Hitchers' Home Pages...

Hitchers' Home

This is not a page that relates in any way to the book "Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" or any other subject-heading that is a take-off on that title. This page is about hitch-hiking as a means of travel and adventure on earth with humans in cars that use gasoline (or maybe electricity or natrural gas).

Use Mission Statement
If no other such site exists, I would like to devote this space to information, tips, suggestions, and, especially, research-data on hitch-hiking. I have the sense that the danger (both on the drivers' and hitch-hikers' side) of hitch-hiking is over-estimated. Does anyone have information confirming either its dangerousness or its benignity? If so, Contact me by email and we'll talk.

Why I Hitch-hike

I was first introduced to hitch-hiking by a friend who regularly uses it as his transportation to and from work. Work is about a 15 minute drive from his house, and he has to allow himself about 45 minutes to get there at a given time in the morning. Each morning that he hitch-hikes, one car clogs the road and chokes the air where two would if he drove himself. Each day he hitch-hikes, two people drive to work keeping each other company rather than plugging along all alone.

My own first experiences of hitch-hiking were on an 8-week trip he and I took around the States and into Toronto. For a total of about $500, the two of us saw more of America than most would see with the same time in a car. We went north from my home in Santa Rosa (56 miles north of SanFran) to Seattle, then through the Northern states (Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Wisconsin), into Toronto, Canada, down through New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee, into Alabama, and back across through Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, and finally back home.

Places are very different when seen at 3mph than when seen at 70mph. Driving through places that I first came to know through the intimate perspective of hitch-hiking is one of the more gratifying experiences I have had. The difference between a boxed-in car's view and an open pedestrian's then comes sharply to consciousness.

that Networking and Info for Hitch-Hikers and Others on the Road

Planning a Long Trip

Planning a long hitch-hiking trip takes some planning. You should work out some places here and there where a shower and a soft bed can be had. This can be extra money in the bank account for a motel room, or connections with friends or relatives. You can also check out my list of hospitality offers to see if any kind strangers can help. You should decide whether you are going to fork over the money for hostels and motels each night, or just camp out under bridges and in fields. You should spend some time organizing the equipment that each of these approaches requires. Here's a Starter-list of things you might wanna bring.

To help you in planning a trip, I'm compiling stories and descriptive general advice about hitching, as well as writing and information compiled for hitch-hiking in a specific locations. MITs Weather-server will help you anticipate weather, wherever you end up.

What to Bring

When considering what you'll need over the course of a long hitch-hiking trip, you need to know what season you'll be traveling in, what weather to expect, how much money you're willing to spend on lodging, whether you're willing to carry a tent and camping equipment, whether you can arrange accomodations with friends and relatives along the way, and many other things.

Whatever the answers are to the questions above, here is a starting list of the things you'll be glad you brought:

eye-drops
Especially in the western United States, long hours staring into the sun through dry, often dirty air can be a real strain on the eyes.
sunglasses
These, too, can help to prevent eye-strain. However, they may reduce the chances of getting a ride out of drivers who might easily be spooked by anything that makes you look older or more anonymous.
hat
A hat can reduce eye-strain, as well as prevent sun-burn, dehydration, and heat-stroke, all without making you look old or anonymous. But choose your hat with appearance in mind as well as functionality.
sun-block
Other than farm-labor, hitch-hiking is one of the most sun-exposed occupations around, and you can get burned even during the winter if you end up standing on the roadside for much of the day. Prevent skin-cancer.
High-quality, fat-tipped marker
This is perhaps the most important tool of the hitch-hiker. A sign with the name of a city is far more likely to catch a hook in a driver who's destination is there than is a simple thumb. Marks-a-Lot is *not* a good brand, even though it is the most common. These will run out of ink quickly on the card-board that you are likely to be using as sign-material. As with many things, a good way to judge a marker's quality is by its density: the heavier the better. The '44 Magnum' worked well for my friend and I. It's chrome-colored and fat.
paperboard
Paperboard can be picked up along the way. A convenient place to gather paper-board as needed is at the gas-station dumpsters that may be found near almost every freeway on/off ramp. Writing on posterboard is far more visible, especially at night. Another advantage of posterboard is its resistance to rain, which is much greater than card-board out of a dumpster. Paperboard, too, can be bought as needed along the way for about $0.30 per sheet at KMarts and supermarkets or drug-stores.

What to Expect In General
[See also Getting a Ride] Long-range hitch-hiking is a great way to get to know the people of your country, while moving through the landscape. It can also be a gruelling ordeal. Expect long days in the sun, tired arm, and occasionally nasty heckling from local high-school kids. On an eight-week trip, the worst harassment I experienced was a jeep full of four or five young guys who threw a large fountain-drink on my friend and I and laughed derisively. This hurts much more from the contrast it makes with the kindness of drivers and the startling awakening to how vulnerable one can be out there on the road.

There are two basic approaches to long-range hitch-hiking in the US. You can hound the interstate highways and get there fast and dirty, or you can take it easy on the back-roads and smaller, state highways. I have no personal experience with the latter, but have heard some things.

For the interstates, try to use a map that has illustration of the shape of on-ramps. That way, when drivers drop you off, you can suggest a ramp from which you can get a ride most easily: a nice straight, long one. Even if you don't have a map, you can use a general rule: ramps are straighter on the outskirts of towns and cities, where the cost of land is lower. If you don't know the city and you can't get to the far side of it, it's best to get dropped on the near-side outskirts. If the ramps here don't work out, you can walk into the city, find a bus, and get to the far side for a dollar or so.

In some states, hitch-hiking is banned out-right. New Jersy and Idaho are two examples. Local cops in Idaho didn't apply the law to my friend and I when we were there. (My suspicion is that the law exists so that the police can discriminate against 'long-haired hippies' and maybe minorities, too. With some support, I would like to get this kind of law repealed). In New Jersey, a cop actually stopped us as we were getting into a car. He had been watching us hitch for some time, so was clearly using us to get at hitchers and drivers at the same time. He eventually let us take the ride but warned that both hitchers and driver are subject to fines for breaking NJ hitching laws. Wherever you go, expect to be questioned by local and state cops. HAVE A VALID ID WITH YOU: they will ask for it.
In most states, you can get away with ignoring the "No Hitch-hiking" signs that appear about half-way up the on-ramps. The best position on a curved on-ramp is most often beyond these signs. Police and highway patrols will tell you to walk back down below the sign, or even to come off the ramp completely. When traffic is minimal on the ramps, it may be worth going onto the highway or freeway itself. This is illegal almost everywhere (I think Oregon is a rare exception; if you can, please verify), but the risk of being asked to walk the half-mile back to the ramp and side-road can be well worth it: if you're in the middle of nowhere and not on the highway where there's traffic, you could be stuck there for a whole day or more. Concerning cops and hitching directly on the highway, toll-roads are about the worst on which to hitch. They have the most cops and hitching is illegal; on/off ramps are few and far between.

What to ExpectBy Location
North America // Europe // Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands // Japan
U.S.A.

A growing fact-sheet on state and regional hitching law. Please help with your knowledge on hitching law!.
California
Bay Area
Hitching/California/60s to 90s
-- hard stats on a trip from San Fran to Petaluma. Some general info, too.
Sonoma West-County Summer '97
--hard stats on a series of round-trips between south Sebastopol and Sonoma State Univ.
Florida

I drove through Florida with Swarthmore Ultimate's Swarming Earthworms in March '96 and saw a great many hitch-hikers there at the freeway ramps, so I can only guess that they are fairly successful. A guy I picked up named Rob told me it was good or bad along a north-south division, but I forget which part of the state was good and which bad.

Canada
Alberta
Nova Scotia by Joe Campbell
Mexico
Europe
General Info on Europe
Eastern Europe.. Austria.. Denmark.. Germany.. France.. Greece.. Italy.. Netherlands.. Norway.. Spain.. Sweden.. Switzerland.. UK..
- Eastern Europe
  
  Belorussia
  Bulgaria
  Hungary
  Poland
  Romania
  Slovakia
  Slovenia
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 30 minutes
  typical ride (km): 50
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $5
  
  Turkey
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 25 minutes (Western), 60 min (Eastern)
  typical ride (km): 50
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $2.50
  
  Ukraine
  Yugoslavia
- Austria
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 60 minutes
  typical ride (km): 125
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $13
- Denmark On freeways...
  typical wait: 40 minutes
  typical ride (km): 40
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $20
- Germany On freeways...
  typical wait: 20 minutes
  typical ride (km): 200
  typical cost per 100km on public transportation: $18
- France On freeways...
  typical wait: 30 minutes
  typical ride (km): 100
  typical cost/100km for public transportation: $13
  
  Autostop
- Greece
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 30 minutes
  typical ride (km): 50
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $5.50
- Italy
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 30 minutes
  typical ride (km): 200
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $5.50
  Ride-share linking: Autostop Italy
- Netherlands
  On freeways...
  typical wait: typical ride (km): typical cost/100km on public transportation:
- Norway
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 75 minutes
  typical ride (km): 75
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $25+
- Spain
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 45 minutes
  typical ride (km): 75
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $6
- Sweden
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 105 minutes
  typical ride (km): 100
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $20+
- Switzerland
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 60 minutes
  typical ride (km): 100
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $20+
- United Kingdom
  On freeways...
  typical wait: 30 minutes
  typical ride (km): 100
  typical cost/100km on public transportation: $15
  London
  Watford
  Watford (different author)
  Watford (another author)

North Africa and the Middle East

Tunisia
On freeways...
typical wait: 15 minutes
typical ride (km): 25
typical cost/100km on public transportation: $5

Australia/Newzealand/Pacific Islands

From Ian Sweeney, who can be reached here by email: Whilst in Tasmania earlier this year, (im now based in adelaide south australia) i read in the Mercury newspaper that over the last twenty years there have been fourty murders or disapperances of backpackers in Australia, so this is not just hitch hikers. compare this to the road toll, to which i have lost a great friend to recently, there is little doubt that there is more chance you will be killed in a car accident whilst hitching or a bus rollover whilst coaching it, than being murdered by the driver of the lift.

Japan

ASS (Auto- Stoppers' Society) online

Other Sites for Hitchers and Related Resources

Some tips to Hitching
Web spin-off of hitching guide-book
-- a very good structural model for any ambitious web-site on hitching. Unfortunately, expects you to buy the book to get the content. Includes a good links page.
Hitch-Hiking/Auto-Stop (French)
-- more good info on how to behave so as to get rides and to maximize safety; some links also.
Cyber Adventures
-- unusual information on travel, links to other sites, and a collection of travel/adventure stories; plus a weekly site of the week, which yours truly made it onto!
Travel Lite / Let's Go HITCH!
-- some sort of hitching resource
Ride-share Linking Service -- a motorist and hitch-hiker no-charge linking service. Very professionally run! It seems to be used almost exclusively by Europeans, so getting responses for N. America might be patchy. I will have tried it before the end of Spring '96 and give my report then.
hitching.htm
-- a fairly thorough guide to hitching abroad, with references to further resources
hitch.html
-- travel in Europe. Not much good.
packing_list_hitching.html
Ride Share Groups and Organizations
National Speed-trap Registry -- a registry of highway-patrol speed-traps in every state accross the US.

Lodging-Net

Below are travelers' requests for assistance along the road, and -- would it be too much to hope? -- standing offers of hospitality to hitch-hikers.

Please note that while I think it is usually worth the risk, neither I nor this site make any claim to ensuring the safety of accepting help from strangers. While I personally trust the people listed, no formal precautions have been taken to assure their good faith. Use this resource at your own risk.

Use this link alphabet to select a state where requests have been made: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

California

Bay Area
Los Angeles Area

Hospitality is offered to hitchers...

Click a letter for the U.S. state you where you need hospitality:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Idaho

Boise
I have been in a home for 3 years and still pick up all hitch hikers and bring as many tramps home as I can. I don't have much, but water and soap I do have! I remember the days when each hot shower I took was the "best shower I ever had" and I remembr the times when I would have darn near sold my soul for one! If you think this would be helpful contact Kooch. The only stipulation I would have is that the people who shower here would actually have to be going somewhere (NO homeguards!).

Missouri

Central Missouri Area
Warrensburg

Doug Quirmbach would be happy to provide lodging for a traveling hitchiker in the Central Missouri area. He has a three bedroom house and usually a bedroom is free. offers assistance to hitchers in Warrensburg, Missouri. Warrensburg is located about 60 miles SE of Kansas City.

Mail address: 404 N. Maguire, Warrensburg.
Phone: 816 747-8693
Net contact

River has offered his rural ranch/farm as a place to stay for hitchers and other travelers. He says his wife will put people up for a few months at a time and pay them to do farm-work. You can get in touch:
River (Tim Boles)
RR1 Crocker, MO 65774
telephone 417 428 3436
Pensylvania

Philadelphia Area
Me, ...........at Swarthmore College

If you'd like to post offers or requests for travelers' lodging or assistance, contact Rob Monk by email.

thumb!

For and Against ... Statements and Propaganda

thumb.html
Promotional site for some kind of 'educational' video against kids' hitching

While making Road Kill, I imagined I would find a wide cross-section of people hitchhiking the summer highways, from down-and-outers, to thrill-seeking college students, to european students.
But the reality was quite different as you noticed in my site. Almost everyone I met was at that moment of crisis or desperation. I found about 25 hitchhikers in total over a 6 week stretch. All in the South and West I found nobody all the way from Montana east to NY and south to Georgia.
I think you hit on something about middle and upper class hitchhikers being more likely to be on-line. And perhaps many of your comments come from people who hitched years ago, when I think the demographics were quite different.
-drew

Travel and Hitch-hiking Stories

Awesome site with video documentary and continuously updated interviews on-the-road with hitch-hikers
"Even Angels Have to Hitchhike" -----poem
A bad experience ------ A bad trip and some good advice
The Hitchhiker ----- A screenplay; I don't know if it's for the existing movie, or another
The Democratic Hitchhiker ------- An anti-republican joke
"Travel with Nam" ----- European adventures
DeDeo's Hitching Experiences -- Europe
Dell's Hitching Experiences -- US
Wechner's New Zealand Adventures
Howell's The 24 Hour Hitch: Adventures in Europe
Matt's Rocky Mt. Adventures

Send your travel stories to me .

Back to Contents

Things I Wanna Know and Post:

For each state or area

What are the laws regarding hitch-hiking?

Which cities do not allow hitch-hiking?

Is hitch-hiking easy or difficult in the state?

Have any publicized crimes been committed lately by "drifters" in the area?

What are bus fares and bus service like in the area, city, or state?

For every square inch of America (Alaska, Canada, US, Mexico, Central America)

Maps showing
size, shape, and location of highway on-ramps

major truck-stops

frequented rest-stops

anything else hitch-hikers (or those giving them rides) might want to know

--- To Top ---

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California

Bay Area Los Angeles Area

Hospitality is offered to hitchers...

Click a letter for the U.S. state you where you need hospitality:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Idaho

Missouri

Doug Quirmbach would be happy to provide lodging for a traveling hitchiker in the Central Missouri area. He has a three bedroom house and usually a bedroom is free. offers assistance to hitchers in Warrensburg, Missouri. Warrensburg is located about 60 miles SE of Kansas City.

River has offered his rural ranch/farm as a place to stay for hitchers and other travelers. He says his wife will put people up for a few months at a time and pay them to do farm-work. You can get in touch: River (Tim Boles) RR1 Crocker, MO 65774 telephone 417 428 3436

Pensylvania