The Secrets Of Stealth Camping
November 23, 2008 by Darren Alff
It’s called many things: stealth camping, wild camping, guerrilla camping, rolling off into the woods, etc. In the end, they all mean the same thing.
Stealth camping is the act of quietly finding a place away from people where you can camp for the night and then quickly slip away in the morning without being detected. The key to stealth camping is to remain hidden at all times and to leave no trace of your existence during or after your departure from the site.
Stealth camping is not for everyone. It typically takes some time to work up to, but this is how it usually works:
As night approaches, you’ll be riding your bike along the side of the road. As you ride, you come across a large forest. When there are no cars around, you duck into the trees and quickly disappear.
Making sure that you are far enough away from the road and in a safe location, you set up your tent, cover the reflectors on your bike, and simply fall asleep. In the morning, you quickly pack up your tent, walk back out to the road, get on your bike, and then continue riding.
Many people choose to stealth camp as a way of saving money. Others do it because of the incredible campsites that it can create. Whatever the reason, stealth camping is an excellent choice for the smart and prepared bicycle tourist. It is not for the scared or timid.
If you’re thinking about doing some stealth camping of your own, here are some things to consider first:
Never camp in an area that is marked with “No Trespassing” signs.
Never camp inside of a gate or fence. You are likely on someones private property! It’s even possible that you could be locked inside that gate and have to remain there until someone comes to rescue you.
Make sure not to set up your tent inside of a dry creek or riverbed. Flooding can occur quickly!
Do not make camp in an area where animal tracks or dung can be found. You don’t want to be disturbed by a bear, raccoon, skunk, or mountain lion in the middle of the night.
When stealth camping, make sure that the reflectors on your bike are covered up so that passing cars do not give away your location.
Stealth camping works best if you have a brown, green, or camouflaged colored tent. If possible, use leaves and branches to help hide your tent and bicycle.
When you leave your location in the morning, be sure to leave the place in the same condition it was in when you first arrived. Pack out all your food and trash.
Warning: If you are traveling alone and you choose to stealth camp, know that you are your own rescuer. If you get into trouble, no one is going to know where you are. If you get yourself into a dangerous situation, you are the only person that is going to be able to get you out of it.
If you’re nervous about camping in a place without permission, ask!
If you’re on someone elses land, ask them first if they will let you spend the night on their property. Many people are more than happy to help you! You might even get a free meal or shower just by asking!
If that doesn’t work, consult the police. Find a police officer or police station and tell them that you are traveling by bike. Be upfront and explain that you are looking for a place to spend the night. Many police officers (depending on the person and the location) will gladly point you to a part of town where you can spend the evening.
This usually works best in small towns where camping out under the stars is more acceptable. In such places, police officials may even be so kind as to escort you to a private campsite in the woods. Some may even bring you food and invite friends to come and hang out with you and hear your stories.
Other officers may not directly tell you where to camp, but give you the indication that if you do roll off into the woods, they aren’t going to mess with you. Often times, the officers will want to know where you are camping, just so they can keep an eye on you and make sure that you are safe. If this happens, tell them where you plan to sleep and kindly accept their protection.
Some police officials (especially in big cities) will rudely tell you to get a hotel room or move on down the road. If that’s the case, the choice is up to you. If you can find a place that looks save, feel free to enjoy a night of wild camping. Otherwise, it might be best to follow the officer’s advice and find other accommodations for the night.
In the end, the choice is up to you. Stealth camping can be scary and dangerous, but it can also be beautiful and rewarding. Some of the best camping spots on your tour might just be in locations where you chose to do a bit of stealth camping!
Do you have a story or piece of advice about stealth camping? If so, use the comments box below to share your thoughts with other BicycleTouringPro.com readers.
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32 Responses to “The Secrets Of Stealth Camping”
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Of course, in the Nordic countries they have “everyman’s right”. This allows you to camp almost anywhere except in someone’s front yard or where you might damage crops or something. You can run the term through Google.com or read more about this on Virtual.Finland.fi. Wondeful! And the Nordic countries are safe!
I much prefer stealth camping to staying in most campgrounds; especially if it is an RV park. I have done it for many years. Basically it is not much different than “Leave No Trace”(LNT)camping ethics. As more and more areas are designated as “Wilderness Study Areas,” then we will all be “stealth” camping. The only addition to what you have already stated in the article is that I also try to eliminate my tire tracks when I am off the “road.” Sometimes I will even make false tracks in order to lead people astray. Most people are not very persistent in trying to find you. There are particular animal signs that I look for in the area that I am planning to camp. If I find tracks or signs, then I move on. For example, mountain lions eat deer, so if I find a lot of deer tracks and/or droppings, then I do not camp there. I also use the lay of the land and the landscape to camouflage my location. I cook and eat somewhere else so as not to send out signals. I bed down just before it becomes dark and I get up early to avoid detection. If I do meet someone before I camp, then I solicit as much information from them as I can and then almost invariably give them erroneous information on my short-term plans. This gives the whole adventure a kind of Indiana Jones feel.
John Muir used to wander the wilderness and camp where he pleased. After finding a camp site he would probably make himself a campfire by gathering firewood or if necessary cutting down a tree near his campsite. Today, he would be required to file for a backcountry permit after he paid his $35.00 to obtain an Adventure Pass; Campfires would not be permitted. I tell this story to make a point, and that is, I take issue with the concept of public officials restricting the use of public land. You see, I’m old enough to remember when state property or city property was referred to as public property. Throughout our nation’s history (speaking from an America centric point of view), people have been able to camp when the need arose (FYI, I am not referring to private property). More recently, in the late 60′s and early 70′s, the idea of disguising your camping site would be unheard of as it was common practice for a young traveler to live amongst nature. Unfortunately more and more we are seeing federal, state and local government passing legislation restricting the use of public land. It drives me insane! Now because our society has essentially become soft, we dare not venture out into the wild and camp more that 20 yards off the main highway for fear off being hassled by the authorities or worse yet, “offending someone.” IMHO, I say camp in the open and challenge (politely, but firmly) all who question your right to stop for the night. Do so before we have no rights at all. I do not condone the slaughter of innocent trees. No trees were harmed in the writing of this comment.
I went off into the woods one time in Michigan. Strung up my hammock and tarp (best way to camp in woodsy areas!) and went to sleep. I was awakened in the night by the snuffling and snorting of a large animal rushing back and forth in the trees–Bigfoot? Black bear? What? After a few minutes of, I admit it, terror, I pulled out my flashlight and scanned the woods in the direction of the noise. I finally caught the reflection of two glowing eyes no more than a few hundred feet away. The animal stopped and stared into my light. Slowly, I realized it was moving toward me…closer and closer. Finally, it got close enough that I could see with my light that it was a very large whitetail buck. The fear mostly drained away, but he kept coming toward me. I didn’t know what to do and so I watched him. When he was about 50 feet away, don’t ask me why I made this choice because I don’t have an answer for you, I said, “Boo!” He bolted! But, for the rest of the night I could hear him in the distance galloping back and forth in a semi-circle in the woods. The best I could figure is that I was camped right in his usual path to the river and he was too much a creature of habit to comfortably go around me! I kind of felt bad after but, hey, he scared the crap out of me!
I didn’t have much experience in camping, none the less “stealth camping”, but I recently completed a Pacific Coast bike tour and stealth camped a few times. It wasn’t all that bad. I couldn’t/wouldn’t do an entire trip that way, I wreaked as is with showers here and there. Sometimes stealth camping was the best option. I couldn’t find any good campsites and didn’t have the funds for a hotel, I was just going to push through the night to the coast and crash out on the beach…but in the middle of nowhere, my headlight died. So I found a good spot off the road, setup my solo tent, read a little, wrote a little and woke up feeling a slight sense of freedom and independence. PS I had a mountain lion wonder out into the road after I shined my light on it, I didn’t think much of it until I googled mountain lion attacks bicyclist and read about people getting their necks bitten off. Since then I turned into a sissy and try to stick to daylight hours.
PS if your light ever dies, and you don’t have a spare(DOH!) you can use your cell phone to read road signs or a book if your bored….Lifesaver
Yes, having a cell phone (or even a GPS or MP3 player of some kind) is a great way to find your way in the dark. I’ve done entire bike tours without a light of any kind. I just used my cell phone as my light whenever it got dark.
Yes, I certainly can see pulling off the road to camp when necessary. However, I plan my destination when I start each day. The destination usually has a campground or motel. I have backpacked the entire Appalachian Trail. So a campsite for me must have a spot large enough to pitch a tent and water within 0.5 mile. The water is for drinking and cooking. But, I do like campgrounds with water, picnic tables, and showers.
I like touring with the ACA [Adventure Cycling Association] maps. They are a travel guide as well. I can call ahead and reserve a spot. That is necessary in season and on holidays.
Primitive[stealth] or a B & B what ever is at the destination works for me.
roy
There may be a time and place for “stealth” camping but in many foreign countries you are missing the point when you “hide” from people. I’ve camped lots in places like Sardinia or Greece where you’ll meet some of the most hospitable people on earth. My wife and I developed the technique of stopping on the edge of a farm village and approaching a farmhouse to ask permission to camp in an adjacent field. Almost always we’ve been offered space next door, running water at the barn or from the farm house and many times when the farmer came home we’ve been invited in for home made pasta, cheese, and home grown veggies. In the morning we’ve had farmers or farmwives bring out a pot of coffee for us. So I’d forego the “stealth” camping in favor of meeting the locals!
Yes, Rick. I do think one should try approaching the locals first. But sometimes that doesn’t work. And sometimes there are simply no locals around (if you are in a real remote area), so that is when stealth camping really comes in handy. There is a time and place for it, but it’s something many first time bike travelers do not consider, as they believe they have to be in a standard campground in order to actually camp. Stealth camping can really save you when used at the proper times.
[...] and you get Scooter Tramp. ride off on the scooter to wherever i wish. stay there for a while stealth camping, couch surfing, hostels, or renting. perhaps get a local job for a while or work for the host i [...]
I suspect that there will be plenty of future readers of this post (despite the fact that the last reply was months ago). So I have this suggestion:
Instead of inquiring at the local police department, the inabitants of which I find are become increasingly paranoic in modern times, do what I do – go to the local fire station. Fire hall personel are nearly as much ‘law enforcement’ as cops are. But their attitudes are far more helpful, and you can always ask them to call the local cops for you to verify the legality of camping on county or city properties. This makes a huge difference. And more likely than not you will receive an invitation to stay with one of the fire firefighters in their home. So be prepared for such an invite . . .
Nice article with some good tips, but I do have some objections to the name “Stealth camping” and some of the emphasis on “slipping away undetected”.
All of this seems to imply that when you camp in this way, you’re doing something wrong or illegal. The fact of the matter is, in most states, you’re NOT.
There is a basic concept in the common law of most states that holds that undeveloped, unfenced, *un-posted* private land is available for anyone to hike, camp, walk, and even hunt and fish on. And you’re not doing anything wrong or illegal by doing so.
In order to use the land, it must be:
1.) “Undeveloped”, ie: no houses or structures, no cultivated fields, no roads, no radio towers, etc. No sign of any kind of human construction. Just forests and wild fields.
2.) It can’t be fenced in.
3.) It can’t be “Posted”. Ie: There can’t be any “No hunting” or “No trespassing” signs posted on the land.
If the land meets the above criteria in the states of: Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West
Virginia, or Wisconsin* then you are free to use the land to hike on, camp,
and even fish and hunt and you are NOT breaking the law.
You are also generally required not to remove or damage anything from
the land while you are there. And if the owner does show up and ask you
to leave, then you are trespassing from that moment on and you are
obliged to leave.
In the remaing 22 states, you are required to obtain the landowner’s
permission before you can hunt or fish, BUT the ability to hike or camp
on the land without permission is still retained in most of those states.
I do not yet have a definative list on which states, if any, have extended
trespass to include hiking and camping.
You can google on “posting statutes” for more info.
*Wisconsin recently changed it’s law so that a person who hunts or
fishes on unposted land without the owner’s permission is guilty of trespass,
but it doesn’t state whether hiking or camping is also included. I’m still looking
into that one. I *WAS* someone aghast at the statement that this law was
changed so that all those “ugly no tresspassing signs would no longer mar
the beauty of the Wisconsin roads” !! So, in a nation that’s increasingly more overweight and docile, it’s more important that people driving on the roads not have to look at a couple tiny little signs that it is to make land available for people to actually get out and see the planet? Sheesh!
Different places call for different strategies. In Ireland you will almost never find a place to camp that is not within some type of fence. If the gate is not locked and there is no livestock then go right ahead. You can try to ask someone for permission, they will either grant it or tell you it’s not theirs to give. Nobody has ever denied me permission. Just try to keep away from spots where young hoodlums might be wandering around. You can tell by the traces they leave, beer cans, etc…
In Andalusia, Spain all private land seems to fenced off and often posted as well. You might ask somebody but the farm houses seem to be at the end of long driveways, behind locked gates, with lots of barking dogs. This leaves public park land which is illegal to camp on so you need to hide pretty well. People out walking tend to mind their own business and law enforcement doesn’t seem to stray far from their vehicles. In Portugal it is also illegal but I’ve observed a number of places where local people camp out near beaches pretty openly with no problem but then Portugal seems to a lot more relaxed than Spain.
In the Czech Republic there are so many places you can camp the challenge becomes finding one that is relatively dry and aesthetically pleasing with birch or oak trees on the edge of an open field with a view over a picturesque valley. Planted pine forests are dark and kind of depressing IMO.
Hurray for the Nordic countries! They have a habit of getting nearly everything right. America, on the other hand, has turned into the land of the over-privileged few.
So I make sure to stealth camp as often as humanly possible, just to tweak them.
Stealth camping is good for bikers.But for ordinary campers it seems to be dangerous.I love camping outdoors but to try doing stealth camping i guess I need think of it many times.It still great if we end up doing camping safe and sound.
I’m just curious how would it feel to do stealth camping.I guess I need to try this one of this days.But I’m afraid my husband will allow its too risky for me.Yet, I find it more adventurous.I guess I need to read more articles and tips in stealth camping before I’m gonna try this one.
I appreciated camping very much, since I’ve been doing during my childhood days but we only do it in the backyard.And now I’m a little older I’m thinking of doing of more exciting activity that still relate to camping and I’ve heard about this Stealth camping,I’m curious and excited how it feel like to the said activity.I’m planning to do stealth camping so soon.
I appreciated you post about tips in doing stealth camping and what mainly stealth camping is all about.But a camper or a long a time,I don’t really recommend stealth camping,its much more closer to danger not adventure.
Cemeteries are great places to stealth camp if you’re not creeped out by that sort of thing.
My tip is to look out for ‘maintained’ land that is not strictly out of bounds. A good example is the landscaped area around some industrial estates – usually very quiet at night and great if you find a discrete position. I’ve done this in the UK to great effect.
[...] The Secrets of Stealth Camping [...]
of course!!…but I was with my friend! we went to Mahmood Abad Jungle, I really love that night although we coulden’t sleep well at night but the morning….the morning was beautiful……..Darren you know, I want to travel around Iran, I must pedal about 5000 km, I know it’s big decision but I have to go. I’m nevous about one thing and that is maybe I be disappointed in the middle of my travel, this feeling never stop me but I just feel like that….and you know these days in Iran people are very serious and they want to express their demands and almost we have protests and it make me dizzy…But I will do both of them, Freedom and Travel!
If you intend camping off a road or highway, you can reduce your chances of being seen, after covering your reflectors and laying your bike down,,by picking a site that is on the inside of a bend in the road, as vehicle headlights shine towards the outside of the bend, no matter which way they are traveling or the top of a cutting where the road passes through a hill.
it may require some effort to get to the top, but only a stealth camping cyclist would bother with it,,,,and the morning view can be great, too.
Hi Siavash. Your concerns about feeling disappointed in the middle of your travels are something many/most bicycle travelers have to deal with… so you are not alone. I too have felt very depressed, sad, home-sick, etc when traveling by bike for long durations. But you have to learn to get over that. You can’t just quit every time these feelings come up.
For me, the secret is finding something in your travels that you are really looking forward to… and constantly having something to look forward to as you travel. I talk about this at great length in this video: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5713965 Watch it and let me know if this helps.
I like the author’s suggestion of simply going off the road when no one is looking. It is important to not be seen. Period. I also like the suggestion by a commentator of finding a spot on “maintained land” and being unobtrusive, out of sight. What has worked for me is to stop before dark and rest and perhaps imbibe and enjoy an evening meal, relax. If the place seems quiet and no one has disturbed me, then I go to sleep when it is dark and plan to leave just about as soon as I wake up. I would avoid wasting time talking to locals, especially the police. Best to remain incognito. Good luck to all!
I found out by a local police officer that it is illegal to stealth camp in the state of Louisiana. Doesn’t matter if its deserted or woods or anything. It belongs to someone and you need written permission to stay there. If you are seen and reported they will arrest you.
I was trying to find a place to stay but had a trike parked on the road as I walked into the place to see if it was stayable. He saw the trike and came after me. After some talking he checked my ID and let me go on my way.
This happened in the latter part of 09 and it was a new law at the time.
Yes! Stealth camping is illegal in many parts of the world. Especially in many parts of the United States where people are more concerned with property rights and lawsuits. If you stealth camp, you should do so KNOWING that what you are doing is likely illegal. Don’t get caught! That is rule #1.
Has anyone done any stealth camping on Pacific Coast Hwy., Ca. from Monterey to Morro Bay? Is the highway safe to ride?
I traveled across Canada and stealthed camped all across it. It was amazing and stayed in some cool places.
Farmers barn,
Old abandoned highway hiddend in the bush just off the old one,
Beside a go cart place just using tarps for shelter and there tires for a bed lol
In the middle of a freeway, on comming ramp and off ramp on a small hill
peoples lawns
beside train tracks
beside the great lakes
I totally recomend it but be safe about it!
Im gonna be cycling all over Australia next and im sure it gonna be a challange stealth camping there. try to avoid crocodiles, snakes and every other dangerous creature.
Cool website by the way!
I didn’t even know there was a name for this when I did it, I didn’t even have a bike. I was 18 at the time and bought a greyhound ticket from Toronto to Vancouver and hitchhiked up an down Vancouver Island and the Okanogan for a month, camping out wherever I could get away with it. I broke rules #1 and 2 on the first night (avoid no trespassing signs and fences) and slept in a farmer`s field right beside the treeline. Camped on a few beaches in Tofino for 5 days, but the scariest spot was Stanley Park! I was convinced I was gonna get caught, especially with the bike trail just 20 meters away.
Young and reckless, to say the least, but I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Whatever you do, be careful of wild/stealth camping in Holland. Tried it once, got arrested and given a seriously hard time! They really, really, don’t like it. Don’t know why, the Dutch are just funny like that.