6 ms·

Unfortunately in my area of the USA south, there simply isn't much free land to explore. We have contained city parks and a few state parks. Less than 2% of all

Unfortunately in my area of the USA south, there simply isn't much free land to explore. We have contained city parks and a few state parks. Less than 2% of all land in state. Everything else is either developed or privately owned. "I studied my map for a while and found what appeared to be its most boring grid square: no roads, houses or rivers, just a single footpath, one pond and the merest flutter of a lonely contour line. Here, it seemed, was nothing at all, neatly outlined within crisp blue lines." Near me that boring grid would almost certainly be fenced off. Untouchable.

graphe 3y ago
Illegal activity is as American as apple pie. I don't have much free land around me and I have a lot of fun going into abandoned buildings despite it's own set of hazards such as asbestos and mold.
ToucanLoucan 3y ago
"How come kids don't go outside anymore?" Then you look outside and it's nothing but 4-lane stroads, fast food places, payday loan/pawn shops, and liquor stores. Where the fuck are the kids meant to go, the local casino?
- Lord-Jobo 3y ago
  I believe the system and those who pull the levers currently would prefer if the kids were in juvenile detention(1) or working low wage jobs at risk of their own health safety and future(2). Might be better off with the casino option. 1: https://ips-dc.org/whos-profiting-americas-private-juvenile-prisons/ https://ips-dc.org/whos-profiting-americas-private-juvenile-... 2: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/27/1172544561/new-state-laws-are-rolling-back-regulations-on-child-labor https://www.npr.org/2023/04/27/1172544561/new-state-laws-are...
  - ToucanLoucan 3y ago
    The success of Minecraft proves that the children yearn for the mines.
everforward 3y ago
Your mileage may vary, but my experience in the South was that most people (especially people with a few to many acres) don't care if you use their land if you ask. I've hunted or fished on a few strangers' land. I've used land I didn't own without asking, but did live in the neighborhood and the woods were largely considered communal if people weren't jackasses. A lot of people own land because they want access to it, not because they want to deny everyone else access. Just go up to the nearest house and ask if you can walk through their land, or if they know who owns it so you can ask. People are generally nice about it. You can also largely ignore corporate ownership of large swaths of land for stuff like logging or mining. They don't monitor it, and are unlikely to make a big deal of a hiker crossing through if you don't walk directly through the part they're working. There's a greater conversation about private ownership and access to nature, but asking is a practical workaround in the mean time.
- beauzero 3y ago
  Be careful with corporate land. Find Weyerhaeuser recreation (in the south primarily for hunting not grazing like BLM out west) here... https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com/Leases/Search https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com/Leases/Search Note: Weyerhaeuser combined with Plum Creek.
- ryandrake 3y ago
  > Just go up to the nearest house and ask if you can walk through their land, or if they know who owns it so you can ask. This doesn't seem like such a great idea these days, with armed people holed up on their property thinking they are "under siege" when someone accidentally enters their property[1][2][3]. People are too unhinged to risk knocking on a random door. 1: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/us/new-york-man-found-guilty-of-murder-after-20-year-old-woman-was-shot-and-killed-when-car-turned-in-wrong-driveway/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/us/new-york-man-found-guilty-... 2: https://abcnews.go.com/US/gps-mistake-allegedly-leads-deadly-driveway-shooting/story?id=18346144 https://abcnews.go.com/US/gps-mistake-allegedly-leads-deadly... 3: https://www.wrdw.com/2023/11/03/texas-man-convicted-manslaughter-driveway-shooting-that-killed-moroccan-immigrant/ https://www.wrdw.com/2023/11/03/texas-man-convicted-manslaug...
foreigner 3y ago
I thought about the same thing. Trying this in the US would be a recipe for getting shot.
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  Even in the national parks? And what about Canada?
  - drpgq 3y ago
    Canada has the advantage of a ton of crown land.
  - DoingSomeThings 3y ago
    In USA National Parks & National Forest are open for exploration. I'm incredibly grateful for the park service maintaining them. Unfortunately, their locations are not evenly distributed. They are highly concentrated in the Western portion of the country. The closest national park to me is 8+ hours away. Found this map on a quick search: https://preview.redd.it/public-land-of-us-texas-is-surprising-v0-wabqgwddeam81.png?auto=webp&s=b96cce208ee35cf758ea1d856e06ba081369907a https://preview.redd.it/public-land-of-us-texas-is-surprisin...
  - foreigner 3y ago
    National Parks in the US are typically vast open spaces far away from where most people live.
sixothree 3y ago
Deep South here as well. This place absolutely sucks for exploring. Dangerous heat, mosquitos galore, "nature trails" often have pictures of hunters on government sites. I need to freaking leave.

graphe 3y ago

Illegal activity is as American as apple pie. I don't have much free land around me and I have a lot of fun going into abandoned buildings despite it's own set of hazards such as asbestos and mold.

ToucanLoucan 3y ago

"How come kids don't go outside anymore?" Then you look outside and it's nothing but 4-lane stroads, fast food places, payday loan/pawn shops, and liquor stores. Where the fuck are the kids meant to go, the local casino?

Lord-Jobo 3y ago
I believe the system and those who pull the levers currently would prefer if the kids were in juvenile detention(1) or working low wage jobs at risk of their own health safety and future(2). Might be better off with the casino option. 1: https://ips-dc.org/whos-profiting-americas-private-juvenile-prisons/ https://ips-dc.org/whos-profiting-americas-private-juvenile-... 2: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/27/1172544561/new-state-laws-are-rolling-back-regulations-on-child-labor https://www.npr.org/2023/04/27/1172544561/new-state-laws-are...
- ToucanLoucan 3y ago
  The success of Minecraft proves that the children yearn for the mines.

everforward 3y ago

Your mileage may vary, but my experience in the South was that most people (especially people with a few to many acres) don't care if you use their land if you ask. I've hunted or fished on a few strangers' land. I've used land I didn't own without asking, but did live in the neighborhood and the woods were largely considered communal if people weren't jackasses. A lot of people own land because they want access to it, not because they want to deny everyone else access. Just go up to the nearest house and ask if you can walk through their land, or if they know who owns it so you can ask. People are generally nice about it. You can also largely ignore corporate ownership of large swaths of land for stuff like logging or mining. They don't monitor it, and are unlikely to make a big deal of a hiker crossing through if you don't walk directly through the part they're working. There's a greater conversation about private ownership and access to nature, but asking is a practical workaround in the mean time.

beauzero 3y ago
Be careful with corporate land. Find Weyerhaeuser recreation (in the south primarily for hunting not grazing like BLM out west) here... https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com/Leases/Search https://recreation.weyerhaeuser.com/Leases/Search Note: Weyerhaeuser combined with Plum Creek.
ryandrake 3y ago
> Just go up to the nearest house and ask if you can walk through their land, or if they know who owns it so you can ask. This doesn't seem like such a great idea these days, with armed people holed up on their property thinking they are "under siege" when someone accidentally enters their property[1][2][3]. People are too unhinged to risk knocking on a random door. 1: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/us/new-york-man-found-guilty-of-murder-after-20-year-old-woman-was-shot-and-killed-when-car-turned-in-wrong-driveway/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/us/new-york-man-found-guilty-... 2: https://abcnews.go.com/US/gps-mistake-allegedly-leads-deadly-driveway-shooting/story?id=18346144 https://abcnews.go.com/US/gps-mistake-allegedly-leads-deadly... 3: https://www.wrdw.com/2023/11/03/texas-man-convicted-manslaughter-driveway-shooting-that-killed-moroccan-immigrant/ https://www.wrdw.com/2023/11/03/texas-man-convicted-manslaug...

foreigner 3y ago

I thought about the same thing. Trying this in the US would be a recipe for getting shot.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
Even in the national parks? And what about Canada?
- drpgq 3y ago
  Canada has the advantage of a ton of crown land.
- DoingSomeThings 3y ago
  In USA National Parks & National Forest are open for exploration. I'm incredibly grateful for the park service maintaining them. Unfortunately, their locations are not evenly distributed. They are highly concentrated in the Western portion of the country. The closest national park to me is 8+ hours away. Found this map on a quick search: https://preview.redd.it/public-land-of-us-texas-is-surprising-v0-wabqgwddeam81.png?auto=webp&s=b96cce208ee35cf758ea1d856e06ba081369907a https://preview.redd.it/public-land-of-us-texas-is-surprisin...
- foreigner 3y ago
  National Parks in the US are typically vast open spaces far away from where most people live.

sixothree 3y ago

Deep South here as well. This place absolutely sucks for exploring. Dangerous heat, mosquitos galore, "nature trails" often have pictures of hunters on government sites. I need to freaking leave.