Want to hike the Grand Canyon? Curious what you’ll see? Planning a hike down Bright Angel to the Colorado River? Now you can check it out from the comfort of your home, thanks to Google Maps. They put a modified version of their Street View camera on a backpack, and hiked the trails for you. The result? Now you can plan your trip, and whet your appetite for the adventure ahead. Here’s a video overview.
Here’s an interactive example at the Colorado River and the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You can move forward, backward, and look around just like you can in Street View. Give it a try!
How did they do it? A team strapped on the Trekker — a 40 pound backpack with a 15-lens camera system and hiked… and hiked… and hiked some more. In all they hiked over 75 miles of trails, capturing over 9,500 interactive, panoramic photos of the magnificent Grand Canyon National Park.
Take your virtual hike of the Grand Canyon, then plan your trip!
Start your exploration at the World Wonders Project.
20 some years ago I stopped on a cross country road trip with my brother. He thought he was humoring me by agreeing to go so far off our route to the Grand Canyon. But once we got there he understood why I was so insistent. I’d like to get the other brother, sister and families to go on a long hike there. Maybe this will help me convince them.
Thanks, Denise! I have to admit that I’ve only visited the Grand Canyon at the South Rim, but haven’t hiked it… yet! I’d love to do the Rim-to-Rim hike, and seeing the trails this way really gives you a sense for what the scenery is like.
As I was exploring the trail, there are a number of places where you see other hikers. I’d love to know who some of them are. You can BET they remember seeing the Google guys.