Albemarle County’s parks are a tremendous asset to all – from the disc golf course at Walnut Creek to swimming and fishing at Mint Springs to mountain biking and horseback riding at Preddy Creek.

And now this, via press release:

Have you ever wondered what a trail was like before you hiked it? The Albemarle County Parks and Recreation department has partnered with Terrain360.com to offer a new tool that will solve that dilemma. By visiting www.albemarle.org/trails, hikers can take a 360 degree panoramic tour of the trails at Darden Towe, Preddy Creek, Byrom, Mint Springs, Ivy Creek Natural Area and Walnut Creek from their computers or smart phones.

Hosted by Terrain360.com, the online application gives viewers the feeling of walking down a trail, along with the ability to get a full-circle view of their surroundings at any point on the way. The site also features trail maps, amenities listings, GPS coordinates, live weather updates, trail access points and directions to these featured County facilities. Terrain360.com is free to use and available on all mobile and tablet devices for convenient access on-the-go.

“We are pleased to offer this exciting online tool that makes the beauty and fun of our trail system more accessible to our park users and supports our efforts to be good stewards of the beautiful natural environment of Albemarle County,” says Dan Mahon, Outdoor Recreation Supervisor. “We hope this encourages more visitors to enjoy the wonderful trails we offer in the County parks.”

The County Parks program does truly remarkable work; we’re all better off for having such a great trails and parks program.