Planning a trip to a national park? Google’s updates may make it easier to navigate
National park tourists may now spend less time aimlessly looking for a trailhead, stunning landmark or their intended route — thanks to Google’s latest updates.
The four updates were created with the goal of helping people better navigate national parks, especially as parks begin to see more visitors.
These updates for iOS and Android users were announced April 11, just in time for summer traveling.
The updates aim to help national park visitors find information in one place, including what they need to know about attractions, trails, directions and maps, Google Maps’ group product manager Michael Curtes said in a news release.
One update will allow users to see “must-do attractions” at each park. This includes attractions, campgrounds, visitor centers and trailheads. Travelers can also leave reviews for these attractions.
Another update will show an entire trail from beginning to end on Google Maps. Information about the difficulty and length of the trail will also be displayed.
The third update aims to help people get to national park attractions with more precise directions.
“Later this month, you’ll see park entrances highlighted right on the map, and now when you request walking or cycling directions to a particular trail, Maps will direct you right to the trailhead,” Curtes wrote.
The last update to Maps includes an offline map that users can download. There are over 400 National Park Service sites, and many are in remote areas where cell phone service is spotty. This update helps users still access that information with little service.
These four updates are expected to be available for every U.S. park in April as more people are swarming to national parks.
In 2022, national park visitors rose by 5% from 2021, or 15 million people, McClatchy News previously reported.
Three parks in the U.S. had more than 10 million visits last year, according to the National Park Service.
Google will also add these features to parks across the world “in the coming months.”
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