Finding bedding areas using Google Earth

[balerjoe]

Has anyone successfully used Google earth to find these areas? If so what are you looking for?
Can someone post pics w/explanations?

[Z Barebow]

Actually, I use GE to confirm what I suspect are bedding areas.

I look for north/east facing slopes on topos. Once find these general areas, I look for benches within those slopes. Extra attention paid to benches in the upper portions of the slopes. (Adjacent swampy/water areas a bonus). I don't worry if there are feeding areas close, as elk can/do move so darn far for feed. Elk are looking for security, visual and thermal. IMHO.

I then use GE or BING to confirm what type of cover is on these benchy area. Dark timber= what I am looking for.

[Indian Summer]

When you say bedding area I'm thinking the exact spot where they prefer to lay. Not really possible on GE. Yeah benches which are travel routes can give a general idea but I'd say you need to be there to literally sniff out the bedrooms. I've seen them bed right in a bottom when it's really hot, on the uphill side of a rockpile on the spine of a finger, and on south slopes where there's just enough shade to call it home.

[Harmy]

Here is an example I think.

viewtopic.php?p=16887#p16887

[Harmy]

The link I just posted did not address bedding areas specifically but the bedding areas I found were just north of the water hole on a steep deep dark pine slope. I stumbled across probably 30 or so active beds that day with several having fresh urine in them. The day I reconed was extremely dry and I was very noisy and so never saw or heard the elk that were there earlier. The beds were probably 400 yards from the water hole and 1000 from the lower angled aspen slopes where I suspect they were feeding. This spot was found using topo maps in conjunction with GE. I am doing similar research this season in different areas.

[Indian Summer]

No doubt Harmy the benches you are keying on are THE place to look for elk. Elk don't care to rest on the side of a cliff anymore than we do. If you look at the big picture in any given area you'll likely find that the elevation of the bench hold true for miles. Kinda the magic number for that area. A common geographic trait, any topo you look at will have a spot like that somewhere on it. The elevation can vary depending on what the elevation of the tops and bottoms are locally. But I wouldn't look at those places and attempt to pinpoint the spot where the actual beds will be. But we really don't need to. They change every so often anyway right? I've seen elk make a small move mid day as the sun rolls around. So we hunt that bench, and maybe some flats above it, like a milk run until we find the smoking hot sign or cross paths with them. That's always a good plan A where I hunt. If the cover allows I'll be glassing the same elevation on adjacent hills too.