A friend of mine was asking for ideas on secluded overnight drivable spots around the San Francisco bay area, within about 1.5-2 hours (2.5 tops). I have a few ideas (near henry coe, etc), but want to give the best options, so i'm checking with you all in case anyone knows great spots. Feel free to reply by PM if you'd not like to make your favorite spot public:), and i don't mention it publicly either.

The specific criteria: dark to see the stars very well, and private enough to sleep in the car at night without others being nearby, or worrying about rangers coming by, etc. I think things like access roads are all fair game if they're open and legal, and have a good view. Basically, an area similar to what Harden Flat near the valley is like, but without others around.

pjc30943,
Not sure if this is helpful, but here goes.
About 15 years ago I spent a few months bandit camping out of my truck along the Pacific Ocean side of San Mateo county (Devil's Slide to south of Half Moon Bay). I can tell you that both the San Mateo County Sheriff and CHP were always looking for overnight, parked cars in "out of the way" places. This means, parking lots and roads near the beaches as well as back roads that were up in the hills off of Highway 1. As a result I was often woken up by law enforcement in the middle of the night.
It got to the point where the San Mateo County Sheriff finally told me to just go down and sleep in my truck near the Half Moon Bay Marina (no way- too noisy and too much street light and people).

If the above stretch of Bay Area real estate is in your scope:
I'm not saying that this area isn't possible to discretely bandit camp, but be aware it is (or at least was) consistently patrolled by LE.

Good luck (and good sleeping)!
JM

Thank you for the thoughts. Anyone else, perhaps away from the beaches?

It'll be tough to find a site where you can crash in your car. Best method I ever had while traveling was to park at a trailhead parking lot after dusk, walk up the trail 10-15 minutes, walk off the trail for 10-15 minutes through the local vegitation, and there you'll find your campsite for the night.

There are plenty of such places you can find. I agree that anything along Hwy1 is a mistake - I've been rousted there several times and they don't always post where you can and can't park. A few good ones:

Marin Hills. North of Mt. Tamalpais is a network of roads that crisscross the county. These roads have side roads that service a few homes or ranches and have plenty of dark, out-of the way places to park for the night. Fog can be an issue if you're looking to observe the stars.

Santa Cruz Mtns. Lots of little side roads to get lost on. Fog and particularly trees may obscure viewing opportunities

San Benito County. Once south of Gilroy and east of US101, it gets very dark. There are a number of side roads east and south of Hollister to park for the night. If you drive into Panoche Valley you can have the huge expanse virtually to yourself. Anywhere along Little Panoche Rd, New Idria Rd or Panoche Rd (east of Panoche Pass) will have seclusion, open skies, and little light. There's even the DARC observatory out that way for just these reasons.

Bob,
Good info. Thanks for sharing.
pjc30943,
I know it's common sense, but it's worth saying again.
If you do bandit camp, be sure to stash the guns, weapons, drugs, hypo needles, outstanding warrants and bad attitude in the bushes away from the vehicle before going to sleep.
If you do get rousted by LE, at minimum the officer's most likely gonna run a background check you (and any acquaintances) and do a flashlight search into your vehicle. They may want to search your person directly for drugs and weapons (pat down). They are looking for a reason to take you in. Play it very friendly and cool with the cops while they do their business (this goes for California State Park Law Enforcement Rangers too). Being cooperative will make your night easier and you should just get off with a warning. They may let you go back to sleep at your car bivy, with the understanding that you will not be there in the morning and definitely NOT in the same vicinity the next night.

Here's to a good night's sleep (God knows we could all use one these days)...
Prost!
JM

Jesus,

My experiences have been very different, possibly because I'm over 50 and considered harmless. I've been awaken in urban environments (in most CA cities, it's perfectly legal to sleep in your car on most streets - as long as you don't stay there longer than three days) and rural ones, but I've NEVER been patted down or otherwise harrassed by LEOs. I've often been awakened because they stop to check on me. In rural areas they generally seem to be checking to make sure I'm not in trouble. In urban environments, it seems to be checking to make sure I'm not doing something illicit, but in both cases they've always been very cordial (as was I), let me go back to sleep (unless I'm in one of those No Camping areas like Hwy 1) and didn't bother me the rest of the night. I've never gotten the impression that they were looking for a reason to take me in. That seems like a lot of work on their part and not particularly fun. I trust that they're looking for someone far more badass than me to test their policing skills on.

Bob,
It must be the family van and the sun hat of yours that puts the cops at ease.
JM

Clearly.

My experience matches Bob's- any time I've ever been rousted by Rangers or Law Enforcement I've just been asked to move.

Great, thanks everyone for the ideas and thoughts. Some were ones i already thought about, some weren't.

Bob Burd wrote:Jesus,

My experiences have been very different, possibly because I'm over 50 and considered harmless.

I'm well over 50 and considered worthless. Any major city on the coast is tough. OTOH, once on a cross country through drive in the 70's I was rousted in my VW van on a rural street in Tennesee by an overzealous homeowner with a shotgun, "Wat the hail is you doin' here!"

Be careful.

I've camped at various places along highway 9 in the Santa Cruz mountains, and in Henry Cowell (not Coe) Park. In the park, stay away from the visitor's center/picnic areas. Best to park along Graham Hill road at the pullout and walk in a little ways. People camp by the river occasionally but, last time I was around there, it was patrolled a bit because of the semi-permanent homeless camp that was shut down after they had to rescue people during flooding. Higher up on 9, be careful because there are some illegal pot farms up there that don't really welcome visitors.