I'm curious what everyone's favorite time to go exploring, tunneling/draining, etc. Is, personally I love to go during the evening to dawn hours when no one is awake. I do enjoy the occasional daytime trip as well just depends on how I'm feeling.

Anything that is a dark or has low light already I’ll just do at night since it doesn’t make a difference and nighttime is relatively safer.

I prefer regular old afternoon when the light quality looks normal. There are advantages between overcast and sunny days.

To make this post a little more interesting, I also like to go exploring on the day of major holidays when everyine, including workers and security guards, are at home with family.

Between the hours of 4-6am on a midsummer morning, when it's perfectly light but everyone with any sense is still asleep, there is almost no traffic, and no people awake enough to stop you.

I definitely prefer shooting with natural light in the afternoon whenever possible but access is so much easier in the dark. For challenging locations I'll usually deal with access before sunrise, scout the interior for anything that I want to shoot, and then start shooting with natural light at sunrise. Escape is much easier when nobody knows you're inside.

All times of day depending on the location!

Daytime gives access to active sites, and is a whole lot less hazardous. Besides... who expects someone to be trespassing in an open building at 9:30 AM?

Late evening is great for most other sites and popping down manholes, as is high noon for abandonments and getting into drains by the outfall.

I do Sundays because less chance of running into workers, and alot of people at Church.

Sunny afternoons for abandoned buildings, since the natural light is good for both photography and seeing what you're doing. It also helps that you don't have to worry about your flashlight giving you away during the day nearly as much as you do after dark. Overcast days work too, but I find that the pictures just don't appear as vibrant as they do on sunny days.

After dark works better for underground places, since it's easier to get in undetected and light discipline is irrelevant. This is especially true for active spots like steam tunnel systems since you're far less likely to run into workers late at night.

Rooftops are kind of in between- it's easier to gain access to some places during business hours, but likewise the photography is better after dark in my opinion because I love the way city lights glow in late-night photos.

Afternoons have always best for me getting that great natural light through windows.

Fog is my favorite. When I'm inside and it's raining is a close second. As for times of day, predawn is best for avoiding detection with the added bonus of a sweet sunrise from inside.

For me, it depends on where I am. In more populace areas I prefer going about an hour or two before sundown and continuing through for a few hours after dark. Since most of the places I go are still active it's a little less risky and I get to see the sunset from rooftops.
If the place is in a less populated area I prefer being there just as the sun is rising and exploring until either I'm done or until sundown. Since the morning hours are extra quiet it adds a nice feeling. I don't like staying too long after sunset though because lack of light creates possible issues getting out.

Late morning/early afternoon on the weekends. I'm generally free during this time, and there are usually fewer workers around to notice you.

I like to go on week days. If it’s an abandoned building or above ground place, I go at night. If it’s an abandoned mine or storm drain, I will go during the day the first time and then I am open to going back at night.

Never been a big fan of exploring at night because your lights could give you away. If it's a big place I like to start early (within reason) to get as much daylight as possible. Sunday seems like the best day as far as being unnoticed goes

We explore underground so it really doesn't matter what time we go in or come out. The only inconvenience to late night exploring, or unexpectedly long explores, is the people who we have notified and are monitoring for our exit. There are times we exit, not because we are done exploring, but because we don't want a rescue team rolling up when we finally do come out.

Abby Normal

Afternoon-late afternoon is when I usually get out there. I love going on foggy, gloomy, or sometimes slightly rainy days to help with stealth, but it also just feels nice. Going at night kinda scares me because of flashlight visibility. I want to try going out early morning, though.

Late morning all the way to late afternoon for anything abandoned, for anything with lots of security or active in any sense, i usually want to go in the morning or evening. If it's especially bad I will go at night. I dont like going in the middle of night, as it limits the amount of photos I can reasonably take without extra lighting.

I’ll often go during the afternoon because of the very still lighting that gives an extra sense of frozen time. But I also love going right before sunset depending on the area because of how the feeling changes. At night is sometimes the only possible route though

4:20 any day of the week.

People are usually busy then.

I typically explore in the afternoon due to not having much time otherwise.