The department got approval from the Board of Commissioners to pursue grants from the Metropolitan Council to design augmented reality programming around the trails in county parks, starting with Bunker Hills Regional Park.
“Technology is really coming along, and it’s coming along quickly,” said Andy Soltvedt, Anoka County Parks Operations and Visitor Services Manager. “I really think this will be a good amenity to add and keep transitioning people into the parks.”
The idea is that an app will allow users to bring up enhanced content about a particular trail that will give information about historical, natural, and thematic features along the path.
“It will allow us to cater to a lot of things, not only seasonably, but just by content of interest to people,” said Soltvedt. “The whole goal is to draw as many people into the regional park system and let them know that they have right here in their backyard.”
The design phase will begin this fall or winter and Soltvedt hopes to have augmented reality content available for visitors to Bunker Hills in the spring.
