The Golden Stroll: A Community Story Told Step by Step

In the mountain town of Golden, a well-loved pathway has been transformed into an immersive, story-driven experience. Launched in September 2025, the Golden Stroll enhances the Rotary Trail with 23 location-based videos that share local stories, cultural perspectives, and environmental insights. 

The project began as a vision of Tourism Golden’s Visitor Centre Manager and was brought to life with support from Destination BC’s Visitor Services Experience Enhancement Grant. Over 18 months, it took shape through thoughtful planning, community story gathering, and a complete redesign of the town’s trail map, guided by collaboration with local organizations, residents, and Indigenous partners.

Project Highlights

The Golden Stroll was completed through several key phases:

• Trail planning: Staff identified 22 locations along the Rotary Trail and developed themes for each stop.
• Community story gathering: Stories and ideas were collected through social media and outreach to groups such as Wildsight, the Golden Museum, and the Rotary Club.
• Indigenous collaboration: Tourism Golden worked with the Ktunaxa Nation, Shuswap Band, and Métis Nation to expand existing cultural content, including a new welcome video created with the Shuswap Band. 
• Video production: B-roll and narration were filmed between fall 2024 and spring 2025, resulting in 23 short videos.
• Trail map and wayfinding: The Town of Golden supported a redesigned trail map and installation of new signage with QR codes.
• Digital launch: A new landing page at tourismgolden.com/goldenstroll is supported by a promotional video and GoldenBC app integration. 

Why it Matters

Whether visitors join the Golden Stroll at the beginning or partway along the route, they’re welcomed by stories that reveal Golden’s unique personality. From Indigenous knowledge and environmental stewardship to local history and everyday life, the videos invite curiosity and reflection. 

For locals, the Stroll has become an opportunity for rediscovery, offering a deeper appreciation of the place they call home.

Impact 

The Golden Stroll enhances the visitor experience through personal connection, interactive storytelling, and clear navigation. Visitors hear directly from locals and Indigenous Nations, creating a stronger connection with the land and community. GPS-enabled navigation and QR-coded videos turn the trail into a multimedia journey, while the GoldenBC app ensures visitors always know where they are, both on the trail and within the story. 

Since its launch on September 20, 2025, the Stroll has recorded 321 QR scans, offering early insights to guide future planning. 

Learnings

The Golden Stroll project showed that visitor experiences can also benefit residents, many of whom discovered new stories about their own community. It emphasized the importance of flexible budgeting to manage evolving costs and the need to clearly define roles early to keep the project on track. Most importantly, it confirmed that strong collaboration with Indigenous communities and local partners is key to creating inclusive and authentic experiences.

What’s Next

Looking ahead, the Golden Stroll has plenty of room to grow, whether through expansion of the story collection, offering guided experiences, or adapting the map for other visitor tools. For now, the route invites visitors and residents to slow down, tune in, and walk with purpose through Golden’s trails.