Explore the great outdoors, while indoors: Google Street View offers tour of Manitoba trails
Nature Conservancy, Google team up for virtual tour of 18 sites in Canada
If you're stuck for inspiration about where to go this long weekend — or stuck at home and can't go anywhere — you can take a peek at parks and trails in Manitoba from the comfort of your couch.
Two Manitoba trails are now accessible on Google Street View, thanks to a partnership between the tech company and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
"Part of our mandate is also connecting Canadians with nature and trying to get them out on the land," said Andrew Holland, a spokesperson for the nature conservancy.
"We figured this is a great way for people and families to see these sites from their own homes, from their own kitchens, from a click of the mouse — check and see what these places look like, and then plan day trips themselves."
Using Google Trekker, a 50-pound backpack with a camera system on it, staff at the nature conservancy visited Fort Ellice and Elk Glen, Man., to create the panoramas, which include hiking trails, pathways and beaches. The virtual tours went live online earlier this week, along with similar tours for 16 other sites across Canada.
Holland said the project aims to connect Canadians with nature.
"We tend to overlook the obvious, and we tend to overlook the natural beauty that's in our own backyards and in our areas," he said.
The 18 nature conservancy sites showcased in the project were chosen based on how accessible they are to people already, Holland said.
"A lot of people think of conservation areas, they think they're fenced off and we can't use it, and that's far from the truth," he said. "We want people out on the lands."
Elk Glen is located at the south boundary of Riding Mountain National Park. Fort Ellice is the site of a historic fort, located on Beaver Creek, about 300 kilometres west of Winnipeg.