Calif. State Parks Hope To Lure Hikers With Google Trail Mapping Effort
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Hikers on some of Southern California's most popular trails could soon see those ubiquitous Google Street View cameras.
KNX 1070's Megan Goldsby reports the search giant's latest mapping effort will soon offer virtual hiking experience that officials hope could draw more visitors to California state parks.
Calif. State Parks Hope To Lure Hikers With Google Trail Mapping Effort
Google's "Street View Treks" effort began back in July with Google Trekker, a backpack-mounted camera that provides 360 degree footage of over 20 trails in 14 state parks in Northern California, according to officials.
The backpacks - which feature fully-rotating 15-lens mounted cameras - were used to capture panoramic views of some of the state's most scenic trails, including the redwoods of Big Sur and Marina State Beach.
Vicky Waters with California State Parks said the mapping effort should be coming to state parks here in the Southland "in the near future."
According to Waters, the park system is hoping to lure more visitors who can use the images to gauge whether they'd like to experience a trail in real life.
"You can see all the way up to the sky, all the way down to the ground," she said.
Efforts to spruce up local parks included the recent additions of credit card machines for parking and admittance as well as pay by phone meters in Orange County's state parks.
Anyone interested in potentially mapping a local park for Google is urged to apply for the Street View Trekker project.
