Stealth Camping in San Francisco, Redwoods Camping in Bodega Bay

[Electron]

Hi all,

Back with some information on stealth camping this time!

We drove up the West Coast from SF to Bodega Bay and needed a place to spend the night. Found a spot frequented by RVs and vans, so I thought we would fit right in. We were parked next to 5-6 RVs, a couple of vans, and a few SUVs clearly stealth camping as well.

It was Memorial Day weekend so it was a bit rowdy at times but things were quiet after 11pm. Overall a great experience and loved waking up to the crisp air and the views. Barely used any energy overnight as we only used AC at 65F half the night. We relied more on the sleeping bag this time and it worked out fine. The ground was not flat at all so leveling feature came to the rescue as usual.

The Hipcamp spot we found near Bodega Bay was awesome because we were the only one there at the time (2 other spots near us) and it was just beautiful! We joined up with my sister, brother-in-law, and their dog, Deckard. I think Deckard had the most fun out of all of us.

I was able to finish the whole trip with a single charge, which was a nice plus. I did charge once before the trip at the Rivian fast charger in San Rafael. That's when I learned that the Rivian slow chargers are free! It was completely full, being used by Chevy Bolts and some hybrids.

Let me know if you have any questions! Love to help fellow campers go adventuring. 2 and a half months in with the R1S and doing something new every weekend has been a blast. Can't wait for more!

As always here's a vid if anyone is interested:

How funny my Wife and I just finished watching your video. Keep them coming! They're great.

Random question, but how many watts are your tea kettle and electric stove top rated at? Our kettle is rated at 1500w on the dot, which is the max output of the outlets on the Rivian. Have you guys ever tripped the breaker?

Dinner looked great as always, can't go wrong with samgyupsal. KBBQ is simply amazing. We love it and it's perfect for camping.

Big kudos to Deckard! What a happy dog and living the life. Very talented too at catching the frisbee.

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[ChargeSetGo]

How funny my Wife and I just finished watching your video. Keep them coming! They're great.

Random question, but how many watts are your tea kettle and electric stove top rated at? Our kettle is rated at 1500w on the dot, which is the max output of the outlets on the Rivian. Have you guys ever tripped the breaker?

Dinner looked great as always, can't go wrong with samgyupsal. KBBQ is simply amazing. We love it and it's perfect for camping.

Big kudos to Deckard! What a happy dog and living the life. Very talented too at catching the frisbee.

Thanks for watching!

The electric kettle and griddle are both rated at 1500w each. I never tripped the breaker yet (fingers crossed). We've also used a pressure cooker rated at 1000w.

I'll pass on the kind words about Deckard to his parents!

 

[seanocono]

I enjoy your videos and subscribed. Thanks for sharing your adventures!

 

[docwhiz]

The master of stealth camping...
https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=camping+with+steve

 

[Hillbilly]

Is it considered illegal? Seems like it could be.

It's not legal. A lot of statutes to prevent homeless people from sleeping on private and public property in their vehicle.

 

[docwhiz]

It's not legal. A lot of statutes to prevent homeless people from sleeping on private and public property in their vehicle.

It could be legal or illegal. It's usually a grey area with obscure laws, rules and regulations that are location dependent so it's difficult to say for certain one way or another.
Obviously you need local knowledge and always obey clear directives but a lot of the time there is no clear answer so you need to have common sense.

 

[WSea]

iOverlander app is a great source to find stealthish spots with reviews and pics

 

[tcole]

Can it even be considered stealth camping if you're in a parking lot with a bunch of other RVs, vans and SUVs? At that point it's just a parking lot full of people obviously sleeping in their vehicles.

In the Bay Area you basically assume any RV or Van parked on the side of the road or in a parking lot is someone’s full time home. So less stealth camping, and more this is where they live.

 

[ChargeSetGo]

iOverlander app is a great source to find stealthish spots with reviews and pics

This is what I use as well. Used it to find a great spot in the Sierra for my first video in the snow.

 

[ChargeSetGo]

It's not legal. A lot of statutes to prevent homeless people from sleeping on private and public property in their vehicle.

I did my research to make sure overnight parking was allowed at this location. But yeah I'm sure people do it illegally but I don't think anyone cares unless you disturb people around you or make a mess. Hard to make a blanket statement when local laws/rules can be so different depending on where you are. iOverland is a great community resource to double check.

 

[Hillbilly]

It could be legal or illegal. It's usually a grey area with obscure laws, rules and regulations that are location dependent so it's difficult to say for certain one way or another.
Obviously you need local knowledge and always obey clear directives but a lot of the time there is no clear answer so you need to have common sense.

I did my research to make sure overnight parking was allowed at this location. But yeah I'm sure people do it illegally but I don't think anyone cares unless you disturb people around you or make a mess. Hard to make a blanket statement when local laws/rules can be so different depending on where you are. iOverland is a great community resource to double check.

It's a safe blanket statement to make unless you're certain it's fine. There should be a presumption that is not lawful unless you verify it is.

 

[docwhiz]

It's a safe blanket statement to make unless you're certain it's fine. There should be a presumption that is not lawful unless you verify it is.

How about assuming it's OK unless you have (certain) information that it's not?

 

[Hillbilly]

How about assuming it's OK unless you have (certain) information that it's not?

Go for it. Just don't be surprised if a cop makes you move in the middle of the night.

 

[iansriv]

I think a Tesla is stealth camping in front of my house. It's been there for about a week. No one inside. I'm going to have to find out who it belongs to. I'll give it one more week and then put it on AirBnB. (j/k).

 

[R1Sky Business]

First rule of stealth camping …

Gotta find a new spot now.....

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