Mike McLeish

Hi everyone,

I'm currently making a website on bicycle touring and thought it would be cool to put together the ultimate guide for bicycle stealth camping.

I was hoping for people that are currently or have been on a bike tour themselves. It would be great if you could add a little bio of your trip and perhaps a picture of your bike loaded up. Then the answer to the questions:

1) The one bit of advice you'd give to anyone starting out bicycle stealth camping
2) The one piece of gear you're glad you didn't leave home without

Once the guide is complete I can link out to you guys and give you credit for your help

I think this would be an awesome way to get loads of peoples opinions together in an informative and fun way.

Please let me know if I have posted this in the wrong section or it's not allowed.

Hope to hear from lots of you soon

Mike

indyfabz

?

andrewclaus

My version of "stealth camping" is legal. Get permission to camp on private property (and that's surprisingly easy many times). Customs may vary in different cultures and countries, as on some Indian reservation land here in the US. Even the idea of "private property" varies.

I've camped on public land, say a large regional park, that is posted "No Overnight Parking," or similar. The intent may be to keep campers away, but not expressly stated, and in that case I'll hide. I use a low, gray-green tent if needed, and lay my bike down. Tall grass or a few shrubs conceal my site. I'm gone at first light. I'll buy breakfast in a nearby town, adding sales taxes to the local coffers, figuring that's my rent for the night.

Show some respect to the land, don't leave toilet litter or food trash, don't cut down trees for shelter or fire.

My use of the term stems from long distance hiking here in the US, on the AT, PCT, and CDT. The trails traverse public land, but there are few established campsites. Many hikers walk out of view of the trail and lie down and sleep, leaving no trace, thus the term "stealth." I do the same on bike tours, not necessarily limiting myself to established areas. It's easy to do when you don't have a motor vehicle.

One tip--if you see a lot of shotgun shells and broken bottles, don't camp there.

Mike McLeish

Great start Andrew and thanks a lot for the reply

some really good tips in your response.

Are you a member of any hiking/cycling groups you'd like me to link out to when its all done?

saddlesores

hi mike,

welcome to the forum!

before i reply with a bunch of stuff you probably surely already know,
since you're writing the ultimate guide to stealth camping, could you
maybe start with an introduction and let us know what sort of
camping, stealth or otherwise, you've done in the past?

and i'd suggest starting over at whiteblaze dot com. word from the
knowledgeable is that those guys over there are like the cats
pajamas on meth when it comes to camping!

raybo

This page has 9 links to information about stealth camping. Some are general articles and some are country specific.

SpeshulEd 

I do everything the same as when I bikepack, only I camp on the side of the road.

Cyclist0108

A lightweight, foldable shopping cart (or, as you might say, trolly) for all of your belongings, is ideal in such situations. Also, read aloud from social science academic journal articles, as the linguistic constructs employed are known to share a lot of common traits with schizophrenia. Also, panhandle whilst displaying a brightly-colored, late-model mountain bike for added authenticity, and warn people about chemtrails.

mdilthey

Man, I cannot wait to see how this thread goes.

Tourist in MSN

I only camp where legal, and given a choice I will camp where there is an official campground, the campground is there for a purpose.

Those that do not camp in legal locations give other bike tourists a bad name.

I have informed park staff at a park where I observed two bikers camping in hiding in the woods to avoid paying camping fees (at that park, the fee was quite minimal too) while using campground facilities, the park staff watched them as they quickly packed up and left.

Happy Feet

You have to be very quiet generally and use radar deflecting gear.. I think. Also, something to shield any heat sources seems to be in order to avoid thermal detection devices.

revcp 

I agree with above, get permission. Now, up in Minnesota stealth camping with permission often involves land that doesn't necessarily have a good flat spot for a tent. Another opportunity for me to recommend going with a hammock. And leave no trace. Learn how to get everything back to how it looked before.

robow

Since others have covered the legalities involved, my only suggestions:

Set up late in the evening and get on the road early
Use a tent of inconspicuous color such as green, camo, etc.
People rarely visit cemeteries at night and so makes a nice place to set up, (you'll sleep like the dead)

Leebo

Feel better now? If no one sees me, I don't make a mess, and my hammock is out of sight, I was never there.

Leebo

As said, don't leave a mess and be kind to the woods. So much of New England ( where I tour) is full of woods in which to have a good night's sleep. My hammock works well, green tarp to blend in. One park I stayed in I actually mt bike in and picked up an entire bag of empty beer cans before I left in the am. Left it better then I found it.

1989Pre 

Best inexpensive, quality bicycle camping tent: Ledge Sports Scorpion 1.
You can't go wrong with an MSR Whisperlite, but make sure you brush a spot out for your stove and use your reflector shield.

HUNTING CAMO TRUE TIMBER NEW CONCEAL FABRIC 60" POLY SOFT TAFFETA CAMOUFLAGE

Camp as though there were armed, violent people trying to follow you; in other words, when you leave, make it look like you were never there.

alan s 

Don't stealth camp during hunting season in areas where hunting is allowed. Don't stealth camp in a field where a bull might be present. Never actually stealth camped, but I think those are solid suggestions.

Cyclist0108

The most definitive guide, ever, was Bike Tripping by Tom Cuthbertson.

In this, he has several suggestions, including camping in a graveyard, suggesting that everyone will leave you alone.

I suggested this to my friend when we were bike touring, and he vetoed the idea, saying that although this might technically be true, anyone who you do meet in the graveyard is almost guaranteed to be a psycho. If memory serves, we hoteled it that night, but had to pitch the tent in the hotel room to sleep in because of the roach infestation.

bikenh

Don't take anything with me unless I plan on using it. Can't say there has been much I have wished I had. With that said I have dropped down to 25 pounds of gear including a laptop computer but I could go with less if I knew for sure I was only going to out during the warm nights of summer.

Actually was looking to go out this summer and leave the tent at home. You just have to watch where you camp to stay away from mosquitoes and you can use the rest of your gear to make up for the tent if you do run, err riding, into them. You can always find someplace where you can put your head underneath an overhang to keep your dry when it rains overnight. At least I have been able to thus far without much trouble.

bikenh

My experiences thus far with graveyards have been quite wild and lifey. First one kept hearing noises in the trees beside and finally after a couple of hours I look out the tent and I think I saw the critter...I believe it was a skunk. The only other time I've spent in a graveyard it wasn't intended but I took the wrong road and didn't find the campsite in particular I was looking for. I decided to crash at the back side of cemetary only to wake up in the morning to deer hang out around the campsite.

fietsbob

I toured Out side of the US .. Norway its no Problem, just dont set Up camp right in someones Yard with out asking them.



England the Property owner replicates the Royalists ownership of everything including deer in the woods and the fish in the stream

and even if Not fishing, No gear, I could not stay there and be the threat that maybe has a Fish volunteer to leap out of the strem..


If You grew up in the Boy Scouts Camping often , then you would not need to ask ..

Can you find a suitable site, at the end of the day, and be Out of there before Dawn?

>> And Leave No Trace of your having Been there <<





'/,

Cyclist0108

I'm pretty sure BLM land is fair game. (If not, just bring a rifle and occupy a wildlife sanctuary.)

boomhauer

I met a fellow tourist last summer who carried a fold-able tree pruning saw in his trailer. He used it to cut the low branches on small pine trees. In a grove of conifers that are often found on the edge of parks, ball diamonds, edge of the interstate, etc.... he could make a small area for himself and his bike. I thought this was genius. These groups of trees are so thick you can't see through them or even walk into. He was often hidden in plain sight.

He basically lived on his bike. He said that many of the places he slept were the same ones that he cut out the year before.

mdilthey

Bushcraft is pretty destructive. If everyone cut off low branches every time they camped, you'd have stripped forests. I'm only a fan of bushcraft if it's a survival situation, then go nuts!

indyfabz

Depends. There are restrictions and special rules in certain areas.


Recreation & Visitor Services


Pick a state to learn more about the particular opportunities in it. For example, in Utah, certain areas are more closely managed and thus have tighter restrictions on where you can practice dispersed camping.