A guide to transient camping and squatting

First, I'd like to point out that trespassing is illegal, and so is breaking and entering. For legal reasons, this is just me talking about things I had to do to survive. I do not recommend any of you break the law.

Now that that's out of the way, when I started traveling, I was already a homebum living out of a backpack and tent. I would often camp in the woods around my hometown Nelsonville, Ohio down by the Hocking River or in a cave behind Hocking College when I wasn't couch surfing with a friend. I was still carrying around a tent when I first hit the road, but it didn't take long for me to decide it was too much hassle. Not only the weight, but also because it was often too difficult to find a place to set up or be discreet.

Like many other travelers, I decided to ditch the tent in favor of just a couple tarps and some string. Most nights, just the one tarp will do to lay on, but when it rains you may also want one above you too. This is much lighter, as well as easy and fast to set up/pack up, which comes in handy when you're waiting on a train, and doesn't draw as much attention as a tent will.

Also, with just a tarp to lay your sleeping bag on, it becomes much easier in inclement weather to sleep under the top of a bridge, or under the overhang of a closed business (just be sure you're gone before they open!) When I'm in the center of a city, I'll often opt for a bridge or business overhang regardless of weather. 

Highways, as well as train yards, often have bridges that can become shelter and a place to sleep in a pinch, including sometimes right after you get off a train or when you're waiting on one. Look for the ones with flat spots underneath up top. 

When I'm in smaller cities and towns, or when I'm on the outskirts of town, I'll usually prefer to find a field, hill, river, or some woods where I can get a little bit of distance from people and feel a little more comfortable. It's usually not that hard to spot places like this all over so long as you're not in the middle of a big city, and sometimes you can even then. 

You're often not far from a secluded spot when you pull off the interstate when hitchhiking, or sometimes when you get off a train. Just find a spot that looks good enough and lay out your tarp. 

Sometimes, especially when I know the weather is gonna be really bad or be bad for a good stretch, I'll find squats - unoccupied buildings that I'm able to get inside. 

More often than you would think, there's an unlocked door. Although I'm not saying I haven't sometimes used a window or carded a door open (not saying I have, just not saying I haven't, that would be illegal). Although, hypothetically, carding open a locked door is often easy enough, much more so than picking a lock, not that I'd know. 

While it's often easy enough to find a squat just by picking a road and walking down it until you see an abandoned building (they're everywhere), you can also often find squats on sites like Zillow that list houses for sale. 

Not all of these houses will be unoccupied, so I'll often get a list of the ones that look like I can get into discreetly enough, or if they at least have a porch where I can sleep out of the weather where it's a little more secluded than a bridge or business overhang. I'll start with whatever is closest to me and go to the next if that one is occupied or otherwise doesn't seem like a good idea once I get there.

I'll usually look for houses that have at least some side, preferably as much as possible of the whole house, obscured from any neighbors, or at least be in a neighborhood where I think I can slip in without being seen. It's easier when it's dark, the later the better because people are often already inside their own homes and you have the cover of darkness.

When possible, if I'm inside a squat I prefer not to be on the ground level. I'll usually be on the second floor or in the basement, and I'll lock all the doors while I'm inside. This way, if cops show up and shine flashlights in the windows they won't see me and won't be able to get in and will go away. Then you only gotta worry about the property owner, and as long as you're out before sunrise you're usually good. 

I will sometimes use the same squat multiple days in a row with signs that someone else is there during the day. I've only ever been caught when I get too comfortable and spend time in the squat during the day, usually doing laundry or just being lazy and not wanting to move or be out in public. This is why abandoned properties are nice for stays during the day in bad weather, but the riskier places often have power, water, and appliances. 

Also, in a pinch you can usually sleep at a church. I'll often use Google Maps street view to scope out churches ahead of time to make sure they got enough of an overhang to sleep under, but just sleeping in the parking lot can also often work when the weather is okay so long as you pick a spot you won't be run over. 

In the desert, I've been known to sleep in washes, but that's actually dangerous and illegal because it can flash flood. 

Depending on the area, you may be able to find a nice spot behind stores like Walmart. If you're in a vehicle or happen to be with someone with a vehicle at the moment, you may end up just sleeping in the parking lot of the places that allow it. Many Walmarts allow you to stay up to 14 days, just like national forest or BLM land. Truck stops will also often let you park overnight, or else often have a field or hill right nearby where a backpacker could discreetly find a spot for the night. 

For more places I've camped and squat, including the story about the time someone with a knife in each hand kicked down the door to a squat I was in down in Georgia, you should check out my memoir A Modern Hobo Story!