SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Out-of-towners discover camping is free at Alki Beach

Sep 10, 2019, 5:40 AM

Alki Beach...

Dori listener Matt Gilbert spotted this camper at Alki Beach. It seems tourists have found out that camping is free on Seattle streets. (Photo courtesy of Matt Gilbert)

(Photo courtesy of Matt Gilbert)

Our buddy Matt Gilbert sent us a photo on Twitter of a camper at Alki Beach that he observed early Monday morning.

It was a nice-looking SUV with Idaho plates, off the back of which a huge tent was pitched. The camper was parked at a spot that would have had a glorious view of downtown Seattle.

Matt said in a Twitter post, “The out of towners have learned that camping is free in Seattle. Saw this camper this morning at Alki with Idaho plates. I can’t really blame them. Who would[n’t] want to wake to the city view from Alki?”

He followed it up with the assumption that the people were in town for the Seahawks game and wanted to avoid paying for a hotel room. He assumed they were tourists because they were not parked anywhere near the drug RVs further down the street.

Dori: Camp in Seattle for Memorial Day weekend

If you or I tried sleeping out at Golden Gardens or Green Lake or Alki Beach to get a nice view, we would be asked to move along. My co-worker at KIRO Radio, Ursula, was talked to by the cops for being parked in front of her own house. But if you’re in an RV, you’re fine.

Now it seems that the tourists coming here in campers have learned that they don’t need to pay for a campground — anything goes on the streets of Seattle.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Dori: Out-of-towners discover camping is free at Alki Beach