You can now get a new mobile application for your smart phone telling you just about everything you ever wanted to know about San Diego County parks.
The free application, called My Parx, can be downloaded to any iPhone or Android smart phone, and can give you information beyond what you’ll find on the San Diego County Parks and Recreation website. While that information is included, there are some gee whiz aspects to the app, for instance, the interactive maps.
Say you’re in La Mesa and you want to know where to find the nearest County park. Pull up the My Parx app and you’ll find all the parks within a certain radius or if you like, all the parks under the umbrella of San Diego County Parks and Recreation. Choose a park by clicking on the icon. The app tells you how many miles away it is from where you are along with the hours of operation, trails, picnic table and restroom locations, historical features, emergency contact information, even whether it’s dog friendly! You can flip through photos and in some cases, download a park brochure.
So you decide to visit one of the County parks. You hit the trail but boy that short line on the map seems to be a lot longer when you’re actually hoofing it! How far away is that viewpoint? The app has GPS on it and can be used as a navigational tool. Keep it open as you’re hiking along and the app will show where you are on the trail now and the distance to the next major landmark, such as that viewpoint.
The app also connects with Facebook. Once you click on a park, you’re checked in on Facebook so if you want to, you can brag to your friends about how you’re enjoying the great outdoors!
Of course, they might be hiking too and at the very same park. If you’ve all registered your location on the app, it can notify everyone and allow the option of sending emails to each other. You can even meet at the viewpoint for an impromptu get together.
Of course, you must have a smart phone and your carrier needs to provide service in the park for it to work. Other than that, the app is free for you, and the County of San Diego gives you yet another way to get information on the go.
If you like to know more about County Parks and Recreation and what all it has to offer, visit the site here.
—County News Center
(Nothing like getting back to nature.)