# Inaccessible Pokémon Go Pokéstops you've found **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 14, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863 "2016-07-14T00:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/1 "2016-07-14T00:31:34Z")
Tonight I was out checking out my local area to find Pokéstops and some more unique Pokemon, during the trip, I found my first truly inaccessible Pokéstop… In York Beach, Maine, in Sohier park, the park next to the Nubble lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in New England, there was a gym, four accessible stops, and one very Inacessable stop… …on Nubble Light island itself! The Nubble light is located on a small island outcrop, and is an automated lighthouse (used to be manned), the only means of access would be to try and dock a boat near the treacherously rocky island, or scuba dive over, there’s no easy way to access the Nubble island What Inacessable Pokéstops have you found in your travels? In this case, Inacessable means there’s some form of physical barrier preventing you from walking to the Pokéstop ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/2 "2016-07-14T00:39:18Z")
[http://i1319.photobucket.com/albums/t663/Kadargo/Pokemon%20Go/865C811C-AADF-4D2F-9099-6BB04E61EB53\_zpskeuqy18o.png](http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/Kadargo/media/Pokemon%20Go/865C811C-AADF-4D2F-9099-6BB04E61EB53_zpskeuqy18o.png.html) That’s Nubble Light with the Jinx I just caught there I had to take the pic through my windshield, as the park was busy and Cooper was misbehaving, image quality could be better ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/3 "2016-07-14T02:14:33Z")
There are Pokestops that require a rented boat, a hike, and satellite BGAN access for a data signal for your phone. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/4 "2016-07-14T02:18:01Z")
Pretty much all poke stops that aren’t also at a bar I frequent are inaccessible to me. Luckily, there are 3 bars and a liquor store that are pokestops near me. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/5 "2016-07-14T12:54:12Z")
Playing Ingress (the predecessor of PG) I found places in office buildings, military bases, and islands to visit. One of the points of the game is to meet new people, right? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/6 "2016-07-14T14:47:03Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > The Nubble light is located on a small island outcrop, and is an automated lighthouse (used to be manned), the only means of access would be to try and dock a boat near the treacherously rocky island, or scuba dive over, there’s no easy way to access the Nubble island How did the lighthouse keepers used to get out there? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/7 "2016-07-14T15:07:27Z")
…they tried to dock a boat near the treacherously rocky island? ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/8 "2016-07-14T19:02:05Z")
IIRC, there was a cable car that shuttled between the mainland and the island, primarily used for moving supplies from shore to island, but also used when the lighthouse keepers would switch shifts, the cable car was removed a while ago ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/9 "2016-07-15T00:59:57Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > Playing Ingress (the predecessor of PG) I found places in office buildings, military bases, and islands to visit. One of the points of the game is to meet new people, right? Gosh, I hope not. I play games to get away from people. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/10 "2016-07-15T01:15:09Z")
There’s one near me that seems to be some sort of statue or gazebo or something in the middle of a golf course nearby. The golf course is private, closed at night and only permitted for club members during the day. There also seem to be a lot of pokemon spawns on the golf course too. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/11 "2016-07-15T01:42:59Z")
> [@AndrewL](#): > > There’s one near me that seems to be some sort of statue or gazebo or something in the middle of a golf course nearby. The golf course is private, closed at night and only permitted for club members during the day. There also seem to be a lot of pokemon spawns on the golf course too. Sneaking in at night, ninja style, is a good way to meet people. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/12 "2016-07-15T15:00:56Z")
Police are getting fed up with Trainers trying to catch Pokémon at their stations. > **[Police ask Pokemon GO players to stop trying to catch Sandshrew in the police...](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/pokemon-go-police-ask-players-to-stop-trying-to-catch-sandshrew-in-darwin-police-station-a7127616.html)** > > Gotta apprehend 'em all! > **[Police warn Pokemon gamers to stay clear of Twickenham police station](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/pokemon-go-richmond-police-warn-players-to-stay-clear-of-twickenham-station-a3296001.html)** > > Pokemon GO players have been told to keep away from a London police station as the game starts to spread across the capital. > **[Duvall Police: Quit Pokemon'ing in the bushes around the station (VIDEO)](https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/duvall-police-quit-pokemoning-in-the-bushes-around-the-station-video)** Or have them fight at their stations. > **[Pokemon Go: Gym at NH Police Station Prompts Safety Warning](https://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/pokemon-go-gym-nh-police-station-leads-safety-warning)** > > "You do not actually have to come into the station to participate in your battles," Pelham police told Pokemon players appearing at a "gym." > **[Milford man follows Pokemon Go into police custody](https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/07/14/pokemon-go-milford-police/87107334/)** > > Rather than fighting monsters when he arrived at a Pokemon gym, a Milford man instead found himself in handcuffs. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/13 "2016-07-15T15:09:00Z")
How are the Pokestops set? Pardon the ignorant question. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/14 "2016-07-15T15:21:44Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Sneaking in at night, ninja style, is a good way to meet people. This is the way to go. Given the choice of golf course or a zoo I’d go with a zoo. > **[Pokemon Go players arrested at Toledo Zoo](https://www.toledoblade.com/Police-Fire/2016/07/14/Pair-of-Pokemon-Go-players-arrested-at-Toledo-Zoo.html)** > > A man and a woman were arrested near the Toledo Zoo’s tiger exhibit early this morning after jumping the fence to play Pokemon Go, a mobile phone game. ... > [@](#): > > Ms. Bartholomy said she and Mr. Crawford were playing the game at Walbridge Park when they decided to jump the zoo’s fence on Broadway Street at about 1:30 a.m. > > While on the zoo grounds, Mr. Crawford said, the two “snuck around like ninjas,” but were ultimately caught sitting on a bench near the tiger exhibit. They had been inside for an hour, Ms. Bartholomy said, when the pair were approached by Toledo police and zoo security after being seen on a security camera. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/15 "2016-07-15T16:38:11Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > How are the Pokestops set? Pardon the ignorant question. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19473707#post19473707](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19473707#post19473707) [Quote=AndrewL] PokeStops and Gyms are based on the locations of Ingress portals, as the two games are both made by Niantic and they just reused their location database. Apparently all of the ingress portals are locations that were submitted by the playerbase and approved by someone at Niantic. [/quote] So they’re piggybacking off of crowdsourced geocaching juice from Niantic’s previous game, plus some (dubious quality) manual checking. Which is failing pretty hard and frequently, judging from the facepalming inappropriateness of some of the Pokestops. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/16 "2016-07-15T16:39:02Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > How are the Pokestops set? Pardon the ignorant question. The locations of Pokestops and Pokemon Gyms were copied from the locations of portals in Ingress, which was also developed by Niantic. Ingress portal locations were submitted by Ingress players over a period of several years. If a location is a Pokestop portal, it’s because some time in the past an Ingress player took a picture of it and submitted it as a portal location, and someone at Niantic approved it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/17 "2016-07-15T19:06:27Z")
Which is also why, apparently, a Trayvon Martin memorial mural has a description that said he was a “thug killed for living a thug life,” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![ebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@ebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebb)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/18 "2016-07-15T21:40:11Z")
In Ingress, the game that Pokemon GO was based on, there’s a portal site (the equivalent of a gym or pokestop) located at the Trinity Site, the location of the first nuclear bomb detonation. The site is only open for tours on two days a year, once in April and once in October. Reportedly a large percentage of the tour groups on those two days for the last few years have been composed of Ingress players eager to ‘tag’ the remote portal for their own team and notoriety. I don’t know if there’s a Pokemon GO gym at that location or not – not all 100% of the Ingress sites were copied over to the Pokemon GO database, it seems. The next chance to check is in October. If Niantic is on top of their game (and they usually are), there’s probably some kind of rare pokemon that’s only attainable there. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/19 "2016-07-15T22:55:17Z")
> [@ebb](#): > > I don’t know if there’s a Pokemon GO gym at that location or not – not all 100% of the Ingress sites were copied over to the Pokemon GO database, it seems. The next chance to check is in October. If Niantic is on top of their game (and they usually are), there’s probably some kind of rare pokemon that’s only attainable there. That would be a terrible idea. If word gets out that, say, MewTwo or something of similar value and rarity spawns there, people will start organizing clandestine trips to sneak out there to grab it. Quite possibly ending up in jail, or dead, as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863/20 "2016-07-23T03:20:49Z")
There’s one near me that appears to be inside the gates of a prison. Yes, I do live close (less than 5 blocks) to a prison. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-pokemon-go-pokestops-youve-found/759863.md?page=2)