Google Satellite Reconnaissance...is it really that easy?

[Putts]

I love maps.  My dad loved them and had a bunch of different atlases. You know, the old ones that were as big as you when you were five.

Anywho, been playing with Google Maps satellite view for quite some time now looking for boondocking spots...

...and it seems RIDICULOUSLY EASY!

Someone just asked about places to boondock in Minnesota and I found this in about 5 minutes.

https://www.google.com/maps/@47.9219998,-91.6766328,695m/data=!3m1!1e3

I keep dreaming about places in my head, and doing satellite recon. I usually find what looks like plenty of places. I'm not on the road yet, but I've done a fair bit of van camping. I've never put the two together yet though.

Is it really that simple? I'd love to know if you have been successful doing it, and any satellite reconnaissance tips and tricks you might want to share.

 

[Almost There]

Not as easy as just looking at google satellite unfortunately!

It doesn't tell you all kinds of things - is the road drive able for your vehicle; who owns the property; is there even level ground to park on, etc. etc.

In Ontario I  used crown land overlay maps to determine if the land was available for boondocking but even then a boots on the ground approach or recommendations from others who did the same type of camping was always necessary. If I was going in for the first time, I always had 2 and more likely 3 locations and then said a little prayer to the boondocking PTB...

 

[highdesertranger]

I use Google earth a lot. but I use it for mining claim info, I have an overlay for it that shows active and inactive claims. I have never used it to find a place to camp I look at USGS maps for that. highdesertranger

 

[CityWoman]

Here is an article by someone who explains (with pictures!) how he uses Google Maps to find places to stealth park with his truck camper:
Stealth Camping With A Truck Camper

 

[TrainChaser]

EXACTLY what did you ask for?

Just because there is open land doesn't mean it's available for boondocking.

 

[Putts]

Exactly. It's more tricky, isn't it? How do you recon?

 

[Gary68]

google is not current,just checked my house and looks almost a year old,there are real time sites though

 

[Putts]

I use Google earth a lot.  but I use it for mining claim info,  I have an overlay for it that shows active and inactive claims.  I have never used it to find a place to camp I look at USGS maps for that.  highdesertranger

What do you see on USGS maps that you don't see on Google maps?

Let me clarify: On USGS maps you can probably better see who owns the property, and that's valuable info. But on satallite view, you can more effectively (I would argue) see boondockable locations.

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg, in scouting spots---for most vandwellers (not someone looking for a damned gold mine)?

 

[Putts]

google is not current,just checked my house and looks almost a year old,there are real time sites though

Got a linky?

 

[rvwandering]

I love maps too - paper and online. I really love Google satellite view but like Almost There says - it's not that easy. I always have backup spots and keep my eyes opened for other possibilities as we're driving.

 While planning I trace a potential boondocking spot back to the paved road then, if possible, I place the little man at the intersection and take a good look around at the road condition, width of the road, overhanging vegetation, and closed gates. 

 I also follow the road to see if there are signs of mudholes, steep inclines, or large rocks. Google satellite view is often not clear enough to get a really good idea of what we'll be facing so the only way to be sure is to actually go there.

 In the west I use this website to determine who owns the land - http://publiclands.org/  In the east public land is mostly national forest and state forest which wiill show on Google maps. 

 The places that you found in Minnesota look very good. https://www.google.com/maps/@47.9238756,-91.6876162,2688m/data=!3m1!1e3  It's definitely worth a trip to check that area out.  You'll notice in map view that all of the land is designated as Superior National Forest (green) but west of the boondocking area the land (still green) is owned - houses and little towns everywhere. Also in map view you can see that you have to turn off of Fernberg Trail onto Glipi Road and Glipi Road ends. Back on satellite view you can see that it does not end but there is a large area that looks like it may have been a dump or storage lot at one time. Does this mean somebody owns this land? Whatever that is, if you can get past it, there seem to be many boondocking spots.

 I also look for other RVs on satellite view to see if it's a known boondocking area and sometimes I do a google search with the name of the area + dispersed camping.

 Here are a few of the places that I've found using these methods.

     

 Enjoy searching! It's a lot of fun and you can put all of the potential spots on a map so that you can go check them out once you get on the road.

 

[Dgorila1]

Here is an article by someone who explains (with pictures!) how he uses Google Maps to find places to stealth park with his truck camper:
Stealth Camping With A Truck Camper

What he's doing isn't stealth. That rig sticks out like a sore thumb. He's just choosing overnight spots where he knows he won't be bothered.

 

[CityWoman]

What he's doing isn't stealth. That rig sticks out like a sore thumb. He's just choosing overnight spots where he knows he won't be bothered.

Must one be limited to only certain types of vehicles to be stealthy? I'm sure there are plenty of places where a white cargo van would stick out like a sore thumb.

Of course he doesn't want to be bothered, but he is mostly parking in locations where he won't be *noticed.* He included pictures of other rigs he saw that called attention to themselves by parking with the slideouts extended, as examples of what not to do, and therefore I think he is making an important point in the article.

He's saying that the size or type of rig doesn't matter as much as blending in somewhere, so as not to be noticed - and to me, being strategic about not being noticed is being stealthy. Stealth means different things to different people, but the definition is something like being cautious and surreptitious (secretive) with one's actions. That could generally mean "hiding in plain sight," couldn't it? I think so. It doesn't necessarily have to mean "completely undetected," but rather, simply knowing how to become part of the scenery. And that's what he does, for the most part, though he also talks about different situations, like getting permission to park somewhere.

I think the article is a good one, with useful info, especially the part where he talks about parking in neighborhoods with houses all around him. There are some practical tips in it. Critique it or glean from it, your choice.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Must one be limited to only certain types of vehicles to be stealthy?  I'm sure there are plenty of places where a white cargo van would stick out like a sore thumb.

I agree with Dg...that guy is not 'stealth camping'. Stealth is dependent on the environment and context, and blending in to that setting. Parking a vehicle that is obviously a camper on an empty city lot or alone behind a strip mall is not fooling anyone. SOMEBODY is in there.

Stealth camping means your rig does not look like an occupied camper, and it blends in as any normal work van or passenger car would, within the urban environment.

In most of those pictures, the rig he has is anything BUT stealthy. The only place he is half-way blending in is in a campground or forest, or maybe near a beach with children playing, exactly where a white cargo van is NOT stealthy, visually speaking.

He might be successfully enjoying 'urban boondocking', or free camping, but he isn't 'stealth camping'.

Just my 2 cents....

 

[highdesertranger]

I can tell a lot with a USGS map but I have been reading them since I was in the 4th grade. I have probably 1,000 paper USGS maps. plus I have all the USGS maps on CD's for California, Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona. so I have access to a lot of maps off line which is nice because a lot of the areas I go to there is no cell service therefore no internet. highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

I keep a map of all the places I've camped. I zoom in on the satellite view to drop the pin as close to the exact spot as I can. I was surprised and ambivalent when I discovered the satellite shot of the place I camped in Joshua Tree showed my van and my two friends' rigs.

 

[Weight]

There is no such thing as stealth camping or parking. That concept is only in your mind. Someone knows you are there. The LEO patrolling a neighborhood knows what has changed in their area. The idea is to be where you are not a nuisance and you will be mostly left alone.

 

[TrainChaser]

Weight: "There is no such thing as stealth camping or parking. That concept is only in your mind. Someone knows you are there."

^^^
The bottom line in city camping is how much someone cares that you're parking there, and whether they're okay with it or not. And every place will be different. And just because you got away with it last night doesn't mean you will tonight. ALL of the spots in the city are owned by someone, even vacant land four feet deep in weeds. And just because you think it's a good place doesn't mean the owner will. And the owners don't owe you ANYTHING.

 

[Putts]

Erm...I was really wondering about if and how you guys used Google satellite to scout places.

 

[Putts]

I use Google earth a lot.  but I use it for mining claim info,  I have an overlay for it that shows active and inactive claims.  I have never used it to find a place to camp I look at USGS maps for that.  highdesertranger

So what do the USGS maps tell you that Google Earth doesn't about the quality of a camping spot?

 

[highdesertranger]

neither one tells me the quality of the spot, IMO that can only be determined with boots on the ground. but on a USGS map I can read the terrain, how flat, slope, direction of the slope, shelter from wind, exposure to the elements, exposure to the sun, classification of the road(improved gravel, unimproved dirt, 4wd, etc.), springs in the area, water in creeks, mines in the area, names of mines, prospects, adits, tailings, elevations, forest cover, swamps, etc, etc. on Google earth I just get a two demisonal picture of the area which is ok but I can Look at a USGS map and get a three demisonal picture in my mind. like I said I have been reading USGS maps since I was very young so for me it's second nature. highdesertranger