H. Dana Bower Rest Area Northbound

I decided to stay here, because it was the right location for my road trip, it was free, and I thought the view of the city would be excellent. It's a large rest area with plenty of parking located on the first exit after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. I stayed the night in my SUV, and parked on the far side of the rest area where I saw several campers & RVs. 

I had an excellent view of the city and the bridge. There were a lot of people, including a bunch of teenagers, hanging out at the rest area. Plus, quite a few people stopping just to take a quick photograph. It's a very busy rest area, and very noisy. In addition to the car noise, the large group of teenagers were pretty rowdy. (Bring earplugs!) There was also almost always a police car patrolling the rest area, even in the morning. I believe there's a rule that you're not supposed to park more than 8 hours at a rest area in California, but I'm not sure if that's enforced here. 

The rest area itself had multiple bathrooms, which were pretty dirty, but still usable. The trash bin nearest to my car was overflowing, and in the middle of the night I woke to a weird sound, which turned out to be a couple of racoons digging through it. Overall, it was not a restful night, but it was still a pretty cool place to stay.