Snoqualmie Falls is one of the most popular hiking and sightseeing destinations in the Northern Pacific region. Located in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, Snoqualmie Falls Park has been a famous recreational spot since the 1800s. The park includes a museum, gift shop, nature trail, and hydroelectric project centered around an impressive 270-foot waterfall. The Engage by Cell team worked with site managers at Puget Sound Energy on an expansion of its self-guided tour services. The organization has been a client of Engage by Cell since 2017.

THE CHALLENGE

With over 2 million visitors a year, Snoqualmie Falls needed a solution that would easily organize the vast amount of content and information on the site’s history and culture. While its visitors are fully aware of the magnificent falls and greenery throughout the park - there is much more to this historic location. Perhaps the most awe-inspiring piece of this site is what happened behind the falls over 100 years ago. Built in 1899, Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant was the world’s first completely underground power plant.

The vast history around the park does not stop with its energy breakthroughs. The tribal presence of the Snoqualmie people holds great significance to the preservation of the park. With an abundance of educational resources, the Snoqualmie Falls Visitor Center Park and Museum needed an effective way to communicate these stories and honor the history and culture of the site. They also wanted to improve visitor engagement and connect with visitors beyond the park after their visit. 

THE SOLUTION

Snoqualmie Falls first implemented Engage by Cell's audio guide and smartphone tour in the museum in 2017.

“The museum was our first shot at it with Engage by Cell, and it went really well. So we also decided to do it in the park.” -Tony Fuchs, Puget Sound Energy Consulting Natural Resource Scientist

After seeing the benefits of using this new technology inside the museum, they decided to expand their reach and use a smartphone tour and GPS Mapper for their park and nature trail.

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Benefits of the new tools included:

• No app downloads were required. 
• Real-time location services help visitors navigate the park.
• The interactive maps give visitors a snapshot of what the property has to offer.
• Reduce brochure and paper map printing.
• Content includes text, images, surveys, quizzes, video, audio, links to existing resources, and more.
• Interactive scavenger hunts to encourage exploration of the park and museum.
• Content updates could easily be done by staff. No IT department needed.

OUTCOMES

Puget Sound Energy was able to enhance the visitor experience at Snoqualmie Falls through the creation of a smartphone tour, GPS Mapper, and audio guide. These tools resulted in less signage cluttering the natural areas and a reduction in map and brochure printing costs. Guests were able to use GPS wayfinding technology to navigate the park with ease at their own pace. Within the first two months after its launch, the interactive map received almost 3,000 views.

"For wayfinding activity, it's nice to see that they are actually going to see all of these things and are reading about them. I wouldn't have known if we didn't have this if people were even reading our signs. And here we have data that shows that they are now.” - Tony Fuchs Puget Sound Energy Consulting Natural Resource Scientist

Thanks to Engage by Cell’s mobile technology and the Snoqualmie Falls team, park, and museum guests now have easy access to site information, educational resources, and engaging content through their smartphone tours. With Engage by Cell’s mobile wayfinding and self-guided tools, the park continues its mission to educate visitors on the rich power and history the site holds.

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