Houses on public land

[Elite]

I came across a 80-100 acre public piece in Wisconsin that has a house on it with a driveway. I checked 2-3 maps with landowner information and they all say the parcel is owned by the DNR. The access is good where the house is, but I feel strange parking by the house just in case there’s someone living there….has anyone had experience with this?

[seazofcheeze]

I came across a 80-100 acre public piece in Wisconsin that has a house on it with a driveway. I checked 2-3 maps with landowner information and they all say the parcel is owned by the DNR. The access is good where the house is, but I feel strange parking by the house just in case there’s someone living there….has anyone had experience with this?

I see this a lot in Montana. Usually an old homestead that the state has bought, but the house remains. Definitely a little weird, but I haven't run into any issues on these types of parcels yet.

[Tsom]

I've seen that in NH. On x showed was town owned but there was often a truck parked in the yard. Turns out it was another hunter that was there quite a bit. I just accessed from a different area since I'm sure the deer were used to him going in that way.

[Drich]

I came across a 80-100 acre public piece in Wisconsin that has a house on it with a driveway. I checked 2-3 maps with landowner information and they all say the parcel is owned by the DNR. The access is good where the house is, but I feel strange parking by the house just in case there’s someone living there….has anyone had experience with this?

What 'maps' are you checking? The only one that I would even think about relying on if any doubt would be the county's GIS maps. Lots of map apps don't have the updated information, and just maybe that land was sold to a private individual who built a house on it. Or it may have been private and now be tax-forfeited property and may be open to public hunting.

(I do own former state land for two years now, and apps I have checked show it as still owned by the state.)

[Elite]

I came across a 80-100 acre public piece in Wisconsin that has a house on it with a driveway. I checked 2-3 maps with landowner information and they all say the parcel is owned by the DNR. The access is good where the house is, but I feel strange parking by the house just in case there’s someone living there….has anyone had experience with this?

What 'maps' are you checking? The only one that I would even think about relying on if any doubt would be the county's GIS maps. Lots of map apps don't have the updated information, and just maybe that land was sold to a private individual who built a house on it. Or it may have been private and now be tax-forfeited property and may be open to public hunting.

(I do own former state land for two years now, and apps I have checked show it as still owned by the state.)

County GIS and HuntStand, and Wisconsin public land via DNR website.

[szwampdonkey]

I have one spot like this owned by the County park system. You literally park on the road by the guys mailbox and walk up his driveway to access the property. I couldn’t do it for a couple years as i just felt way too weird about it.

Then a couple years ago some of the other public areas were getting so over hunted it made me think about the spot again. So i emailed someone at the County park system and they literally told me to park by the mailbox and walk in on the driveway! So i did just that and felt like a trespasser every time so i saved that email in case i had trouble.

Well, one day i’m walking up the driveway only to meet the homeowner driving out on it thinking “here we go, gonna get an earful” only to have the guy roll right by and wave. So that was that.

As long as you’re 100% positive on your maps i’d say you’re all good. If not might be worth an email to whoever manages the land just to have that confirmation and piece of mind.

I know some Nature Conservancy spots that share driveways with people and have homes on them as well. Just keep in mind in WI you can’t discharge a firearm within i think 100 yards of an occupied home without their permission whether you’re on public or not. I believe that applies also to homes right on the border of public, can’t shoot near them either.

[stash59]

Since I've been using Onx! I've come across a few parcels. That are different then what the WI DNR interactive map shows. The PDF map for the property. And GIS maps for the county! So I rely more on the GIS maps! And look up the details on the property. That the GIS provides!

What can really get confusing. Is the MFL, FCL and VPA lands here! Have found alot of differing info for these. From map source to map source!

[Yoder]

I know of four houses on public. One was several hundred acres with a beautiful off grid house. State bought the property a few years ago after the guy couldn't sell it. The other three are really old. They have signs posted to stay out of the houses but you can hunt there.

[nocoolnamekyle]

I’d always double check with the gis map they provide and if it feels wrong check with the local warden. I have a friend that lives in one of them houses. It wasn’t nothing but a nightmare for him the first couple years, from hunters Harassing him to people shooting the house. I know that’s probably just a a few apples of the bunch but couldn’t believe the amount of people that had no Respect for some ones living Dwelling.

[perchsoup]

I’m pretty sure it’s all huntable land, unless the deer are bedded inside the house. Than it’s considered sanctuary and not huntable. That’s a tough scenario cause they likely won’t leave during daylight. Especially if it still has sewer and water.

[blackwidow]

Found one very similar to this where I had to use the landowner's driveway to access the public. I stopped and talked to him and he was very helpful. Told me exactly what I needed to do and had no issues. I think that a lot of times if you're willing to just go talk to somebody it will make both parties feel better about the situation. If I was the landowner/homeowner, I would be much more at ease if somebody came and talked to me rather than just seeing some vehicle creeping around not knowing what they are doing.

[Barkeater]

I don't use on x but I'm familiar with it cause some of my buddies do. I've seen some examples of where it's either flat out wrong or not up to date. When in doubt you need to look at the tax map more and more places are putting these online.