Ford and Google put the TransAmerica Trail on Street View

Ford has teamed up with Google Maps to capture the TransAmerica Trail on Street View, turning the country’s longest off-road route into a resource any adventurer can explore from home.

Spanning more than 5900 miles (9500 km), the TransAmerica Trail is a mostly unpaved network of back roads, forest tracks, desert stretches and mountain passes. With no official signage or single path, it’s a difficult trail that can challenge both vehicles and drivers.

To document it, a small team set out in August 2025 with three off-road-ready Ford vehicles: a Bronco Badlands equipped with Google’s new Street View camera, a Ranger Lariat, and an Expedition Tremor. The team started in Oregon and made their way across the Great Salt Lake Desert in Utah, then through the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, before finally reaching the Atlantic coast in North Carolina after crossing 13 states.

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Hundreds of thousands of off-road images were captured, giving anyone with Google Maps a chance to preview the TransAmerica Trail before setting off themselves.

For Australian 4×4 enthusiasts, it’s easy to see the potential for a similar resource at home. Tracks like the Simpson Desert, Cape York, or the Gunbarrel Highway could be mapped the same way, giving drivers a chance to preview sand dunes, creek crossings, and remote outback tracks before setting off. Such a tool would make planning long trips safer and more accessible, especially for less experienced drivers, while still preserving the sense of adventure. 

Being able to study the route in advance could help drivers pack the right gear, anticipate challenging sections, and choose the best vehicle setup, without taking away the thrill of navigating Australia’s remote landscapes first-hand.