I don't mean research methods, finding places online that look cool.

I mean well and truly finding places on your own. That's the real adventure.

What do you look for? Where are likely places? Do you use google earth, drive along highways, just plain get lucky?

I've discovered a few by the last method. Old cemeteries i discovered by chance while driving through the middle of nowhere and slamming on the brakes and putting it in reverse when i passed the decrepit cemetery sign, taking the wrong road looking for something else and finding something even better, or just plain seeing something off in the distance i didn't know about while exploring something else and checking it out.

So far for me, the Google Street View feature is my best friend. I'm in a similar boat to you that I don't really know where or how to look. Honestly, does anyone really know? I'm sure as we gain experience there'll be some hunting skills learned, but just keep your eyes open. One day I only planned to go to one spot with a buddy of mine, and we ended up going to three! Just scrounge up a little luck, keep your eyes open, and squeeze out as much patience as possible. That's what I'm trying!

I like to go on the roofs of buildings. I think almost every roof I've ever been on, I've been able to access either by a parking garage being adjacent to the roof or by looking for a ladder that leads onto the roof. I can usually find ladders in back alleys where there are fewer people, so you raise less suspicion when climbing.

Another thing I've had moderate success with is just keeping an eye open for possible places to explore just while driving around town. Although from what you've said it wounds like you're already doing that.

Found all sorts of stuff through google earth, along/near railways and rivers can turn up plenty of places. Also historical markers can lead to stuff. Try google searching using other words than "abandoned", like forgotten, vacant, or business/plant closings.


Just a few places found using the above.


Untitled by Abandoned Alabama, on Flickr

Untitled by Abandoned Alabama, on Flickr

Untitled by Abandoned Alabama, on Flickr

Obviously google earth is the easiest method. Here are a few others:

1. Follow the tracks. Railroads almost always yield interesting places to explore.

2. Follow the river or lake. Same as above

3. Every Tuesday I post news articles here that often will give exact street addresses. Maybe some are in your area:
http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=120477

4. Ask. Seems simple enough. Many of my best explores have come from just talking to people in small towns. Almost every town has a place that teenagers go to party and often it's abandoned. Also there are usually closed churches, factories, farms or something in these places. And don't discount the cops. It seems counterintuitive but cops are GREAT sources of information. If you are honest and tell them what you want to do they are almost always ok with it.

5. I think there is a website for just about every state that lists ghost towns. Wikipedia also has a huge list of these broken out by state and often lists gps coordinates for the towns. Also look for "haunted" places on the web. Most of it is touristy type stuff but sometimes you find a gem hidden in the dog shit if you're willing to dig deep and long enough.

6. Get in your car and drive. Unplug from the electronics and go drive around. Get out of the city and hit the small towns that dot our highways. Plan on having lunch in a café somewhere. The absolute best explores are ones that you don't overthink and just find by happenstance. Even if you don't find anything at least you got to experience someplace different.

No matter where you are, there is probably something closer than you think to explore. With more experience you will start to recognize abandonments in places you would have never thought to look.

Good luck and happy exploring!

Drive around the run down parts of town, take note of anything that looks abandoned on your normal/taken routes, go where new development is planned demolition is likely, keep an eye open street level for overgrown weeds and satellite level for cracked parking lots.

The train. There are so many that I have found just on my daily commute. I've had the pleasure of taking almost all of Philadelphia and New Jersey transit and it doesn't disappoint. Just keep your eyes peeled and it's easy. I know graffiti is usually the dead give away but I've been doing this long enough that I can spot the abandoned goodness with ease.

It depends what you want to find.

Old farm houses can usually be found by driving on back roads or keeping an eye out when on the interstate. These are usually a dime a dozen. Easily found and usually vandalized by local teens. Usually not worth visiting, but there are worthwhile ones out there.

Old hospitals/institutions/schools/asylums are usually locked up tight. They can also be a bitch to find on your own. Usually a quick google search is all it takes to find these, but good luck getting in. Every school or hospital I've tried to get in has had security systems or has been trashed.

Old NIKE and military installations can be cool, but they're old and most of them are gone or have private owners. Here's a list of NIKE's on Wikipedia: https://en.wikiped...Nike_missile_sites Usually the best way to find these is research, as they aren't meant to be easy to spot from the air.

Every abandoned industrial building I've found has either been next to railroad tracks, a river, or both. These are the coolest in my opinion. Follow rail tracks and rivers on google maps, and make note of any buildings that look slightly abandoned. Damaged roofs, overgrown/empty parking lots, broken structures, etc.

My favorite way is to look at EPA superfund sites, or environmental remediation sites. In Wisconsin the DNR has an online resource called BRRTS. The "Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web". Great resource, I've found quite a few good abandoned buildings with this tool. IMO the best abandoned buildings are the old ones from the early 1900's. Long before they cared about the environment, many of these companies have gone bankrupt by now. The land and buildings still remain, but only because it would be too costly to demolish and decontaminate them by EPA standards.

Posted by RebelDead The train. There are so many that I have found just on my daily commute. I've had the pleasure of taking almost all of Philadelphia and New Jersey transit and it doesn't disappoint. Just keep your eyes peeled and it's easy. I know graffiti is usually the dead give away but I've been doing this long enough that I can spot the abandoned goodness with ease.

So true! Have you taken the NJ River Line (NJ Transit)? Lots of goodness along that route too.

drive around

1.Lately i choose a very simple but desperate method - trying to spot on map small villages and small towns where i haven't been or drived through.
2.Open regional development documents for selected area. There must be mentioned exact areas which are considered as "brownfield". That reveals pretty much areas where used to be industrial zones or military facilities. Ka-ching!
3.Compare these areas with google maps, if possible (in rural areas sometimes there aren't any googlemaps streetviews of remote roads). If it's not possible to see streetview from google maps, try to choose best possible satellite view or aerial map.
4.Spot anything that can be abandoned or just interesting and go for it

Posted by Piecat My favorite way is to look at EPA superfund sites, or environmental remediation sites. In Wisconsin the DNR has an online resource called BRRTS. The "Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS) on the Web". Great resource, I've found quite a few good abandoned buildings with this tool. IMO the best abandoned buildings are the old ones from the early 1900's. Long before they cared about the environment, many of these companies have gone bankrupt by now. The land and buildings still remain, but only because it would be too costly to demolish and decontaminate them by EPA standards.

Aren't superfund sites so badly contaminated that they're a huge health hazard to people just living in the general area? That sounds like a great way to become patient zero in the zombie apocalypse. I want to be killing zombies, not being one.

Posted by Piecat It depends what you want to find. Damaged roofs, overgrown/empty parking lots, broken structures, etc.

Google Earth and Bing Maps really do help a lot for that. Once you start seeing what abandoned buildings or compounds look like in satellite imagery you begin to notice them all over.

The best is when you're walking through the woods and find a deserted cabin ;). My favorite method is asking around. Go to a small town and just ask if there's any local abandoned buildings around, and that you're looking to do a photography session or something. Get some good insights this way and saves a bunch of time. For cities, going to more poverty stricken districts is generally a good idea as well, but can be more dangerous

I've discovered many buildings due to news articles like
"-company- bankrupt, -building- has to close"
"-abandoned building- thorn in the side of local residents"
"Renovation of -building- starting on -date-" (which also rarely truly starts on that date)

Then again there are many abandonments you can't find a thing about on the internet. My best discovery was pretty much unfindable online, except some vague history and some exterior pictures on a historic pictures website.

Houses you probably won't find online too, unless you can bother to go through real estate sites and filter the good stuff out of hundreds of modern houses. Here in Holland you have something called 'anti-squat', companies that offer temporary rental of rooms in abandoned buildings to protect them from being illegally squatted. They dó know the good stuff, but deliberately don't put it online

Another good one, there are national heritage websites in Holland, Belgium, France and Germany. Don't know if the USA has something like that? It often has tons of buildings officially classified as national heritage, but that doesn't mean that anyone is doing anything to save them. You can find a lot of abandonments in great decay, especially industrial.

A method I've had mixed success with is looking for "no trespassing" in rural areas. It's rare (but not entirely unheard of) to stick a sign up for a patch of forest or a field.

Posted by fiftyone_eggs So true! Have you taken the NJ River Line (NJ Transit)? Lots of goodness along that route too.

Yep.. River Line to Camden and then Patco. The River Line has some great gems along the tracks though. I even found one that I had been too. I just didn't realize it at the time. LOL

I mainly use two methods. First, I just bike around looking more towards the outskirts of town. This is, however, because I don't have a car. What I would recommend is driving to other cities or towns near you with your bike in your car and just biking around. It's quiet, relatively fast, helps you blend in, and it's slow enough so that you can really take in your surroundings. The second method I use is to just ask my stoner friends. Stoners always know where to go, trust me.

As posted above:
Google Streetview
Bing 3D
RR Tracks
I use Google Alerts for "abandoned" "business closing" "vacant building" in Chicago
A lot of driving around, especially in areas of town that are zoned for industrial businesses.

Posted by sirpsychosexy I've discovered many buildings due to news articles like "-company- bankrupt, -building- has to close" "-abandoned building- thorn in the side of local residents" "Renovation of -building- starting on -date-" (which also rarely truly starts on that date)

Same. Sometimes it's the only way how to see awesome things for the very, very last moment!