs. The catalogue as of 14.10.2026 has 3150 active SPFF sites. Kampinoski Park Narodowy has different numbers: PL-0695 in POTA and SPFF-0008 in WWFF.

Which frequencies

POTA doesn’t publish recommended frequencies. SOTA doesn’t set its own either, though it encourages activators to give their working frequency. Activations are often QRP. SOTA recommends avoiding the international QRP frequencies, as there’s QRM there from high‑power chasers, and operating offset from them.

In the IARU Region 1 HF bandplan the QRP centres of activity include 14060 kHz CW and 14285 kHz SSB. 145.500 MHz is the FM calling frequency in the IARU Region 1 VHF bandplan. That’s not an official SOTA frequency, because SOTA doesn’t designate its own 2 m calling frequency.

Step by step

First activation

Choose a park or a summit from the map on this page and note its number. In a park, make 10 QSOs within a single UTC day. On a summit, one QSO qualifies the activation, and 4 QSOs with different stations earn points.
Check the park boundaries: you and all your gear must be on public land inside them. In POTA you may operate from a vehicle if it’s within those boundaries. On a summit the operator’s position must be within the activation zone. In SOTA do not operate from a vehicle or near it, and the team must carry the equipment.
In SOTA power must be portable only, for example batteries or solar panels. A fossil‑fuel generator and a permanently installed source are prohibited. POTA has no such requirement. You can work out consumption with the power calculator.
You can calculate wire‑antenna dimensions with the wire‑antenna calculator. In SOTA the antenna counts as part of the equipment the team carries.
Advertise yourself. In POTA you can self‑spot, and a hunter can spot and refresh a spot. In SOTA on SOTAwatch give your frequency, mode, time and callsign. The spot and alert boards aren’t for general chat.
Submit the log. For POTA you send an ADIF file, and only the activator submits it, with no time limit. You enter a SOTA log via a form in the SOTA database or upload it as a file; without a log there are no points.
Leave no trace. Take away everything you brought.

Sources

Where these rules and numbers come from

POTA: rules (Rules, version 1.3) and activator guide · docs.pota.app
POTA: list of parks in Poland (API, as of 14.10.2026) · pota.app
POTA: change of codes to ISO 3166 (2024) · docs.pota.app
ARRL: National Parks on the Air 2016 · www.arrl.org
SOTA General Rules, version 1.21 (1.06.2022) · www.sota.org.uk
SOTA: SP association and list of summits (as of 14.10.2026) · www.sotadata.org.uk
WWFF Global Rules 5.10 and site catalogue · wwff.co
IARU Region 1: HF and VHF bandplans · www.iaru-r1.org

Next step

Pick a spot and pack the radio

If you want to head out with a radio, start with the map at the top of the page and see what’s closest. For HF have a look at the HF guide.

Power calculator Wire antennas

POTA and SOTA:radio from parks and summits