Camping on the side of the road.

[drrags]

Originally Posted by DOD

My wife and I have camped around the west (mostly arizona). I've never had a problem in National Forest or BLM lands. Find a quiet place and enjoy.

In this part of the world you need to be careful on the Indian Reservations. They have their own rules and "due process" does not apply. Check with the locals before you pitch your tent without a permit.

Have a great trip.

I remember one time I was cold and wet in Northern Arizona and I stopped at a motel on the Hopi reservation. They said they didn't have any rooms and I was just too beat to continue, so I rode down the road a little ways (wish I could remember the name of the town) and there was an acre of grassy field off to the right, so I pulled the bike in and back off the road about 60 yards and set up my tent on a little island (the place was like a swamp from the rain). At 3:00 am I'm rousted from my tent by the Indian police, wanting to know who's in the tent. Groggily I said it was just me and I'll pack up an leave. The cop said "no, you don't have to leave, we're chasing a guy who just killed somebody in the bar and wanted to make sure he wasn't in there" and off they went. When I got up at daylight, sure enough, there were three sets of tracks in the mud in front of my tent (2 belonged to the cops) going off into the distance.

Picking your spot while it's still daylight is the best advice. I don't know how many times I've made camp in the dark, only to find I'm right next to a house/interstate/whatever - certainly not a spot I would have picked in the daylight.

[Klay]

Originally Posted by drrags

Picking your spot while it's still daylight is the best advice. I don't know how many times I've made camp in the dark, only to find I'm right next to a house/interstate/whatever - certainly not a spot I would have picked in the daylight.

I picked a place after dark in a canyon many years ago somewhere in British Columbia. Unbeknownst to me, I was only a couple hundred feet from a major rail line. It was bit too big of a thrill the first time I was awoken in the night by a train going by. Whew. I was only 23 so I got over it fast and wasn't really bothered by the other six or seven trains that went by in the night.

[humvee]

Originally Posted by Walub

This is exactaly what I was thinking. Add a little more adventure to the trip. I have also decided not to buy a gps for the simple reason that I at least want a chance to get lost. I only have 3 weeks left before I leave I am really looking forward to it. Hope it warms up though.

A GPS with bad/old maps will get you good and lost

[dirty ol man]

Originally Posted by drrags

I remember one time I was cold and wet in Northern Arizona and I stopped at a motel on the Hopi reservation. They said they didn't have any rooms and I was just too beat to continue, so I rode down the road a little ways (wish I could remember the name of the town) and there was an acre of grassy field off to the right, so I pulled the bike in and back off the road about 60 yards and set up my tent on a little island (the place was like a swamp from the rain). At 3:00 am I'm rousted from my tent by the Indian police, wanting to know who's in the tent. Groggily I said it was just me and I'll pack up an leave. The cop said "no, you don't have to leave, we're chasing a guy who just killed somebody in the bar and wanted to make sure he wasn't in there" and off they went. When I got up at daylight, sure enough, there were three sets of tracks in the mud in front of my tent (2 belonged to the cops) going off into the distance.

Picking your spot while it's still daylight is the best advice. I don't know how many times I've made camp in the dark, only to find I'm right next to a house/interstate/whatever - certainly not a spot I would have picked in the daylight.

Like the time I tried to get into a state park in SE Mass. after hours...no dice, so I had seen a likely field thru the rain, stumbled thru a ditch [?] into the field, set up, woke in the mornin' in a cranberry bog! Farmer Joe weren't too happy with me. Hey, I grew up in Cal. what did I know about cranberry bogs?

[Ants]

anyone know what the laws are like in canada about this? i know there's a reg in ontario that non-residents can't camp on crown land in northern ont. w/o a permit, but it makes no mention about residents/citizens...should I assume this means we can camp if we wanna?

[small_e_900]

Originally Posted by geode

Here in Maine, if a landowner paints 2 horizontal silver lines every 50' on the rocks or trees, it's considered as being posted No Trespassing.

Actually, the silver paint is to indicate, no hunting without the land owners permission.

Good system. Sure beats seeing a million No Hunting signs.

[Black06LJ]

Thanks for the entertainment and info. I'll be looking at camping like this on most of my trips from now on. I am new to ADVriding, but have been lo-impact camping for years while Jeepin and backpacking.

[G.Gordon]

When the road cuts through a hill you can camp on top of the rise without being seen. This shot is from last weekend on highway 190 17 miles west of Eldorado, TX. I pulled over just before dark, rode up the rise, sat there till a truck or two passed me to see if I could be seen. Made camp and enjoyed the night.

That road in the background is about 3-4 miles away. After a car went out of sight it was 2-3 minutes before they passed my location and most traffic on the highway was running 70-80mph. I use ear plugs so I don't hear the traffic at all. Great night sleep and the price was right.



Moonrise from the same camp.

[humvee]

Originally Posted by Ants

anyone know what the laws are like in canada about this? i know there's a reg in ontario that non-residents can't camp on crown land in northern ont. w/o a permit, but it makes no mention about residents/citizens...should I assume this means we can camp if we wanna?

Dunno...but what I'd do is act dumb, be polite, and move along when asked....

or...

hide yourself so well that no one is going to find you.

[SinFrenas]

ditto on the elevated-roadside deal, per flashstrommer.

that's the beauty of a ds bike, is that you can spot places from the road that are inaccessible to (and thereby generally not considered by the drivers of) cages.

also: drunk yokels excepted, as a bike traveler you can just about count on the largesse of whoever discovers you...one night on orcas island i'd just about fallen asleep in a nice stand of madrona trees, with the stars out above me and the waves shushing and phosphorescing on the rocks right below me, when 2 cops showd up and needed to know what i was up to - i hadn't hidden my '71 sl350 well enough i guess...anyway they said i couldn't camp there (closed park, also indian burial ground)...even with a bike that had last been registeresd in 1976, in texas, and me with no m/c endorsement on the dl, they let me go. luckily, i had just gotten a job the day before, and i had the address of a friend that i gave them - folks with bona-fides get different treatment than vagrants i guess.

good luck!

[The Raven]

Originally Posted by Klay

I picked a place after dark in a canyon many years ago somewhere in British Columbia. Unbeknownst to me, I was only a couple hundred feet from a major rail line. It was bit too big of a thrill the first time I was awoken in the night by a train going by. Whew. I was only 23 so I got over it fast and wasn't really bothered by the other six or seven trains that went by in the night.

This past summer while camping a few hundred feet by a rail line in Greenville Maine I was woken up about 2am by the whistle....I thought the damn thing was coming through the tent!!!!!

[G.Gordon]

Do you guys have pictures of your road side camp? We need to start a thread in RR if you do.

[bvardi]

Originally Posted by Ants

anyone know what the laws are like in canada about this? i know there's a reg in ontario that non-residents can't camp on crown land in northern ont. w/o a permit, but it makes no mention about residents/citizens...should I assume this means we can camp if we wanna?

If you're a canadian resident - free camping on crown land in ontario at least. (see this webpage)
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/fishing/crownland.html
(they have maps of where crown land is off the same webpage somewhere)

Basically rules are:
Ontario’s Crown land provides the opportunity for many outdoor recreational activities including camping. Residents of Canada may camp free of charge on Crown land for up to 21 days at any one site, except where posted otherwise.
Although most Crown land is available for the enjoyment of both residents and visitors, access to some Crown lands may be restricted or limited. The Ministry of Natural Resources may post signs to limit certain kinds of travel or activity (including camping) as well as close forest access roads for reasons of public safety or environmental protection. Contact the local MNR office for more information regarding the Crown land in the area you hope to visit.
If you are a non-resident of Canada, 18 years of age or older and wish to camp on Crown lands north of French and Mattawa rivers, a Crown Land Camping Permit is required, unless:

• Non residents are 18 years of age or older and are renting a camping unit (a camping unit can include a tent, trailer, tent-trailer, recreational vehicel or camperback) from a commercial outfitter in Ontario.
• Visitors are staying on watercraft equiped for overnight accomodation, anchored on a Crown land water bed and not located within a regulated (green) zone or other signed prohibited area.
• Non-residents and their immediate family own property in Ontario, although however access to regulated (green) zones remains prohibited.

[Bull]

When i was 20 or 21 i was riding a 71 650 bonnie and working as a carpenters helper, the crew would go through about 2 cases of beer a day, i would save the beer cans everyday and thats how i financed my road trip from fla to ca. I had enough money for food and gas and a motel room for 1 night in Texas,the rest of the time it was roadside camping at reststops or truckstops with no tent ,just a sleeping bag and a medium size army alice pack strapped to my bike. In Arizona it was dark and i was heading into the mountains trying like hell not to get run over by big rigs on the interstate. I see a truck stop in the distance and pull over dogassed tired , i see a black empty area devoid of any big rigs so i figure that would be a good place to crash for the night,being i was in the desert i was paranoid about scorpions and snakes , so i tried sleeping on my bike, after dozing off and falling off my bike about a dozen times i said to hell with it and rolled out my sleeping bag and fell promptly to sleep, i awoke in the morning with the sun blazing in my face and the sound of airplanes buzzing around, i had managed to crash right on the edge of a small airport runway.

[Truckin_Thumper]

Originally Posted by McB

I hear WalMart lets RVers stay in their parking lots. I wonder if they'd notice a tent and a bike?

Some steering wheel holder (piss poor truck driver) will just wing a pee bottle at ya.



I would camp on a side road (grey line road) but that is just me.

OH, I hope you pack a pistol too