I've never made one of these before, but I was encouraged to so that I could prove to the wider community that I do more than explore meme shitholes.

Anyway, here goes. The places I did in 2021. What did I get up to? Well, I spent my first full year as an explorer, 2020, mostly hitting up what remains of the big asylum campuses throughout the northeast along with a ton of random industrial spots. There was a little less of that this year; instead I spent more time at isolation hospitals, TB hospitals, theaters, and especially churches. There was also a Chernobyl trip in there somewhere, though ultimately I elected not to include any Chernobyl photos in this thread to cut back on the already bloated thread size.

Personal highlights: I did several island explores, including several hospitals, that were unbelievably fun. As I look back on the year I think they stick with me the most. Something about exploring on an island has a completely different atmosphere - you feel so much more secluded (because you are).

Things I wish I did more of: Power Plants. I hit up a few really neat power plants in 2020 and vowed to see more in 2021. In the end I only did a tiny handful of plants this year. Maybe 2022 is the year for that.

Well, let's get into it!

1. Started the year off with a very intact asylum campus I had a personal connection to - one of my ancestors spent her final years committed here.

80's Conference Room by Charles, on Flickr

I am the hoop by Charles, on Flickr

1700s victorian child by Charles, on Flickr

2. Then checked out this Italionate ruin of a church

ItalionateChurch0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

3. Then headed east to explore a few more low key spots in the snow

PolarExpress9.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

4. And dropped by a few schools

HardKnocksCollege6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

5.

JapaneseHighSchool3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

6. Hit up one of the less photographed unfinished nuclear plants

GovernmentTractors7.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

7. When I was back home I kicked things off with my first great church of the year.

NorthernChurch3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr
8. I also hit up this flavor of the month mall. I think I'm one of not too many to get into and photograph the theater here, I thought it was the most interesting part by far.

TinCity22.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

TinCity19.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

TinCity15.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

9. By then though it was time to sratch the old itch with some more laid back psych hospital exploring

SlipperyPsych2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

SlipperyPsych21.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

SlipperyPsych19.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

10. Hit up a mansion + greenhouse on the way out

MansionGreenHouse7.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

11. Then it was time for sunday school

BibleCollege6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

12. Alright I'm running out of steam for descriptions so I'll just say exploring this in the snow was epic

SnowyMansion30.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

SnowyMansion14.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

13. You have been visited by a very rare locomotive

RareTrains2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

14. Fun and legal

BearCages4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

15. Gotta get friends to make the water taxi affordable for this one

MaineCivilWar15.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

MaineCivilWar17.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

16. This Plant was laid back, colorful, and cool

Tobasco0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Tobasco5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

17. Another colorful spot

AirTowers14.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

18. Met up with another explorer this summer and started the day at this cool stone structure

Mausoleum0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

19. Then eventually found our way to this incredible convent

VolleyBallConvent33.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

VolleyBallConvent9.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

VolleyBallConvent5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

20. Look! I got the shot of that one library at the place! Go me!

HilltopTBHospital25.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

HilltopTBHospital35.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

HilltopTBHospital18.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

21. Also made the pilgrimage to certain Gothic Church. Glad a got there before a few dumb kids did a bit later in the year...

GothandClocks24.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

GothandClocks15.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

22. Also hit up this much smaller but still beautiful and very, very old church

ReallyOldChurch3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

23. But then I was feeling it. Feeling the itch again. Time for more psych hospitals.

Globetrotters43.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Globetrotters42.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Globetrotters25.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

24. And the like

StuffedAsylum16.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

StuffedAsylum14.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

25. This place might have the biggest difference in interior and exterior quality I have ever seen

SeaBreezeSan5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

26. Kind of the opposite of this theater, which was jaw dropping start to finish

ArtDecoTheater39.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

ArtDecoTheater27.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

27. The 27 club. I ultimately flew too close to the sun. I got busted here, kind of hard. If you recognize this place, don't go! It's not safe.

I also dislocated my shoulder the same week, so after this place I was out of commission for a while.

Taconic19.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

28. But I made a comeback! I few weeks later I reunited with an old friend and explored a lot of semi big apple adjacent spots, though I sadly did have to pass on several spots because of my shoulder dislocation.

BeachHospital5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

BeachHospital8.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

BeachHospital12.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

29. We hit up a few small hospitals

BSHospital4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

30. And a few small forts

swivelfort1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

swivelfort2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

31. And most importantly this place before it inevitably gets wrecked

ChildrensTBHospital11.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

ChildrensTBHospital13.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

32. It was then time to relax and peruse a few curiosities

NostalgiaShop11.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

33. And hang out in the lone remaining building of a certain state hospital (mercifully, the auditorium)

WeaselDenAuditorium4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

34. Not too long after, I met up with the legendary Bill Finan to explore some laid back stuff around NY State, including my first mine (apologies for the atrocious photo quality)

CementMine3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

35. Hotel with a bowling alley we missed :'(

OvergrownHotel9.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

36. And we went skiing

GrandSki23.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

37. This photo makes me crave shitty food

MontyManor2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

38. Roadside Find: a stripped theater with a pretty neat ray of light

strippedtheater by Charles, on Flickr

39. And an unexpectedly fun shithole

pines4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

40. Sometime not long after some friends and I went on a week long trip to Chernobyl. Like I said, I ultimately decided to post those in a completely separate thread some other time. But while in the Ukraine we also did a few other spots, including my first drain!

kievdrain0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

41. We also went on a trip to a shuttered missile silo and were given a very...permissive tour of the facilities

MissileSilo25.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

MissileSilo0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

42. When I got back is when my island exploring phase really started. Such as: this beautiful, very famous typhoid hospital

TyphoidMaryHospital22.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

TyphoidMaryHospital19.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

TyphoidMaryHospital13.jpg by Charles, on Flickr
43. This might have been my favorite explore of the year, albeit not the most fun

PanIsland10.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

PanIsland6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

44. A very complete isolation hospital, also in the running for best explore of the year

IsolationHospital63.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

IsolationHospital24.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

IsolationHospital42.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

45. Those places were stressful. Time for a relaxing paddle around Bannerman

Bannerman15.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Bannerman2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Bannerman8.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

46. I took this photo through a window. But who's counting?

PXL_20210619_205930267 by Charles, on Flickr

47. I'm told this observatory finally got locked down a bit more thoroughly - and thank goodness for that, this instrument was sublime

BigBoyTelescope4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

BigBoyTelescope1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

48. My friend was kind enough to give me a quick tour of KP, which I actually really enjoyed. I regret putting off paying the place a visit for so long

KingsPark9.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

KingsPark7.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

KingsPark0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

49. It was around this time I met up with Philodis for the first time. We ended up doing a number of super laid back industrial spots that I really enjoyed. Here's a four cylinder air compressor

GlassFactory1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

50. Burnt out mill

BurntMill4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

51. Hydro turbine we had to climb through and out the top of

InHydroTurb0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

52. Probably my favorite "caved in industrial" site of the year, this remarkably intact loom shed

LoomShed12.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

LoomShed9.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

LoomShed0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

53. Where firetrucks go to die

FireTruckHell4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Believe it or not this is unedited

FireTruckHell2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

54. I managed to catch this small spot right before the end. Glad I did, even if I had really bad luck and needed several attempts

TubState4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

TubState5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

TubState2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

55. Then it was off to the west. This Gary school is on its way out so I went to say goodbye, even though I don't like schools much

Lew5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Lew6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

56. Also checked out one of the soggiest churches I've ever explored, and that's really saying something

HardToShootChurch5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

HardToShootChurch2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

57. This church wasn't quite as untouched, but it was still a great explore (getting to that bell was harrowing)

KarenChurch4.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

KarenChurch3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

KarenChurch0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

58. Probably the best industrial site of the year for me. Had to wake up at 4:00 in the morning, my third night or 3.5 hours or less of sleep, to have a chance of seeing this coking facility. But against all odds and all sense it was worth it. Too bad my photos utterly fail to capture any real sense of what this place is like

IndustrialHellscape6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

IndustrialHellscape12.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

59. Went back home to find that a spot that hadn't been doable in a while had become flavor of the month all of a sudden

CandyCorn11.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

60. Also hit up likely the most intact prison I've yet seen

DogTrainingPrison6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

DogTrainingPrison0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

61. Something a little out of the ordinary for me: a pumping station

PumpStation1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

62. Another jail. This one slightly more dilapidated

CountyJail1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

63. Met back up with a friend to explore this old love resort hotel. Ended up having a blast here even though I don't care for hotels or resorts.

LoveHotel5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

64. Hit up one last psych hospital to get me through the holidays

Haggies9.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Haggies6.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Haggies1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

65. I ended up closing the year out with a series of extremely solid churches. This first one had a great clock and bell tower.

ClockTowerChurch3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

ClockTowerChurch0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

ClockTowerChurch7.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

66. I'm told photos of this church are good for generating clout

HypeBeastChurch8.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

HypeBeastChurch1.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

67. Too bad this unique A frame church was getting wrecked by teens literally when I arrived...

PXL_20211205_210546191 by Charles, on Flickr

68. I'm glad I got to this church when I did

SquatterChurch2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

69. Minty Fresh (also nice)

PXL_20210724_170242640.NIGHT by Charles, on Flickr

PXL_20210724_165857928 by Charles, on Flickr

70. Little *too* clean for my tastes but still great

BWordChurch3.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

BWordChurch0.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

71. I feel absolutely in love with the woodwork here

GabledChurch2.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

GabledChurch5.jpg by Charles, on Flickr

Thanks for bearing with me to the bitter end. That's pretty much everything I did this year, except for

* a handful of spots too sensitive to post
* two handfuls of spots too shitty to post
* ten handfuls of spots from The Exclusion Zone that are going in their own thread, eventually.

I hope you enjoyed. Also, I've attempted to not include any photos that would overtly give away any of these spots other than the very well known ones, but if you think I've made an error in that regard shoot me a DM and I'll remove the offending image.

Overall, I'm happy with my "haul" this year. Here's hoping 2022 is similarly kind.

Epic year.
Beautifully captured and shared.
Thanks a lot and can't wait for the exclusion zone ones.
Please hurry back.

Fucking unbelievable year.

Phenomenal year dude, i’m jealous!

Now that’s what I’m talking about. You probably could have included some other photos, but it’s still a good year nonetheless. Maybe next year we can finally meet up!

Wow, looks like you had an excellent year (sans the bust and shoulder injury)!

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOH.


Fantastic year. You're really ROCKING IT.

I'd also like to try to meet up next year during my annual trip to the mainland.


What a phenomenal year!

Typhoid Hospital!! FTW! Those Stairs are absolutely lovely! and Bannerman with the Red ivy. Beautiful!
oh, and there is just something really cool about 37. Love it!
Awesome pics all the way!

Incredible year, the trains and looms are awesome!

very nice locations! Hope next year is as good for you!

Holy crap you really went hard this year! Awesome photos, I can't wait to explore together again sometime!

Incredible year! Super jealous of you both for getting out to so many places, and for the island hospitals in particular. It's nice to see the island fort, too, as it was one of the first places I ever visited, a decade ago this past summer.

And I'm pissed that I missed the freezer in #20.

Posted by mookster Fucking unbelievable year.

very nice locations! Hope next year is as good for you!

Holy crap you really went hard this year! Awesome photos, I can't wait to explore together again sometime!

Typhoid Hospital!! FTW! Those Stairs are absolutely lovely! and Bannerman with the Red ivy. Beautiful! oh, and there is just something really cool about 37. Love it! Awesome pics all the way!

Incredible year, the trains and looms are awesome!

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOH. Fantastic year. You're really ROCKING IT. I'd also like to try to meet up next year during my annual trip to the mainland. What a phenomenal year!

Now that’s what I’m talking about. You probably could have included some other photos, but it’s still a good year nonetheless. Maybe next year we can finally meet up!

Phenomenal year dude, i’m jealous!

Fucking unbelievable year.

Thanks guys! Here's hoping I can meet up and explore with even more of you next year. What a wonderful community.

Incredible year! Super jealous of you both for getting out to so many places, and for the island hospitals in particular. It's nice to see the island fort, too, as it was one of the first places I ever visited, a decade ago this past summer. And I'm pissed that I missed the freezer in #20.

That roll in gurney morgue was very tough to find. Look for a hidden spiral stairwell in the basement leading down to a deeper section.

Posted by selectedgrub Epic year. Beautifully captured and shared. Thanks a lot and can't wait for the exclusion zone ones. Please hurry back.

I'm working on the Chernobyl thread, but it's also taking an inordinate amount of time to put together...

It will be done soon though! And thanks!

I'm glad to see you put one of these together! The year end threads are one of my favorite parts of UER and it looks like you had a really killer year. I hope we can get out a do some good stuff again this year!

#4, especially.

Amazing year!

I loved following your photos all year, looks like you really had a blast.

Really fantastic set man, too many great shots to pick out.