Trinidad Rest Area Southbound | Informal Campsite

United States

Details

Verified:
4 months ago
Altitude:
83.6 masl
Website:
None
Contributor:
cadillac_demille

Amenities

Electricity:
No
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
No
Showers:
No
Water:
Potable
Toilets:
Running Water
Big Rig Friendly:
Yes
Tent Friendly:
No
Pet Friendly:
Yes

Something not right?

Description

Apparently in California, you can stay at a State rest area for up to 8 hours. The rest area has running water, picnic tables and flush toilets. Another nice thing to find out, is that you can use stoves (either at the picnic tables, or outside of your vehicle). They are patrolled by both state troopers and highway patrol and I would think are pretty safe. California has a lot of vagabond travelers through (vehicle, bicycle and foot) so be sure to lock your stuff up. These rest areas may be just the thing for the camper trying to put in a long day, or one that has run out of affordable options.

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Trinidad Rest Area Southbound. Location is a bit off. Updated.

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The spigot for water is not threaded so you cannot attach hose for filling your tank.

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As previously described. Clean bathrooms, well lit, a little noise. No one seemed to mind the 8 hour limit.

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DOT rest area as previously noted. I might be labeled as a vagabond traveller and can assure y’all that doesn’t mean I steal and I challenge that negative stereotype. Traveling via a grueling hike or bike up the coastal trail is no indicator of whether or not a person is a thief or harmful to others. In fact, in my experience they are more likely to look out for and assist others. I’m wondering how someone “knows”another persons status by current appearance and circumstances? Let’s please stop adding our personal negative assumptions and put downs-unless someone actually stole from you, then by all means post the FACTS. Anyway, the bathrooms were clean and well stocked. There were a few up and chatting outside their vehicles after 11 pm.

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Stopped by for a night on the southbound rest area. Apparently not as large as the northbound one but good enough.
Cleans restrooms. Just us and a couple of other cars.

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Hubs & I drove from TX, we were so excited to have met another couple from our small east TX hometown, parked right next to us!! What a small world!!
This is pretty much the only place to overnight in the area. We were kicked out of the beach pull off parking area just north of here by rangers, which they directed us here for the night.

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SB is open and as described, restrooms, potable water, etc

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Both northbound and southbound rest stops are currently blocked off and closed. Probably temporary due to the storms?

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Rest area of the 101 S with bathrooms. Well illuminated. A little noisy. Good for one night

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Easy, level spot for the night. Surprisingly quiet throughout the night. Several others stayed overnight, too. Spotty Verizon.

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Stayed 1 night between days at Redwood NP. Easy and convenient.

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Highway can be noisy, of course, but it’s a nice rest stop and no hassle for an overnight in our trailer on the way home.

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As others have said, this is the most beautiful rest stop I’ve ever seen. Bathrooms heated and clean. Maintenance staff in the morning, but the guys seemed nice enough. Several other campers so no privacy, but the convenience is amazing here so I don’t blame them. Full bars of AT&T 5G.

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Stayed here overnight, no problems. Sign says you can stay for up to 8 hours, but obviously it’s not continuously patrolled so it’s possible to stay for more than 8 hours. There is not much separation from the highway, therefore traffic noise might bother light sleepers. There were also some sketchy looking / possibly homeless people who appeared to be staying overnight in their cars, but we still felt safe as there were lots of other non-sketchy looking people and vehicles parked overnight as well.

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This has to be the most beautiful rest area I've ever been to. Clean bathrooms, water available, and picnic tables under the trees including some along the path through the forest. Stayed here from 6 p.m. to almost 11 a.m. We saw one maintenance worker who was very friendly and complimented our rig. Definitely a great spot to spend the night.

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nice rest area, picnic tables that we cooked on with our little stove, quite a few other cars staying the night

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Lots of others camping here. Felt very safe. Service was spotty for both Verizon and AT&T. Great alternative for camping at the redwoods. Stayed at the North Bound stop one night and was just as good.

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Arrived at 930pm and found an almost level spot. Bright lights for safety and low road noise even though very close to 101. Definitely more noise as the world wakes up in morning but not bad. Not bothered at all during sleep even though there were some characters around. Stayed 9 hours no problem

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Nice place to stop for a night on the way to Redwoods NP. Has clean bathrooms, picnic tables, and a nice little walk through the forest for you or your dog. Gets very quiet at night when the road noise dies down. Had an Rv, a few camper vans and people camping in their cars. Overall very safe, free, and an easy night. Would recommend. (I see people say you can’t stay more than 8 hours, there were no signs, I stayed longer than that and there were vans here when I pulled in that were still there when I left so I wouldn’t worry).

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Best rest stop in California. Redwood forest trails behind the bathroom!! Stop at the Nbound one, it's the better trails. Usually cleaner than most too.

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Water available via spigot. No hose connections, so it's best for portable jugs. fast flow

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A good place to sleep over night. There are restrooms and a few picknick tables. Plenty of space to park and is mostly other travelers staying the night and keeping to themselves. There is little to no service with AT&T. The road noise is constant but not easily slept through.

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Back open. 1 bar Verizon service. Other campers there for the night and were pretty friendly.

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This is open now but limited space and no facilities. Good for just a stop. Sign says 8 hour parking limit.

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The rest area is currently closed for repair.

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all the parking gets full, I had to park behind a short trailer, and there were people making spaces, so a big truck couldn't get through. ok test area near the highway, but the highway is quiet at night.

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lugar tranquilo para pasar una noche

quiet place to spend a night

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Smaller, clean, awesome secluded picnic tables amongst the trees, well water spigots, music in bathrooms during the day. Mostly local vehicle dwellers. Had a truly outstanding time as I was enamored by two bickering old men in an old Subaru hatchback and looked on from my humble rainy window as they proceeded to remove a boatload of junk out of the back of their vehicle and place it precariously on the roof, the most random of items, there is even a double wide metal kitchen sink teetering on the hood of their subaru! All the while the sound of cursing and blunt insults between the two, with a mix of unledgible grunts, and sprinkles of empty beer cans tumbling from the internals of their vehicle and onto the asphalt provided the soundtrack to this legendary glimpse of raw America. It warms my heart to see people let it all hang out. That vignette should give you a feel for this rest area, and I don't mean that in a bad way, it's a chill spot where you can hang out for a bit. Northbound rest area still closed, take Patrick's Point exit to come back down if traveling north.

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We stayed here one night back at the end of November 2019. We had been turned back at SIskiyou pass due to deep snow and headed to the coast to find hurricane force winds. By the time we got to this rest area we decided enough was enough and stopped for a sleep. The wind drowned out what little traffic braved the storm and we awoke to a much quieter world the next day with the wonderful smell of turpenes and pinenes released from the trees.

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Felt a little uneasy as there were a lot of weird looking people but no one was offensive in any way so we stayed. Had a good night's sleep. Clean restrooms!

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Coordinates were wrong. Still haven’t decided if I want to stay here, and my GPS won’t load my coordinates (yay, love ATT). Anyway, it’s literally right off the 101 SB.

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We ended up staying on the southbound area as the northbound is closed for renovation. Normal rest area. Lots of other campers there. Shame the north was closed as it looked nicer than the southbound!

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Didn't stay there. Didn't find any tourists or RVer. Only a homeless man slept in his converted sedan. Though he looked not offensive.

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Felt safe. Filled up late with other travelers sleeping in vehicle also. It was a little loud but clean and several water spigots available.

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After visiting a few other places that felt sketchy, we stayed here for the night. It felt safe, as there were other staying here for the night. There are clean bathrooms, a water fill up station and picnic tables. There was a lot of in and out traffic, but that didn’t bother me. Would definitely stay again.

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Quiet and clean. Parking spots are in front of a grove of trees. Would definitely stay here again - great free camping option in a high traffic stretch of the coast.

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Good place for the night with clean restrooms. The wood on the side is nice and there are pique-nique tables. Please note that if you come from the north, the rest area is on the other side of the highway 101. Then, you must take the exit to Patricks Park - the road of 8 km is pretty bad - then go back to hw 101 for few km direction north.

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Noisy with no separation between big-rigs idling all night and car campers

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North bound rest area is nice and has a buffer of trees between the parking and the highway. There are great picnic areas surrounded by Redwoods. Larger RV parking is just past the bathrooms. It was extremely quiet for a rest area.

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Apparently in California, you can stay at a State rest area for up to 8 hours. The rest area has running water, picnic tables and flush toilets. Another nice thing to find out, is that you can use stoves (either at the picnic tables, or outside of your vehicle). They are patrolled by both state troopers and highway patrol and I would think are pretty safe. California has a lot of vagabond travelers through (vehicle, bicycle and foot) so be sure to lock your stuff up. These rest areas may be just the thing for the camper trying to put in a long day, or one that has run out of affordable options.

Report Check-In

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