The time has come for a over of our mapping services to clear the way for further development of handy tools for our users. As such, this month we have rolled out a new map format to better allow our users to quickly peruse recreation sites by disposition. In order to keep the maps as clutter free as possibly, we…
Understanding Permit Ownership
We receive lots of emails from people who find their name or a relative’s name on our site and want to know if this means they have some right to the land listed under that name. The short answer is, “if you have to ask, then probably not” but the complete answer deserves the time and attention that is best…
Understanding BLM Administrative Areas
We have added a new way to browse and explore permits: by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Administrative Area. To give context to this new feature, we wrote this handy explanation. Summary Nearly a quarter of a billion acres – about one-eighth of the landmass of the USA – is administered by the BLM. These public lands & resources contributed…
Understanding Townships
This entry focuses on a part of our earlier discussion, Understanding Location Data. For greater context on what we will be addressing, please read that post first. One of the more confusing aspects of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the concept of “townships.” A “township” can refer to two different things. Both are part of the PLSS measurement system but have…
Mt. San Jacinto State Park
In startling contrast to the balmy holiday destination of Palm Springs below, Mount San Jacinto State Park cools visitors at 8,516 feet. From the Mountain Station, visitors can view Palm Springs and massive fields of windmills spread out as well. To the south-east, visitors can see the Salton Sea on the horizon. To the west, there are magnificent vistas of snow…
Slab City
In the cradle of democracy that is the United States of America, there is an anarchist community which has been living by its own rules for 50 years. Slab City is the mecca* for every extreme that just wants to be left alone and will give up the creature comforts of the modern home to escape expectations. RV owners, artists,…
Understanding Location Data
Claims handled by the Bureau of Land Management are not mapped by latitude and longitude, as many maps now use. Instead, many of these claims harken back to an older form of surveying called the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), a measurement system that may seem confusing to the uninitiated, but was a great step forward in the time that it…
Welcome!
We are excited to have launched The Recreation Sites! There are a lot of recreational spaces across the US. While much of this is occurring on public lands, few people are able to discover the “who,” “what,” and “where” of outdoor activity sites. While this is a matter of public record, we aim to make it a matter of a…