Visit Bakersfield unveils web‑based Historical Trail pass with prizes and museum annual pass

Matt Billingsley, supervisor for Visit Bakersfield, told the Something Better podcast that the office has launched a new Bakersfield Historical Trail pass to guide residents and visitors through more than 30 local sites of historical interest. "We've got a brand new mobile pass," Billingsley said. "It is a Bakersfield Historical Trail."

The pass — which Billingsley said is web‑based rather than a downloadable app — lists 32 points of interest, provides a short video and a quiz at each stop, and awards points that unlock tiered prizes. "Each question will give you points," Billingsley said, noting lower‑tier rewards such as a Bakersfield license‑plate sticker and a clock‑tower magnet, mid‑tier items like a branded T‑shirt, and a top prize: an annual pass to the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History for anyone who completes all 32 sites.

Visit Bakersfield is funded through the city's transient occupancy tax (the hotel bed tax), Billingsley said, and his office uses those funds to market the destination and attract events that bring overnight visitors. "When they stay in a hotel, there's a tax associated with that room night, and that goes directly towards Visit Bakersfield and is spent on marketing the destination," he said. The office targets drive‑market events such as youth sporting tournaments and regional championships that bring overnight stays and local spending.

Billingsley said the trail is geo‑fenced so participants must physically visit each location to check in; progress is saved between visits so users can complete the trail over multiple trips. He estimated completing the full path takes about three hours. Local historian Bob Price provided narration for roughly half of the locations, and Billingsley said that scripts were run through historians for fact checking to ensure accuracy.

Billingsley urged both visitors and residents to use the pass. "We're a resource for locals," he said, noting about 20–30% of visitor‑center traffic is from local residents seeking information. He said VisitBakersfield.com hosts the pass: users click the trail link, provide an email address and phone number, and access the web‑based pass on Android and Apple devices. "It's actually not an app," he added.

The program builds on earlier successful promotions such as the Brewery Trail and Wine Trail passes, which drew heavy traffic at launch. Conroy, host and the city’s public information officer, closed the segment by encouraging listeners to download the pass and explore Bakersfield's history. The pass and supporting materials are available at visitbakersfield.com.