Google Treks Woodland

Google launches interactive street view images of Dayton trails and landscapes including Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (a site on the Aviation Trail).

DAYTON, OH (May 5, 2017) — Google has incorporated 360-degree virtual imagery of hundreds of miles of the Dayton area’s trails and park destinations into its Google Maps. Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum contributed to this effort by coordinating with spearheading partners, Five Rivers MetroParks, Outdoor Adventure Connection and Dayton Hikers, in order to capture the nine-plus miles of roads, walking paths and scenic views at Woodland Cemetery. This collaborative effort enabled volunteers to capture more than 600 miles of hiking, equestrian, mountain bike, water and paved trails.

The panoramic street view imagery of regional trails provides outdoor recreation enthusiasts with interactive visual resources to plan and inspire adventures. People across the world now have the ability to virtually explore many of the region’s trails and landscapes.

“This tool, provided by Google, will enhance the visitor experience to the cemetery,” said Sean O’Regan, president and CEO for Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum. “People from all over the world will be able to visit the gravesites of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Erma Bombeck, Governor James M. Cox, Charles Kettering and John H. Patterson.” Users can access the images by visiting www.google.com/maps. Captured areas include:

● Publicly accessible trails and open spaces in Five Rivers MetroParks’ 18 park destinations

● MetroParks’ Woodman Fen, Dull Woods and Medlar conservation areas

● Regional parks, including Bill Yeck Park, Grant Park, and Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

● The nation’s largest paved trail network including more than 20 regional paved trails such as the Great Miami River Trail, Stillwater River Trail, Mad River Trail .

● The Great Miami River Watershed National Water Trail through Montgomery County

● Mad River Run and RiverScape River Run

“The project not only shows how beautiful and timeless Woodland is,” O’Regan said, “but our unique status as an outdoor museum and a conservator of Dayton’s history and its influential descendants.”

Professional photographers, travelers, organizations and those who wish to promote areas of cultural, historical or touristic significance may apply to participate in the Google Street View camera loan program. A Street View Trekker backpack or a Street View app-compatible 360 camera is provided to organizations so they may capture comprehensive imagery of a designated area or site.

Similar to the camera unit affixed to vehicles that capture Google’s Street View images along roads, the Street View Trekker backpack has 15 cameras that capture images about every two seconds. Volunteers from Five Rivers MetroParks and Dayton Hikers collected the images during summer 2016.

The Street View Trekker backpack was mounted on a kayak to capture rivers and lakes, and on a utility cart to record images of the nation’s largest paved trail network, with more than 300 miles of connected trails. In addition, volunteers Jim Lewis, Laney Ketring, Dan Murray and Andy Niekamp wore the 50-pound Street View Trekker backpack to capture 80 miles of the area’s hiking trails.

Data collected from the Street View Trekker backpack and detailed information about each “trekking” session was sent to Google upon the project’s completion. Google has been processing the images since then to incorporate them into Google Maps.

The launch of this locally collected data comes just before the International Trails Symposium, May 7 to 10. Hosted in Dayton and sponsored by American Trails, the biennial International Trail Symposium is the premier opportunity for the world’s trails community to convene for educational sessions, networking and to experience regional trails.

ABOUT WOODLAND CEMETERY AND ARBORETUM Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum sits in the heart of downtown Dayton on over 200 verdant acres of rolling hills with over 3000 tress on the property. This historic cemetery, founded in 1841, welcomes thousands of visitors who tour the grounds each year to visit the grave sites of Inventors of Powered Flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright; poet Paul Laurence Dunbar; Governor James M. Cox; Matilda and Levi Stanley, Queen and King of the Gypsies; writer Erma Bombeck; inventor Charles F. Kettering; and entrepreneurs John H. Patterson (NCR); George P. Huffman (Huffy Bicycles); and George Mead (Mead Paper Co.).

Angie Hoschouer, Manager of Development and Marketing

Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum

118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, OH 45409

937-228-3221 ext. 121 Please note the new extension

ahoschouer@woodlandcemetery.org