Freehold Township’s parks are getting a new, digital upgrade. The Freehold Township Parks and Recreation Department has partnered with FirstLook to launch FT Rec Routes, an interactive virtual platform that gives residents and visitors a new way to experience and navigate the Township’s parks.
The platform currently features immersive virtual tours of Michael J. Tighe Park and Durand Park, with plans to expand to additional parks over time. The tours can also be updated as the parks change, creating a digital record that will continue to serve the community for years to come.
Using Matterport 3D scanning and 360-degree imagery, FirstLook captured detailed virtual representations of the parks and enhanced them with custom features including embedded park information and directional wayfinding.
Earlier this year, the Parks and Recreation Department invited local youth to help name the new virtual tours through a community naming contest. Two winners were selected, with the tours now named “Tour Through the Trees” and “Take a Look at MJT.”
For first-time visitors, QR code signs will be placed throughout the parks, allowing them to access the virtual tours directly from the locations they are exploring. The platform can also help visitors familiarize themselves with a park before arriving, making it easier to find their way around and discover what each space has to offer.
For longtime residents, FT Rec Routes offers a new way to appreciate the parks they know and love. The experience also includes aerial 360-degree drone imagery, providing unique views of the parks from above and highlighting their natural beauty and character.
Each park also brings its own unique features to the platform. At Durand Park, visitors can use a custom search and wayfinding experience to locate individual memorial trees throughout the park. With more than 200 memorial trees, the feature makes it easier for visitors to find a specific memorial and explore the surrounding grounds.
The project grew from a shared desire to celebrate Freehold Township’s parks, preserve them as digital twins, and create a fun and useful experience for the community. For FirstLook, the project brought nearly a decade of experience creating immersive virtual tours together with the opportunity to collaborate with the Township on custom solutions designed specifically around the needs of its parks and visitors.
The project was unveiled to the community at Freehold Township Day on July 11, 2026, just one week after the United States celebrated its 250th anniversary. FirstLook joined the event with a dedicated FT Rec Routes booth, where residents could scan into the virtual tours and experience the platform for the first time.
The team had the opportunity to watch residents discover the experience for themselves. The platform officially launched the following day and is now available to the public.
FT Rec Routes represents the beginning of an ongoing effort to bring more of Freehold Township’s parks into the digital experience. As the platform expands, residents and visitors will have even more opportunities to discover, navigate, and appreciate the places that make Freehold Township such a special community.
Explore Freehold Township’s parks with FT Rec Routes.
