Skift Take

Google's effort to get hard-to-reach places such as trails in the Grand Canyon into Google Maps is a beautiful thing.

Dennis Schaal

Google is giving people a way to virtually hike the Grand Canyon.

The search giant released images Thursday that map the most popular trails at the park’s South Rim and other walkways.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company used a rosette of cameras mounted for the first time on a backpack to gather thousands of panoramic images last year.

The so-called trekker captured images every 2.5 seconds, showing the steep switchbacks of the Bright Angel Trail, the change from juniper trees to scrub brush and the Colorado River.

Google has said it wants to deploy the backpacks to other national parks and forests, and to ancient ruins and castles.

The company also has used tricycles, push carts and snowmobiles to map places where vehicles cannot travel.

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The Associated Press

February 1st, 2013 at 1:15 AM EST

Tags: google, grand canyon, maps

Photo credit: The Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon. Google Maps

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