Treasure hunting with Google satellite maps , anything better resolution ?

Today I went treasure hunting with only a few clues and Google satellite maps , 

Interesting to look in peoples backyards , but you really cannot pick up much info on an iPad , 

So two  things , is there a better satellite source  and will I see more if I have a better monitor ?

I would just like to be able to see if the "blob" in the backyard is a pickup truck  or a  sedan or a boat !

it was a fun day out  but no treasure ......  maybe next time !

From Googles website , https://support.google.com/mapsdata/answer/6261838?hl=en

Go to the local government website and look for GIS mapping. You can see someone peeing on their fence and count the drops. But not every area has it and it is not always free to access.

The other thing is how old some of those pictures are. I've owned my place since 2012 and the picture on their has the previous owners truck in the driveway.

chandler said:

The other thing is how old some of those pictures are. I've owned my place since 2012 and the picture on their has the previous owners truck in the driveway.

My 5 year old home is a dirt lot on GMaps.

Historicaerials.com lets you toggle back and forth between years. Some aerials are much better than others. 

Also, check your state's clearinghouse for gis data; they often have the source data aerials in higher format than what google shows

neverdone said:

Also, check your state's clearinghouse for gis data; they often have the source data aerials in higher format than what google shows

That might work , but  the great thing about Google maps  is also having the street grid so if you see something you can find it , 

if the google resolution is 6 inches than it would seem that every photo is going to be  fuzzy !

We know that  the real "spy" cameras  are much better ,  its just what is available to the public  and free

Thanks to everyone for your ideas and Happy Boxing day !

Scotty Con Queso said:

Historicaerials.com lets you toggle back and forth between years. Some aerials are much better than others. 

Interesting.  I bought my house in 2011.  It was built in in 1973.  I knew it was a "tear down" as in the original owner bought a house and tore it down to build this house.  I never knew anything about the torn down house.  

The site has an aerial photo from 1969.  This would have been the year the 4 unit condo building was built next door to my property but with the old house still on my property.  

Screenshot for 1969:

Screenshot fro 2011: 

The house just north of me... In 1999 he added a house onto his house making his 2500 sq ft house a 5,000 sq ft house.  Both versions are shown.

here is the Bing maps

https://www.bing.com/maps/aerial , at least for my house it was not as detailed as Google,

Here is a good website , I have not figured out how to get a better feed than Google has, but there seems to be a few other sources  that are free , 

https://eos.com/blog/satellite-data-what-spatial-resolution-is-enough-for-you/

Happy Hunting

In reply to John Welsh :

This site is great and I use it as a tool for work. My career has taught me that no land has ever been safe from development. You'd be amazed at the history of some of the sites in Pittsburgh. 

My assessor's GIS map has historic photos available for overlay. It's really fun to look at. They also seem to do an aerial flyby of every property when it changes hands - you can see me moving out of my old house and into the new one. Not sure when they started that, but I've used their photos to determine some of the historical changes to my property. It's also really interesting to see how this relative remote area looked before it got developed and where the more natural trails were.

Of course, after posting that I had to go look at our assessor site to see if there are new photos. And I felt I should share the picture of our assessor. I'd like to meet him. I think he might have some stories.

Doesn't Google Earth Pro have a subscription for Hi-Res images?