After spending almost all summer investigating abandoned towns and houses in the Saskatchewan countryside, I consider myself a bit of an expert on the "ghost-towning" experience. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to experience ghost towns for yourself.
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| General Store in the ghost town of Bents, Saskatchewan |
A grid map is perfect for the prairies. However, be prepared for roads that are not clearly identified. Many rural municipalities (RMs) in Saskatchewan don't bother to identify any roads whatsoever, or they name them rather than using the RR number.
Bring water and snacks
Obviously ghosts rarely own stores. Ghost towns are devoid of bathrooms, coke on tap and anything that resembles a snack. Don't make the mistake I always make and practically succumb to hunger and thirst while exploring a town.
Never bring implements of destruction
Anything that can be interpreted as an implement of destruction (i.e., axes, hammers, crowbars, etc.) won't make it easy if you happen to wander onto private property and try to claim that you're just an intrepid explorer. If you think you need to bring something to protect yourself, you probably shouldn't be in the town in the first place.
If it's not abandoned, don't trespass
It's sometimes a little difficult to determine whether or not a property is truly, by the legal definition, abandoned. However, it's not impossible. "No Trespassing" signs, clearly readable mean "don't trespass, silly". If a property still has power, someone is paying the bill and thus, the property is not abandoned. Also, look for a mowed lawn. An abandoned house will have no power, most likely no windows (or no curtains), and an overgrown lawn. My rule of thumb is, if it's not obviously abandoned, knock first, and when entering, yell "hello?" just in case squatters of the human or non-human variety are lurking inside.
And of course, never break in. An open door on an abandoned house is an open invitation. Picking a lock, or otherwise breaking in could be considered breaking and entering if the property is not, as you assumed, abandoned.
Don't be a looter and leave everything the way you found it.
Sometimes I take a memento from an old house so that I can identify who may have lived there or because the house is in such ill-repair I know it has never been entered nor will be before it becomes one with the earth again. But I find it very unfortunate when I come to an abandoned home that has clearly been gutted for financial gain.
Know what wildlife you may encounter
In Saskatchewan, we have tick season, hornet season, and all summer is mosquito season. What we don't have is a lot of dangerous mammals or poisonous snakes. Know what you're likely to encounter before you leave the house so that you're prepared. Also, when you enter any building, make noise so you don't happen upon a family of raccoon peacefully napping in an attic. When I'm alone, I like to sing to myself, to make sure I'm always making my presence known.
It's ok to keep it to yourself
There's no reason to tell the world where a town is located, or where you made the discovery of a lifetime. I have my own private ghost town, and it's not on the map. Maybe you'll find yours too.
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