For the first time, Google Maps has taken its Street View camera technology off-road, mapping the more than 5,900 miles of the TransAmerica Trail in the U.S. with a little help from Ford Motor Company.
The trail is a network of unpaved roads and byways stretching from Oregon to North Carolina across 13 states.
Google utilized a Ford Bronco SUV for the trek, equipped with the technology company’s sensing equipment. The mission was supported by a midsize Ford Ranger truck and a full-size Ford Expedition SUV during the 32-day trek, which saw the crew encounter cows on the trail, eat freeze-dried chicken tikka masala and greet the Atlantic Ocean on the beach at the finale.
“With Ready Set Ford and our capable Ford vehicles, we worked with Google Maps and brought the iconic TransAmerica Trail to Google Street View. This is the first time this has been done,” Lisa Materazzo, Ford’s global chief marketing officer, told Newsweek.
“The other thing I love about this — it’s really an example of how Ford and Google Maps both had this shared goal of giving people the tools they need to be capable and confident. And what this mapping does, is it makes the iconic trail accessible to anyone, regardless of their skill set or capability. So if you’re a hardcore off-roader or if you’re just getting started, this is a tool that is going to help you with that.”
Mapped locations include notable landscapes including Fins and Things off-roading trail in Moab, Utah, Ophir Pass in Colorado, and Arkansas’s Ozark Mountains.
The automaker also notes that three locations that have names similar to the Bronco brand’s formidable off-roading-centric equipment and accessories package – Sasquatch – were mapped: Squatch, Utah; Squatch, Colorado; and Sasquatch, Mississippi.
Ford has long been an advocate for utilizing America’s trails system for off-road adventures. Its Bronco SUV debuted in 1965, earning the claim to fame of being the world’s first sport utility vehicle.
The modern iteration of the Bronco, which was brought to market in 2020, is joined by the smaller but off-road-capable Bronco Sport SUV. As part of its introduction, the automaker launched the Bronco Wild Fund, a charitable organization that provides grants, scholarships and contributions with money from the proceeds from every Bronco SUV sold.
Tread Lightly, an organization that champions maintaining and preserving natural landscapes, is one of the beneficiaries of the Bronco Wild Fund, and provides the guiding principles for the TransAmerica Trail Google Maps Street View mapping.