Waterfront Trail behind Target | Informal Campsite

January 4th, 2024 by swiftdress77

Got here 7pm, checked around for homeless, didn’t find any. Nice and chill spot. Slept in a car. Woke up throughout the night with traffic over the highway and trucks for target coming behind the building but no one bothered us. Woke up at 9:30am with families next to us exploring the shore, still not bothering anything. Would recommend for a night or 2.

August 8th, 2023 by theewinnievan

eh. it was ok. homeless guy living in the bush nearby, but he was cool. another one ran by with a Target shopping cart FULL of (stolen) stuff and took off down the bike trail, then cops showed up and ran after him. around 9.30p a pickup parked next to us and blared rap for 45 minutes.

slept fine after 10.30p, but would not stay again.

July 29th, 2023 by BoonDawg

Great place to stay on the water, but not access. Wouldn’t want to anyway it’s muck along the shoreline. The light from the Target is directly across from the camping spot. It was good for me with blackouts, but I would recommend some sort of window covers. Large grassy spot for the doggies, they provide poop bags. Garbage and recycling right there. I recommend this spot felt safe stayed a few nights absolutely no issues.
I will say, there were homeless in cars in the front, they stay to themselves.
The waterfront trail is paved, easily a few miles great for bike’s or walking.
You can take 101 to R street changes to 255. You’ll go over Mad River. Take a left at the end and the Pacific Ocean on one side the other Arcata Bay. Several beach access area’s it’s a great place to spend the day. Picnic tables and grill’s at the end of the peninsula. Popular place to watch the sunset. There’s a formal campground along the way. The area is BLM land but there’s no overnight park closes 1 hr after sunset, and the gate closes. Have a good sleep and a fun day!

July 27th, 2023 by cjerickson2019

This location is just off the 101 freeway behind a Target but is well lit at night so I felt comfortable staying here. I parked along side the trail so I had a great view of the water from my Van. Didn’t see any signs posted that restricted parking. Two other vans where here as well. You can hear the freeway but it wasn’t loud. Great place to reset, get supplies, gas, and get back on the road.

June 18th, 2023 by youtube.com

Stayed 2 nights. It’s a great spot. Quiet and peaceful for the most park. Trash and recycle available. Lots of grass and a trail - great if you have a fur baby. There are definitely some homeless around, coming off and on the trail. None of them bothered us, despite us having the van door open or cracked majority of the time. Trail is used by runners, kayakers, and lots of fisherman as well.

May 10th, 2023 by abbi.dempsey

I stayed here with no problem. I access the waterfront trail in he evening and the morning, no one else ever parked near me. It is three spots in the back of Target, super random but quiet and lit and with a camera so it didn't feel sketchy.

November 1st, 2022 by sydneykirby1999

There were shiny new signs saying the parking spaces were for trail-use only. I took that to mean they didn't want people sleeping there, so I did not stay.

July 6th, 2022 by ALL

Great spot just as others mentioned. Quiet except for early morning when the delivery trucks come and traffic on the highway picks up. Two others stayed with us.

July 5th, 2022 by jasonandsharon

Stayed one night and felt relatively safe. Had no issues with noise or anyone telling us we couldn’t park overnight. Didn’t see any homeless encampments or people wandering around. In the morning, as we were walking our dogs, someone did run out of target stealing items. But other than that, everything was okay

June 27th, 2022 by lindseynicole16

Pulled in after Target had closed and stayed the night. I was in a stealth vehicle and no one bothered me. The sound of traffic died down the later it got. I will note that the next day I went to Target and had a homeless man approach me. I felt safe in the moment, but I know that may not be what some people are looking for. However, no one bother me at night in my vehicle.

April 26th, 2022 by TheWisconsinites

Stayed here for 1 night. A few homeless behind the target but overall quiet night & nobody bothered us. Woke up pretty early in the morning to them unloaded shipping trucks.

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April 24th, 2022 by bencouture18

As described, 3 parking spots behind target in front of the river. There are trails that run along the river. We walked them before setting up camp to make sure there were no homeless encampments, which there weren’t. They were very clean, with no trash which made the spot feel much more safe. There is also a target security camera pointed in the direction of the spots. Two other vans filled the parking along with us that night and we had a quiet undisturbed night

April 4th, 2022 by vincentvangoh

At 2am someone walked by yelling (maybe into the phone?) that he was going to call the police. Woke me up and then road noise kept me awake for awhile but no other excitement occurred

February 24th, 2022 by tamangj

Stayed here one night in a very stealthy sprinter. Left at 7am. No one bothered me.

December 5th, 2021 by davidroessler123

Nice spot on the water, Three parking spaces behind the target store. Safe, clean, a little bit of traffic noise but that ends around midnight. Excellent cell signal, I will definitely stop here again.

August 22nd, 2020 by Eric Gross Design

Stayed one night, undisturbed, in a camper van with the top popped. Some noise from the roadway but otherwise sweet. Facilities inside Target were clean and you can grab some produce.