Exploring the Abandoned CFS Dana Military Base
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- In 2008 we got permission to photograph CFS Dana, an abandoned military base. The owners have only let a couple people onto the base (they don't take kindly to those asking for permission). Our timing lined up and we got permission from the previous owners wife to photograph the site.
Unfortunately we never did any video, so we made a slideshow of your photographs taken during our exploration. Full history and photographs can be found on our website.
Explored in 2008.
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Saskabandoned is a collaboration between vanishedcompass and saskurbex. Exploring together since 2008 and finally teaming up for this joint project sharing some of the coolest abandonedments on the prairies.
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SAD indeed ,, lived there 1971/76 best posting of my 26 year career. Gosh why could something not have been done to maintain the site
There were attempts made but without constant on such a large sit it was difficult. Being in private hands for so long has made it impossible for purpose.
Used to be part of the whole DEW (Distant Early Warning) system. Pinetree line.. with bases with radars with early warning detection system against a Soviet air attack
We know all about the different lines and stations across Canada and the Northern States.
wow - i was a lifeguard at that pool somewhere around '92-93... its a real shock to see the state of things. I used to bring a guitar amp up with me and play at full volume in that gym on days when no one was out to the pool. Time has not been kind. My family used to also drive up for the occasional mass at the church. I thought I recalled a single lane bowling alley there too?
I lived in Meacham and took my kids to the pool
That would have been amazing. We love to hear the personal stories attached to these places. Do you have any photos of it from back then?
So sad to see it this way , lots of memories canex and gas station etc.
We can imagine.
So interesting ! i used to drive by every week and wondered what was there. Thankyou for the chance to see it ! Well done !
Thank you - your most welcome.
I remember driving by there in the early 1970s when those white ball things were still there (radar?). I always wondered what the base looked like. Would have liked to have seen it in the day....
Yes, originally the white dome would have been on top of the radar tour. There is still one in place at the Alsask site. It's in a sad state these days but there are historic photo's online of what it was like.
Very cool site. Very nice. 😀👍
It is - we are fortunate we had the chance to see it. Wish we had better cameras and video at the time.
I cannot get over how well "preserved" it looks. Pharmacy cabinet with Rx bottles? It was part of the string of radar sites across the provinces known as the Mid Canada Line. (First line was the original DEW line, then this one. I was at the US Pine Tree Line, same thing a line of sites across the US-Canada border). The two I was at in ND & Montana now all totally gone and grassed over, like they never existed.
Yes it was in not bad condition in 2008, it's likely in rough shape today. This base was part of the pine tree line in Canada - there is still remains of the base in Alaska which was also part of the line.
I was recently there. Amazing place, I do not recommend doing it as it took hours of hiking to get to it. Regardless of it being owned by new people u can't take stuff like this away, we went, we seen and ya we weren't supposed to be there, but it was a blast. And amazing to see.
Edit: I even have pictures of myself on the very top.
We have so many pictures from the location - this is just a snipit of what we have. Today is likely doesn't look like our photos - decay was taking over quick and these were from 2008. Would love to see some more recent photos, do you have them online?
My wife lived there as a young girl in the mid to late 60's, her father was a radar tech. She has since passed away and I would have liked to visit a place where she spent some of her childhood. Millions of our tax dollars built that site and now some private owner gets to bar our access and let it go to rot.
A remnant of the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the start of the demise of these installations. All of the gap fillers are gone but some of the power and data processing buildings still exist repurposed by private owners. Some of the long-range radar sites still exist, repurposed for other uses but many are simply abandoned and decaying. There are a scant few joint use sites still active, but the direction centers they reported to no longer exist even though the blockhouse may still stand but repurposed. The old frequency diversified systems are long gone, replaced mostly with ARSR systems. My last duty station where I was an ECCM tech is now owned by the Lutheran Church and is used as a retreat, you can visit it and see the place as long as you go by the old orderly room and ask permission., this was Osceola AFS in Osceola Wisconsin.
Wow! I used to drive by all the time and see the tower and I always wondered what it was. I had no clue it was it’s own little town up there! I would love to know more about the history of this place and I would love to explore it myself.
It's on private property and the owners don't let many people access it. It's in very rough shape these days I imagine, our trip was from back in 2008. These military sites are very interesting. There is more information online about this location and others across Canada.
At one point the road into the base was public access, you could drive right by and go to the road leading to the gator station.
That gym sure has taken a beating. The grounds were always so well taken care of as well. They use to have an air show we attended a few times.
Thanks for the memories of better days!
No problem - this was back in 2008 so we imagine the buildings are in much worse shape and that gym is likely hardly standing these days. Very sad.
Fantastic bit of history, it’s a shame our DND has been put on the back burner with budget cuts and closing bases across this great nation of ours . The new owners could profit from this by having tours or rent it out to the movie industry!
A friend was stationed there back in the day.
2:29 The tower ligit looks like the tower from n64 goldeneye severynya level
I have never seen this 😳
Saskatchewan has lots of secrets :)
@@PrairiePast indeed it does 🙂
I was so convinced they had a secret base under the old one, why else would they never let anyone up there. Way to ruin my imagination lol.
We would love to find a secret base under the old one... we would settle for secret tunnels lol
The underground sites got filled in. Along with the radar warning sites like Dana there was what were called GATR (ground air transmit recieve) sites which were a cold war communicatoons system as well as satellite tracking stations (gotta keep an eye on sputnik right). The Boggy Creek GATR east if Regina was 3 stories underground and was dug up. There is still a GATR site (no longer in use) in the remote northern part of the province that is 5 stories underground. The road to it has overgrown the last time I was in the area hunting so it might be hard to locate now. There a was bunkers in Sask, most in Regina, but who knows how many still exist. There was one under the RCMP depot for example, but who knows of it still exists. Hard to find info on these locations and guys like me who did work at and closed them are now in our 80s and 90s.
@@dadelusroarer9093 Well, thanks for the update. I imagine most military installations had some kind of underground part to them. I guess I just always hoped for the mystery of not knowing.
My kingdom for a couple of those shops / hangars
One wonders what sort of military were stationed here. It all looks very domestic in character.
I'm surprised at the comment " they don't take kindly to those asking for permission" I always seek permission and have never been treated unkindly, refused ,,,often but never unkindly, more of a "thanks for asking but no, liability and all".
I still went. Life is to short.
It did take hours to get to it though. Through deep bush and forest.
@@itzaxo8860we talking about the same place? This place is right up the road from me and you can drive right up to the buildings from the highway via the bison ranch road. No gate or nothing. The only thing you’d have to walk to in the radar tower itself and it’s definitely not a couple of hours.
@adamyo9003 no it was blocked off so we parked on a gravel road slightly off the main highway.
@adamyo9003 on top of that it's all private land, including the road you mentioned. Does take hours, when your not trying to drive onto private land. That whole area is owned by bison farmers.
It looks like you can see it from the hwy.
You can see parts of it from the highway but it's on private property, fenced and posted - home to a bison farm.
sad how all these places are abandoned instead of repurposed
the fleecing of america
Its in a very rmote place so living there would be impossible. Cheaper to let it decay than maintain it.
America?
That is a crime against the taxpayer.
Sent NATO military to restore it or Chinese or russia
Wonder why the fronts off all the panel boxes?
People are almost likely stealing copper
I could get that pool up and runnin but to run it is about 200$ month electric
What a waste!!