Be prepared to get a number of responses from people who say if you don’t like these hides just don’t find them, don’t tell me how to play the game, I like these hides, etc etc etc….that’s pretty predictable.

In the intererst of disclosure we do own a “roadsider” ourselves. But I agree with you and, IMO, these types of hides becoming the rule, rather than the exception, has changed the nature of the game, and not in a good way. The “Quest for Road Signs” does not carry the long lasting appeal of “Treasure Hunting in Interesting Places.”

There may not be any public land nearby on which to place larger caches. Is the land around those five lakes all private except for maybe a boat landing? If so, no go.

I’ll take your few quality huntin’land hides over a stop sign/guardrail anyday!
There are fewer cachers in your area, thus fewer finders, especially in winter.
But don’t let that discourage you from hiding some more! Northern Wisconsin geocaching is a whoooooole other experience, which I don’t get to enjoy often enough!

I have some cache hides that require long walks where there are no trails, or use of a watercraft. These are seldom visited. I also have some park and grabs on the side of the road. These get visited a lot more. As a CO, that tells me that most people prefer the P&G’s over the caches that require more work. I try to vary my hides so that there are some for everyone. I know cachers who are not physically able to hike a mile to find an ammo can, but can manage the walk from their car to the speed limit sign without a problem. There also may be a reason that the CO chose the spot. Maybe it is by a friend’s house, or by a favorite hunting or camping spot. I drove 60 miles out of my way to get an FTF on a micro on the side of the road today.

We own 4 roadside micros within a few miles of our house. There’s nothing creative or challenging about them, but they are all part of the Rustic Road (WRR) series. The idea of the series was to showcase Wisconsin’s rustic roads and create a series that enables finders to qualify for a challenge cache. There’s a place for roadside micros along with all the other types of caches. For us, this variety is what makes the game fun.

Don’t forget LighthouseNuts’ Top Spot series. They take me to rural roads that I otherwise would not drive on. Seeing the scenery on those rural roads are awesome. I don’t mind roadside micros like this.

Now if you were to complain about a micro in the woods where there is room for an ammo box, that’s a different subject altogether. I DNF’ed two micros in the woods today and both were in areas where there were also room to place a regular size container or at least a small one.