Unfenced is a data project created by Other Waters Studio, a Philadelphia-based design studio. The platform identifies private land for sale that shares a physical border with public land, such as national forests, state parks, or wilderness areas. Unlike traditional real estate search engines that rely on the descriptions provided by sellers, Unfenced uses an analysis of publicly available boundary data to verify the proximity of a property to public land. As of late 2026, the project has identified over 13,500 properties across 49 regions in the United States.
The mechanism behind the project involves comparing official boundary maps against a database of approximately 694,333 active listings. This allows the tool to calculate the specific length of the shared boundary between a private parcel and a public land unit. For example, the site can display a specific listing—such as a 120-acre parcel in Oregon—and highlight that it shares a 5,240-foot boundary with the Medford Grants Pass Field Office. The project explicitly notes that it is not a professional survey or a listing service, but rather an analysis of publicly available data based on the USGS PAD-US 4.1 standard.
This visual demonstrates the tool's ability to calculate and display the specific length of shared boundaries between private and public land.
While the tool provides a unique way to discover properties with specific geographic advantages, it carries inherent limitations regarding data accuracy. Because the project relies on automated analysis of public records rather than manual verification of every listing, there can be discrepancies between the site's findings and the actual property details. Users have reported instances where a listing identified by the tool as having significant acreage actually turned out to be a smaller residential unit, such as a condo. Furthermore, while the tool identifies the physical proximity to public land, it does not account for practical ownership considerations like the maintenance of fence lines, the presence of easements, or the impact of local wildlife on private gardens.