Sneaking Around in the Sunshine State: Florida Stealth Camping 101

By Perri

A lot has been written about “stealth camping”. It sounds cool, right? Vaguely subversive even. But, in our experience, it’s not all that.

Stealth camping is, basically, sleeping in your van or car in non sanctioned spots like suburban parks and neighborhoods. For some, stealth camping is a cheap way to explore a busy area. For others, it is a necessity born of high housing costs or other life challenges. For us, it is a way to stay close to family members we aren’t able to stay WITH during a stressful time.

Truth be told, when we set out on this crazy brave adventure, we didn’t intend to stealth camp much. We were headed to wide open western places with public lands a plenty and warm winters. Well, the best laid plans and all that, right?

After three and a half lovely months vanning around the wild areas of South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, we pointed Steven’s nose east to spend the holidays with our extended family. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with our parents, children, siblings, nephews, and cousins. It was a lively, immersive shot of love in every way.

When the party was over, we stayed on, enjoying quality time with my parents and trying to be of support through a challenging time.

And here we remain. Over a month and a half later.

The busy cities of Florida’s Pinellas County are not the friendliest place for van lifers. Parks close at sunset. “No overnight camping” signs are as common here as palm trees. Private campgrounds (erm, “RV parking lots”) cost upwards of $75 per night, and State Parks are booked a whole season in advance. Ugh!

Suffice to say, we have learned A LOT about stealth camping here. Not sure we’d recommend it.

But if you find yourself wanting or needing to push the van-camping envelope, here are a few tips for stealthing about the sunshine state… or any other popular, expensive spot with scanty sanctioned camping options.

Be Fearless

Okay, this is our advice for almost everything van living related. (It ain’t called crazy BRAVE adventure for nothing!) But bravery is truly a necessity here. There is a vulnerability to stealth camping that’s hard to describe.

From a distance, parking up in some downtown street and staying the night seems like no biggie. But when you are actually doing it, you feel exposed, as if everyone knows you are inside the van, mooching off the good graces of whoever lives nearby. Will you get “the knock” telling you to move along? Will you be charged with trespassing? Or with violating some local law meant to keep the “riffraff” out?

Maybe. Not likely. But… maybe.

If you are going to stealth camp, bravery is key.

Scout It Out

When you arrive in a new area, take some time to scout out options. We use our DeLorme Atlas Gazetteer and Google Maps to check out local parks, boat ramps, and parking areas. Make yourself a list of stealthy spots. When night falls, some of these will feel more comfortable than others. You will want to have a few choices in case your first one (or two) doesn’t work out.

For example, one night, we headed to our planned location but there was a box truck idling there (not the converted camper variety) and a few local guys milling around it. It seemed best to head out to our next option.

Black It Out

Make sure you don’t look obvious in there! We use homemade black out curtain/reflectix panels to cover our windows, and a repurposed curtain drawn across the front section of our van. From outside, our van looks dark and empty, even when we are hanging out inside with our overhead lights on.

Change Things Up

When stealthing, returning to the same spot two days in a row is a hard no. If you’re in the same place over and over, someone is bound to notice. Maybe they won’t mind sharing their street or parking lot. Maybe they will call the police. Even in places that are expressly allowed (like Walmart and Cracker Barrel parking lots) it’s best to change things up.

Check the Signage

The rule of thumb is that it’s okay to park anywhere not expressly forbidden. If there’s nothing saying you can’t, probably it is okay to stay.

It also helps to look at local parking regulations on town websites. Some have much stricter policies than others. Here in Pinellas County, Florida, MANY places are expressly forbidden. If the sign says “no overnight parking” or “closed after sundown” etc. don’t camp there.

Maybe no one cares, or checks…. but why risk it?

Arrive Late and Leave early

The goal here is to be as unobtrusive as possible. Arrive quietly, and well after dark. Leave first thing.

We’ve caught up on some TV while stealthing inside our van and we have enjoyed some quiet mornings…. at parks well removed from our stealth camping spots.

When parked up for the night, don’t get in and out of the vehicle any more than necessary. At times, we’ve had to walk the dog, or visit a local store/bathroom, but we don’t make a habit of it.

We especially don’t hang out in our folding chairs, put up our screen tent or do anything that looks “campy”. This will draw the ire of residents and is just terrible form all around.

A Satisfying Morning Routine

Because stealthing requires staying inside the van with black out panels, it is crucial to have a satisfying routine for your mornings. We get up at sunrise and immediately drive to a nearby park or beach.

Here, we walk the dog, brew coffee, have a breakfast picnic, catch up on email, check in with friends and family, complete the Wordle and NYT Spelling Bee, and generally do mornings up right.

Make sure you’ve scoped out a spot you can relax in before you bed down for the night. It makes the mornings awesome, trust me.

Take Breaks

All this stealthing can wear on a person, or a couple… or a couple in a low-roof van with a large hairy dog. After three or four days of sneaking around, we really need to pack up and go somewhere we are allowed to be. So that’s what we do!

We have been exploring spots within a few hours of Pinellas County. Even in this busy season, have found many awesome places. Florida has lovely state parks. (Though these are usually all booked, we have caught cancellations here and there). In addition, there are free Water Management Areas, county parks, and both national and state forests.

You live in a vehicle, why not use it and range a little?

It Ain’t So Easy/It Ain’t So Bad

If these pointers make stealth camping seem like a lot of work, that’s because it is. But it is a useful skill. Van living isn’t really a carefree, sleep-anywhere endeavor. At least not for us. But we have used it to stay near family in a time of need and that has been priceless.

If you have any specific questions about stealth camping… or about spots we’ve found in Florida, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to share what we learned.