Virtual tourists interested in seeing more of Kitimat than just the main streets can now also check out two walking trails on Google Maps’ Street View.
A virtual tour of the trails at Hirsch Creek and Pine Creek are now available, along with those from hiking trails across Northern B.C., as part of a initiative by the District of Kitimat and Northern B.C. Tourism (NBCT).
NBCT approached the District to participate in the initiative to feature walking trails in Northern B.C. which are inaccessible by road through virtual tours on Google.
Google Canada had the Street View Trekker camera brought in from the U.S., which was operated by NBCT’s Industry Development Specialist Tyler Clarke, who put on a pair of hiking boots, hefted the camera onto his back and walked a number of trails.
Clarke was in the region for a day in the summer of 2016, capturing 360 degree panoramic imagery of trails in Kitimat, Terrace and Haida Gwaii.
The footage was downloaded and sent back to California in the U.S., where it was processed in Google’s labs and converted to virtual footage which was uploaded to the site.
Kitimat Chamber of Commerce executive director Trish Parsons said NBCT oversees tourism activities in the north, their area accounting for half the province of B.C.
“We work on a number of initiatives with NBCT to develop tourism in the region,” said Parsons.
This is the largest Trekker mapping project ever undertaken between a provincial tourism marketing organization and Google in Canada.