Are Ghost Towns Off Limits?

[pokerdad911]

Just wondering if anyone in here would know limitations on detecting ghost towns? Are they property of the gov. or historical monuments. I don't know. Info would be nice since I will be going on a road trip with some buddies to laughlin and I know the are some ghost towns out that way off the 40 hwy, so we are going to take our detectors for that reason. Detecting, golf and poker.

Thanks
Pokerdad

 

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[sniffer]

I would check with the local county tax office to find out who owns it
if it's public property it MIGHT be okay, but check first

 

[pokerdad911]

I would check with the local county tax office to find out who owns it
if it's public property it MIGHT be okay, but check first

I am gonna make some calls before I go on my guys road trip.
Thanks for the input.

 

[kane23]

Depends on the ghost town. Some you can dig forever, other's you'll get shot. Make sure their not on BLM or forest service land......kane 23

 

[Mackaydon]

I agree with what has been said above: Determine: (1) Ownership , then (2) Accessibility, then (3) Do your Due Diligence (online) regarding these locations before you head out to your chosen (and accessible Read: permissable) locations.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

As the others have said, it depends on who owns it. They can be federal, state, county, city, or private. And just because it's federal or state still doesn't necessarily mean you can't hunt it. You can hunt fed or state land, as long as it's for modern stuff (and that's all you've found, right? 8)) or things you yourself lost (like that boyscout ring you lost there when you were a kid, right?)

If it's an obvious historic landmark (Bodie, etc...) then assume you can't. Odds are, if you're touring the easy-to-find, well-known ghostowns, you're going to be dissapointed anyhow. Anything that's easily looked up in coffee-table type "Sunset Homes and Gardens book of Ghostowns" are usually just tourist traps, or hunted to death, or junky 4-wheeler partyer enclave cesspools of junk. A friend and I travelled the southwest with such "tourist" ghost-town books in tow, and soon realized that those are the places to AVOID. Better to hit the sites that are off-the-beaten path, with little to no record of them. JMHO

 

[pokerdad911]

As the others have said, it depends on who owns it. They can be federal, state, county, city, or private. And just because it's federal or state still doesn't necessarily mean you can't hunt it. You can hunt fed or state land, as long as it's for modern stuff (and that's all you've found, right? 8)) or things you yourself lost (like that boyscout ring you lost there when you were a kid, right?)

If it's an obvious historic landmark (Bodie, etc...) then assume you can't. Odds are, if you're touring the easy-to-find, well-known ghostowns, you're going to be dissapointed anyhow. Anything that's easily looked up in coffee-table type "Sunset Homes and Gardens book of Ghostowns" are usually just tourist traps, or hunted to death, or junky 4-wheeler partyer enclave cesspools of junk. A friend and I travelled the southwest with such "tourist" ghost-town books in tow, and soon realized that those are the places to AVOID. Better to hit the sites that are off-the-beaten path, with little to no record of them. JMHO

Nice, I will do that. I just thought I would swing the coil for a day to see what is out there. I may be dispointed but on a day away from work, I don't mind a bit.

 

[Texasgopher]

Depends on whose property. Take a look at my post titled "ghosttown" somewhere in the "todays finds" forum around December 2009.


TG

 

[tinastephens]

Is the Ghost town really exist?? I never thought that there still a living Ghost Town in this year...

 

[Tuberale]

First, a definition: a ghost town is a town which had a post office, and lost it.

The answer to whether ghost towns are off limits (illegal?) depends on the state you live in. Someone probably owns the land. You need to find the landowner first. Only the landowner can grant you permission to used a detector.

Some ghost towns no longer have any buildings. But the property, unless owned by the state or county, still belongs to someone. Would you let someone use a metal detector on your property? What limitations would you put on such a person?

Those same limitations would likely apply to someone else's property as well.

Using the definition above, there are several ghost towns near me. I live in Portland, Oregon. And Portland has grown so much in the past 150 years that it has absorbed many small communities as it expanded. One of these, the community of Montavilla, had its own post office for many years, but no longer has an operating post office.

I would never hunt one of my neighbor's lawns unless I had their permission. I hope others would do the same.

 

[Sandman]

Follow Tom in CA's advice, he won't lead you wrong.

 

[hidin]

I live in a county with lots of ghosttowns(old mining area) and it mainly depends on whose property. Some is definitely private and would need the owner's permission. A lot is on state land and would be highly iffy. Some state owned towns actually have signs saying no detecting and no bottle hunting. Areas with ghosttowns also tend to have lots of locals with guns so be very thorough in making sure hunting is ok.

 

[comfortablynumb]

When I lived in Vegas, a buddy took me on treks through several ghost towns. Some on BLM property, some owned by the military. BLM didn't have an issue with hikers, but get caught holding a metal detector, and the fines are enough to ruin your life. Winning the WSP wouldn't cover the grief.

The military isn't as concerned about fines....they like to use that phrase "deadly force" on their signs. Getting permission is easy if you know someone. Official letterhead is the key.

Don't just worry about vehicles on the dirt roads & in the washes, most areas are watched from the air. Nellis + drones + single engine planes = very little is invisible in Southern Nevada.