Boondocking restrictions? where can't i go in CA?!

[DonTom]

There are some problems with camping on the streets so be sure you read the street signs before you stay the night....

Sometimes there are laws without the signs, such as right here in South San Francisco. Here, we may legally  park a RV on the street for a night before or after a trip, but not at any other time. I have got  several "warnings" when I had my RV parked here in front of my own home on the street for about a week. I usually can park it there for about a week before getting the warning and then I can get away with it again for a week or so a month or two later.

Sleeping in it overnight while parked on the street is also illegal here.

No signs for either. I checked into the laws after I got my first warning. Here, it's not a big deal for me because I can park the RV in my own driveway and that is legal, even if everybody can clearly see it. No HOA here.  But I normally keep it at my other home near Reno, where it cannot even be seen from the street because of the HOA rules. But I have a good place for it there on the side of the house, that keeps the HOA satisfied.

-Don- SSF, CA​

 

[jack r]

might review below site for park information all over th USA


http://www.rvparkreviews.com./

have a nice trip

 

[DonTom]

might review below site for park information all over th USA

http://www.rvparkreviews.com./

That also has Mexico and Canada. Great information! And just in time for my month long trip to Canada that starts next week. Thanks for posting that!

-Don- SSF, CA
​

 

[Rocdad]

Be advised that many towns prohibit parking on public streets. California has a law prohibiting parking on the side of the road, i.e. that quiet place away from towns, apart from which it could be downright dangerous.

That inviting piece of land you might think of as a campground for the night will likely be private property, and you'd get a rude awakening if you camped there.

It's been many years since I went over the hill, but I don't recall anywhere in the Santa Cruz mountains where you can boondock with a view. There are, however, various campgrounds around Santa Cruz or nearby Monterey. The closest one to Santa Cruz is Moss Landing, but you'll have a nice view of the power station.

I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE! Please cite law because I don't believe it exists! http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2007/veh/22500-22526.html

 

[Rocdad]

"Highway rest areas are posted against it as being just plain dangerous as well as being illegal. "

Is this something new?

The last I heard is that rest areas in CA are legal for RV's  as long as the max hours are not exceeded. The "no camping" signs only means no camping outside your vehicle, such as in a tent or sleeping bag outside.

And what makes them dangerous? I've used them countless times all over CA and other states, with no hassles.

-Don- San Francisco, CA No it's NOT true and not dangerous... 24 hr max

 

[Tom]

[quote author=Rocdad]I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE! Please cite law because I don't believe it exists![/quote]

Believe or disbelieve whatever you want. County and local rules apply, and we've been woken at 2:00am and told to move on because of a local restriction.

 

[Kevin Means]

Tom is correct. You won't find what you're looking for in the California Vehicle Code, because laws preventing it aren't State laws, they're local ordinances (Municipal Codes.) In San Diego, for example, Sections 86.0139 through 86.0144 of the Municipal Code prohibit "Neighborhood Parking" in RVs. Other municipalities will have their own ordinances, while a few may not. Kind of ironic that it's illegal to park your RV on the street, but legal to pitch your tent on the sidewalk and camp in it overnight. It is California after all.

Kev

 

[ArdraF]

where can't i go in CA?!

Lots and lots of places.  It's changed a lot since we started RVing in 1972.  Back then we could stop in numerous places that are now prohibited.  In California many communities got fed up with people camping on their streets and enacted ordinances against the practice.  Our relatives lived in Santa Monica and they were allowed to park their motorhome on the street in front of their house for a maximum of three hours for loading and unloading.  Some towns require residents to obtain a special parking permit every time they want to park their RV on the street to load it.  One time in Bar Harbor, Maine we asked a business owner if we could park overnight in his parking lot.  He said, if it were up to him he would say yes, but the town had an ordinance against overnight parking - even on private property.  He said the police would come by in the middle of the night and tell us to leave so he had to say no.

As to rest areas, always be aware.  Florida had a serious problem a number of years ago when some tourists (in rental vehicles identified as such) were murdered in a rest area.  Today Florida has police patrol rest areas.

ArdraF

 

[Molaker]

Labor day is 1st September yes? we don't pick up the RV until the 9th after San Francisco so that week should be fairly clear then you think?

We don't make it that easy.  Labor Day is the 1st Monday in September.  This year it is September 4.  Labor Day crowds will have mostly dispersed by the 9th.  But, the 9th is a Saturday and finding a camp site that night could get iffy if you don't make earlier arrangements.

 

[Tom]

Tom, Mike's question was posted in 2008, and he hasn't been here since.

 

[Molaker]

Tom, Mike's question was posted in 2008, and he hasn't been here since.

Well, hell!