Using Street View To Preview Your Summer Vacation

Taking a little summer vacation this year? Perhaps you are visiting one of your favorite amusement parks, zoos or other points of interest. Well thanks to Google's Street View partner program you might may be able to preview that summer vacation before you go.

Over the past few years Street View has added 360-degree panoramic views of several notable attractions around the US. For example, if you’re on the West Coast and want to visit the world famous San Diego Zoo, go to Google Maps and search for "San Diego Zoo." Here you'll find an interactive virtual tour that will allow you to drag Pegmen to some of your favorite spots inside the zoo. You can also virtually explore the zoos in Honolulu, Denver, Detroit and a few more key locations.

For those of us that love the excitement of rides Street View has imagery and virtual tours of some of the largest amusement parks across the country. You can visit Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, or preview imagery from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Universal Studios Hollywood, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Great America, Busch Gardens, and Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii. You can zoom in and out on the map to get and overhead view of the entire park, then locate a ride, booth or attraction you want and simply zoom in on that location to see it up close and personal.

If you are a racing geek like me and like to watch all things fast you can checkout Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca or one of my favorites Infineon Raceway. You'll be able to experience a turn by turn tour of the entire race track, pit road and even the grandstands. For those that like things a little more mellow and relaxing checkout Balboa Park, the Chicago Botanic Garden, or Diamond Head park and trail. Here you can stroll along the path and take in the relaxing views just like you were right there in person.

For more ideas checkout the full list of popular U.S. locations from the comfort of your desktop or mobile device and to see more popular locations, check out the entire Street View Gallery.