H. Dana Bower Rest Area Northbound

Good spot to spend the night. Rocked up at around 8pm, pretty busy at least 10 other vans and rvs there for the night. Couple of food vendors, great view of Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Weren’t hassled at all, left around 9am.

Nice spot close to the Golden Gate Bridge

Great location overlooking the city, has facilities like toilets and drinking fountains. Very busy when I was here on a Saturday night with locals, tourists and Mexican street vendors. Can’t complain because it’s free and close to the city

I’m not sure that this can be considered established or even legal camping since it is a rest stop. The location is awesome considering it’s right beside of the Golden State Bridge, but it also makes it a popular spot for a lot of people to hang out at and watch the sunset and other tourist attractions and even local activity.

The rest area was surprisingly quiet given its location. There was ample parking, and thankfully, the parking spots weren’t illuminated by bright street lamps, which was a nice touch considering we stopped her to sleep. However, the bathrooms were filthy during our stop, which was quite disappointing. Another downside was the lack of vending services; if you’re in need of caffeine or snacks, be sure to bring them along.

An important point to note is that you can only access this rest area when traveling northbound off the bridge. If you miss it, you’ll have to cross the bridge again, which costs $9-10 each time you head south into San Francisco. This is a significant consideration for those planning their stops carefully.

Also, cold here in the summer. Pack for fall weather.

Stayed for two nights, great view. Reasonably quiet on the side away from the road. Very safe, police patrols throughout the day/night. Good hiking areas nearby. Bathrooms and trash cans. Highly recommend as it is also completely free.

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.