Posted by Jonsered May I suggest Google Earth for finding rural locations. Just zoom in close enough that you can see a dirt road, then follow the road. Every time you see a structure, zoom in closer and look carefully. Do you see any cars? Is the driveway grown over, or are there definite tracks? I can't speak for the whole continent, but I run about 80% success on locations I find on Google Earth.

Google and, for that matter, most map services are pretty useless when it comes to finding sites. As soon as you get out of major metropolitan areas the satellite resolution drops down to half or less so that you don't really get any details.

I have access to a proprietary satellite map service with sat data down to about 1 meter...but again, because it's civilian it's limited mostly to urban areas. Once you get out into the sticks you're on your own.

Posted by White Trash I thought when I used keyhole it was better and had better options to play with.

All the public-facing map applications like Google use a company called GlobeXPlorer for their satellite data. Trust me on this, I have *excellent* first-hand sources for GIS info.

There are a few other satellite data providers but for the most part they provide the same stuff. The reason is that they're using military satellite imagery which, like GPS, is limited in its accuracy. Also, this data is purchased so most companies that give access to it only purchase data that will be popular (urban mapping applications, things like that). You'll notice that in some areas, the colour will change from green to brown or even white in bands. The reason for this is that because these areas are not deemed "high traffic" they're using older sat. photos i.e. some from summer, fall, winter, and so on.

The reason I started this thread was to see if anyone else had any ideas on how to find rural sites because even with access to better satellite imagery (better than Google, Keyhole, etc.), it's still not very useful.

I live in the Twin Cities however I find myself driving in northern MN quite often. While driving through northern MN I find it's actually really easy to find RE sites. In my experience I find it's probably just easiest to hit the dirt with a decent GPS and just start looking. For me anyway it usually doesn't take long.

Posted by Kenshin I live in the Twin Cities however I find myself driving in northern MN quite often. While driving through northern MN I find it's actually really easy to find RE sites. In my experience I find it's probably just easiest to hit the dirt with a decent GPS and just start looking. For me anyway it usually doesn't take long.

What does your GPS do for you?

Mostly for future reference to easily find a location again.

The site i found recently was completely by chance{ you can find my posts on it in the durham region private board} I like to go down old dead end roads and unassumed roads. I dont know that there is anymore to find down these roads but i think they would be less likely disturbed by many visitors. I also notice that if you are further away from large cities you have a better chance of finding something. Property seems to be at a premium if it is located within driving distance of a major city. All the backroads are full of huge houses. Really get out in the sticks and you may find buildings that are left to nature as opposed to some construction crew. Just my two cents worth, always looking for any suggestions myself. Good luck all!!

* Does LocalLive have any granularity for your area? Probably not. . . .

* Researching where old rail lines passed across your area is a great start! A good percentage of rural decay is related to the collapse of the rail empire, the rise of the automobile, and post-depression/dustbowl agricultural and community consolodation.

* It sucks that you cannot carry a gun in Canada. I would feel completely and totally naked alone on the prairie without one! If you consider it, it is really dumb to be alone in the middle of nowhere - unarmed, thanks libs. It is funny how dissimilar our 2 nations are - given their proximity.

* I think RE has brought me way more hassle and danger than UE. Off the top of my head, since 2000 I have been shot at twice, threatened more times than I can count, accused of being sent to close the post office, accused of being part of a huge government conspiracy to sell Kansas to the Shah, and chased down dusty Kansas biways at a high rate of speed.

* If you are really out in the sticks, my perception is that people are generally very welcoming but at the same time very weary of outsiders and their intentions. Fear of EPA and insurance-related issues seem to be the 2 biggest concerns I hear from locals when out and about. "You aren't from the EPA are you? ARE YOU??!" or "Are you from the motherf***ing insurance company?!" ring in my ear!

Can someone please tell me which is better?
Google Earth or Terraserver?
Thanks.

*MSN's TerraServer versus LiveLocal? (http://local.live.com) versus Google Earth?
*I am no GIS expert but I believe it all depends upon where you live.
*As I understand, MOST sites use the same stock imagery and will have similar results.
*I usually have good luck with MSN's LiveLocal where Google fails me. It has more granularity and is more easily scrollable than Terraserver was/is. However, it does NOT provide Topos.

Check Acme Mapper. It offers both the Google and Terraserver maps in a smoothly scrollable (well, mostly... ) format. You can add Google markers to the maps, and they appear on the topo map as well.

Thanks!

I have found many abandoned houses and semi-industrial areas from my other hobby trail riding in tha jeep. Seems most the trails i hit around here used to be state or county roads that stopped being maintained. If you have a 4x4 then just take the next dirt road to the right and see what you come up with. Have found an abandonded camp with all the structures intact and a sweet 2 story house on its own pond that some punk had to burn to the ground before i got back out there with a camera. So now the camera stays in the jeep

Have fun out there.

I would definitely recommend going into google maps (livelocal has a tendency to fuck around with you when you switch the angle) and following old railways until you get bored. Inspect everything and zoom all the way in. If there's a rail/river aside one another, chances are there's something interesting around there.

Just a few places I have had some luck -

The National Historic Register - At least in Arkansas, it has a whole list of vacant/abandoned sites

Local Historic Preservation Societies - They often have lists of endangered abandoned properties, or other cool ideas

The best thing we have done is network. As I relayed to a few explorers this weekend, I UE with another girl in her mid-twenties. People are usually falling all OVER themselves to give us information, because we look like we aren't there to cause trouble. I have found carrying a tripod (even if we never use it) is the best way to get a nice good old boy to not only give you the complete history of an area, but open the gate, and let you explore. They also have other places they can refer you to.

I started looking when technology was a little less sophisticated. I do my searching in south and central Ontario and there are a couple of things to look for:

• lilac bushes - there are almost always treasures near lilacs
• long driveways that are grown in and often chained
• check for barn ruins on high ground near the center of lots on the back roads. If you know how land was distributed along side roads and concessions, you'll know where to look...

There is a book called "Looking for Old Ontario" that looks at the geography of rural southern Ontario and there are lots of tips on how to read the land - clues as to what may be or was there. (There is a thread on this book in the Ontario section of the forum.... It may be useful for those in Michigan and other placesas well because the examples are very general and farming methods will be similar where time and economies are similar...

Like someone said earlier, following railroads is a sure bet, but I've also had a lot of luck with waterways- back in the day people always settled near creeks, streams, and rivers before spreading out into the highlands. In my area, there are quite a few old mills, bridges, and pumping stations.

Bonus if you have access to a kayak!

In my area I usually just look for old agricultural industries to explore. Often I'm surprise and annoyed to find out that the rusty, falling apart and desolate looking property is still in fact in use. It seems farmers will continue to use something until it collapses into a pile of rubble. For example this grain elevator I explored had a broken grain belt making it impossible to load some of the silos, but once I got inside it turned out it was still somewhat active.

Most of the RE that I do is finding abandoned trails and sites. If you know where to look, you can find old maps and trail guides for places that have been deemed too dangerous. I'd say that the state park department in SC is only maintaining 30% of the trails they once did.

Much of my success in finding rural abandonments has been thanks to a pair of local plat books I've acquired over the years. One is from 1890, the other from 1960. For each property a small square indicates where the homestead was built. After confirming it with a digital map, it's road trip time!

It was also quite common for Fire Departments to have very detailed maps of rural towns, showing the the placement of outbuildings and even listing building materials. Very rare find, though.

My 74 year old former co-worker suggestion looking for lilac bushes in the middle of fields. He said he used to do that back in the day, and 90% of the time there would be some ruins or a foundation nearby.