So, I recently decided that this coming spring, I'm quitting my job and moving to Alaska. As it gets closer, I was going to post a thread in the main forum about the road trip to get there, and all the cities that I will be going through, but right now I'm curious.

How is Alaska for Urban Exploring? I know that it's one of the greatest places in the world for wilderness exploring, but how does the Urban Exploration compare to a rust belt city like Cleveland or Pittsburgh?s Are there any tunnels in Fairbanks and Anchorage? How about Ghost Towns?

What are your guy's experiences with Alaska?

There are some abandoned mines. Recently there have been a few posts about AK actually but you might have to go through the history a little bit to find them. The road trip is awesome by the way but if you haven't done it before, please feel free to ask me about it because I have driven that way twice and I can recommend things to do/see/ignore.

You can PM me about the one abandonment I know about but I don't know where it is, just the area (I never got to see it while I was working in AK, but I knew people who did). Other then that, most of the abandonments in AK are in deep because of bush people or homesteaders, mines, or out at work stations deep in the state that are hard to get to.

For the lazy, these are the two posts I was talking about:
http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=120375
http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=119916

Posted by JennyUE There are some abandoned mines. Recently there have been a few posts about AK actually but you might have to go through the history a little bit to find them. The road trip is awesome by the way but if you haven't done it before, please feel free to ask me about it because I have driven that way twice and I can recommend things to do/see/ignore. You can PM me about the one abandonment I know about but I don't know where it is, just the area (I never got to see it while I was working in AK, but I knew people who did). Other then that, most of the abandonments in AK are in deep because of bush people or homesteaders, mines, or out at work stations deep in the state that are hard to get to. For the lazy, these are the two posts I was talking about: http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=120375 http://www.uer.ca/...=1&threadid=119916

Thank you! I don't think I've ever actually been in an abandoned mine, but I'm so excited to explore one. I haven't planned out the trip itself yet, but I'm planning on taking at least a month for the drive. Driving every other day or so, and sleeping in the back of my car. I'm waiting until this spring to start seriously posting about and planning it, but as it stands now, I'll be driving through, and would like to meet up with explorers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis, Fargo, and Winnipeg. I'm not sure exactly what route I plan on taking after that, but I imagine that I'll be going through Saskatoon, and I would love to go though Banff National Park in Alberta.

I'm curious about the route you are taking because obviously it's very different from mine haha but there are only two ways into AK from Canada and I only took one of them. It's a fun trip either way.

Posted by JennyUE I'm curious about the route you are taking because obviously it's very different from mine haha but there are only two ways into AK from Canada and I only took one of them. It's a fun trip either way.

Haha, I'm coming from Ohio, but I still really have to do some more research. My route right now is kind of based around going through Winnipeg because I have relatives there that I want to visit. I have relatives in Portland and Vancouver too though, and if it wasn't for the fact that it might add a thousand miles, I'd honestly prefer to drive up the west cost. It really depends on how much money I have saved by then.

Well hit us up when it gets closer and if you can swing by the PNW! We'd love to share some well-loved spots with you I'm sure

LOTS of good stuff in Alaska. Might touch base with Freak or AKPhil, our two resident Alaskans (though Freak is temporarily elsewhere)

Lol, temporarily as in I bought a house in Minnesota

I do plan to get back to AK to visit/research/explore/etc but don't have a schedule yet.

There is currently a pretty active group of mine explorers in Juneau. Not sure who's doing stuff on a regular basis elsewhere in the state. Most of the stuff I know is on my website, although a few of those things have since been re-opened, burned down, or otherwise changed for the worse: http://drainfreak.com/df

If you're planning to do mines and have not before, I'd recommend finding an experienced partner(s) or starting very slow and carefully. They are some of the most interesting and rewarding placed to explore but can also be the most dangerous. The best ones are hard to find/access, but there are plenty of smaller ones that are open and easy-ish/ safe-ish to start with.

If you go north through Wisconsin and are anywhere near the Fox Cities (Appleton, specifically), hit me up! You've got a place to crash, if need be.

Hit me up when you get here. I haven't gone as much as I did in the past, but I'll still go every now and then if I catch wind of a good spot.

There's a few of us up here, I'm not terribly active and not a full member yet despite being around forever & recommended multiple times. Maybe one day it'll happen. I wouldn't mind meeting up and checking out that mine. I may have found access to another long thought closed/collapsed mine but I'm still fleshing that one out.

Posted by AKphill Hit me up when you get here. I haven't gone as much as I did in the past, but I'll still go every now and then if I catch wind of a good spot.

And me as well. Lots to see here actually. Phil and i can show you a couple good spots and new ones come and go

Same here, I'm in Fairbanks and not on very often (dealing with my medical going to hell) but there are a few folks here still.

What part of the state are you headed to? That'll be the big decider since it's a ~8 hour drive to Anchorage from Fairbanks.

If you are driving up through Canada via the Alcan, bring a spare tire or at least two cans of fix a flat and a gas can at the bare bare minimum. You'll hit spots where it's just you for X number of miles. Hell of a drive though, bring a camera if you have one.