United States of America
Information | |
Language: | English (de facto), Spanish widely spoken in southwest and Florida |
Capital: | Washington DC |
Population: | 317,791,000 |
Currency: | American Dollar ($) |
Hitchability: | <rating country='us' /> |
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots or BeWelcome | |
<map lat='39.44525647027036' lng='-98.6623687744132' zoom='3' view='0' /> |
The United States of America, commonly called The U.S.A., or simply America is a country consisting of 50 states. For the convenience of the common hitchhiker, these states are discussed in detail along with their capitals in their individual pages (see below). The US is bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.
Hitching, like everything else in America, varies greatly depending on what type of area and what part of the country you are passing through. In general you can get rides fairly easily if you hitchhike the right way; in fact, often you can find more than just rides, such as offers for free meals, invitations to homes and parties, etc.
Contents
Culture
Many Americans have a limited worldview. (I can say this because I am one.) We think there are two places in the world: America and other places. Don't waste your time explaining that "American" is an incorrect demonym. And get used to our senseless system of measurement. It's a part of our culture.
Despite a large number of immigrants all across the country, most Americans are still curious about people from different parts of the world, fascinated by foreign accents, and eager to introduce visitors to American culture. Despite an undercurrent of xenophobia and racism in rural parts of the country, Americans tend to have a pragmatic view towards foreigners: Americans might profoundly dislike your country of origin, but they will rarely hold that against you as an individual.
Relative to other Western countries, people in the rural United States are profoundly religious. People who pick you up might inquire about your religion. If you're not religious, try to deal with it in a positive way and accept the difference. Despite a level of religious intolerance much higher than in Europe, Americans tend to have a pragmatic approach to people of unfamiliar religious backgrounds: Americans tend not to judge you badly even if they might be suspicious of your religion.
More often you will be picked up by really cool people, and often dropped off exactly at the point of your destination, as hitchhiker Guaka's experience shows, for example.
Cars
Driving in the United States is similar to driving in Canada, but very different from driving in Europe. It is not uncommon for Americans to drive more than an hour each way to work, and 77 percent of Americans drive alone to their jobs... Most states allow people to drive unaccompanied once they have reached the age of 16. -Wikipedia: Driving in the United States
There are more than 250 million registered vehicles in the USA, the most of any country. Everyone has a car, and gas is so cheap that people drive everywhere. As a result there are a lot of roads and highways. Sometimes you may need to change your technique to accommodate unfamiliar infrastructure. Sometimes it can be hard to find a place with slow traffic! Although traffic is heavy, hitchhiking is also hard because nobody trusts somebody with no car. (Why don't you have a car? There must be something wrong with you.) It would help to look like a foreigner, but don't go so far as to wave a foreign flag around. Hitchhiking is not as common as in Europe and Latin America, so expect to have to explain yourself, possibly to the police. (See the section on police below).
Transportation system
Interstates
An 'interstate', also known as an expressway, freeway, or (confusingly) highway, is a large, multilane road that covers vast distances, and passes through major cities. If you aren't planning on going to the countryside, you probably won't need to stray far from the interstate system.
Interstates are designated on maps by "I-..." and have road signs like this. Even-numbered routes run from west to east and are numbered from south to north. For example, I-10 runs across the south from L.A. to Jacksonville, FL, and I-90 across the North from Seattle to Boston. Likewise, odd-numbered expressways start with I-5 along the west coast (Seattle to L.A.) and I-95 along the east coast (Maine to Miami).
The main interstates have two or three numbers, as in I-8 or I-76. Offshoots or ring roads will have a preceeding digit, for example, I-295, which runs along I-95.
Methods for catching rides
If you're going for speed over a long distance (3+ hours), then the best bet is to stay on the interstates. Highways are better for shorter or more senic trips.
Interstates
Thumbing it on on-ramps is sometimes the best way to hitchhike the interstates. Standing along the shoulder with a thumb or sign can take a few hours so bring something to read. Try to stick to exits that large towns, truck stops, rest stops or any other reason for drivers to stop there (restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc.). Ask a driver to drop you off at on on-ramp with plenty of traffic.
For this same reason, be prepared to turn down a ride with someone who's "just going to the next exit". Getting dropped off on a low-traffic exit is the gravest danger when hitching on interstates. It can easily lead to long, long delays of a car every ten minutes and none of them stopping. Eventually you may give up and stand on the highway or walk a few miles to the next exit. Since pedestrians are not allowed along interstates in most states, you are likely to be picked up by a state trooper. In the best case, your ID will be check and you may will be given a lift to the next exit. See the section on police.
When making signs in the states, it best to use the two-letter state abbreviations, which are universally understood, notable exceptions being OK, HI, and LA. The first two could be confused for words, the last (Louisiana) could be confused with (Los Angeles). Additionally:
- "Philly" = Philadelphia
- "D.C." = Washington, D.C.
- "N.Y.C." = New York City
- "S.F" = San Francisco
- "L.A." = Los Angeles
- "NOLA" = New Orleans (not universally understood, but in the South at least)
Asking for rides at rest areas or gas stations, is often one of the quickest ways to get a very long distance ride, but soliciting and loitering is might be prohibited there and sometimes you will be kicked out before finding a ride. A good way to avoid being kicked out is to greet everyone entering the building with a friendly smile and give them a friendly nod, then ask them for a ride as they leave the building. This gives them time to become comfortable with your presence and prevents them from having the opportunity to complain about your solicitation to the employees.
Asking for rides at truck stops is the same way. As a rule, Love's, Petro, and TA will be the quickest to kick you out. Pilot/Flying J truck stops and smaller locally owned truck stops are generally a lot more lenient. You may even find signs that prohibit you from soliciting a ride, so caution is necessary like asking instead of showing them a sign to your destination.
US/State Highways
If you are only going a hundred miles or less, you can often make better time on US highways, state highways, or even local roads. Even if you are going long distances, if you aren't concerned about making good time, getting off the interstates can be a very rewarding experience. Local highways will grant you a better picture of what local life is like in that area, and typically offer a greater variety of drivers and scenery. To hitchhike on these highways, it is best to stand at the edge of town right before the speed limit picks up, even walking on the highways also helps as shoulders most of the way are pretty wide. Standing at stop lights outside of towns along these highways is also a great way to catch a ride, even if the speed limit is quite high.
Urban and Suburban Short Distance
If you are hitchhiking within a large metropolitan area and trying to get to another part of the city, it is best to stay on the interstate on-ramps unless you want to do a lot of walking. Most larger cities have interstates passing through them and often have one or more spur or circumferential interstates surrounding them. These spur and circumferential interstates are designated by a three-digit highway number with signs that look just like normal blue interstate signs. When hitchhiking on these roads, it is best to accept every ride, even if they are only going a mile, as each exit you get to is closer to your destination and you are unlikely to get stranded on any of these ramps due to the amount of traffic.
An alternate method to hitchhiking within urban areas is to walk up to cars stuck at red lights and ask them in person if you can have a ride in the direction they are going. This works best if they already have their window down, but usually people will roll their window down to talk to you if you stand in front of their car trying to get their attention.
Another way is to pay a small amount for public transportation to drop you off outside the city(check your map/GPS).
You may also wish to try asking for rides at smaller local gas stations, but you are unlikely to make as much progress doing this.
Getting out of big cities
You may find yourself in very sprawled out cities like LA or Phoenix, then try your luck on Craigslist! I (http://hitchwiki.org/en/User:Nora) crossed the US and found a few rides on Craiglist, messaging people who offer rides and asking if they would take me for free. Probably works best as a foreigner and a girl, but is worth a try. And maybe you can 'pay' in stories or music!
Police/Laws
The legal status of hitchhiking in the United States is a bit of a difficult topic; laws and their enforcement differ greatly from state to state as does the information available online and in general knowledge. Many people (including police officers) mistakenly believe hitchhiking is illegal anywhere in the US; sometimes you'll get away with holding a cardboard sign but not with holding out your thumb, and sometimes nobody will hassle you even if you stand or walk right on the interstate. The specific articles on states will give you more information on this topic.
Police
Many police in this country have arrest quotas, not to mention many police (not all!) are assholes. That being said, you may encounter an officer of the law who is a rather enthusiastic about giving you a hard time. Keep in mind that even foreigners have rights, such as the right to refuse being searched. For good information about dealing with the police, check out https://www.flexyourrights.org/
Being in a state which permits hitchhiking does not guarantee that the police will not harass you. Most police don't know the laws and will tell you it is illegal to hitchhike in that state. Thewindandrain argues with cops on a regular basis and refuses to stop hitchhiking where it is legal. He has been innocently arrested for this twice, but has remained confident and never been taken to jail even after being cuffed and in the car and continuing to stand up for his rights. They are usually bluffing right to the very end. If you know the law in that state, don't be afraid to tell the police they are wrong!
Frequently when confronted with your response, law enforcement officers will react unprofessionally and occasionally aggressively and even in a discriminatory way if you are not their race (sad but true: white people will have an easier time than blacks or latinos). They may curse, call you names, and/or threaten to arrest you if they see you hitchhiking again and then leave the scene. This is usually a bluff. They may even cuff you then give you a ride out of their jurisdiction. Occasionally they may admit to their mistake and leave you alone. If you are uncomfortable and feel threatened by the officer, you may request to speak to his/her supervisor. Supervisors will show up to talk with you about the law openly and professionally.
National laws
The only nationwide law (Code of Federal Regulations) that prohibits hitchhiking is 36 CFR 4.31 which states that hitchhiking is illegal on any property under jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior: National Park Service. This includes but is not limited to National Parks, National Scenic Byways, and National Recreation Areas. This law is often amended to allow hitchhiking at the discretion of each park. Check with the park's respective state article for information
State and local laws
Look to the map pictured above which indicates each state's laws. Most often, the laws state that the hitchhiker may not "solicit a ride" "on a roadway". The word roadway is usually defined in state statute books as "exclusive of a shoulder" or "the traveled portion of the highway", making these statutes easy to circumvent.
In most states it's illegal to hitch from the interstates (motorways) themselves (though enforcement of this rule varies), but you can typically stand at on-ramps (highway entries). That being said, understand that the ramps are still technically considered interstate property and are illegal for pedestrians to be on, although it is almost without exception permitted if you stand in front of the "no pedestrians" sign.
In some areas (such as certain towns or municipal areas) hitching is illegal everywhere, however, it is still allowed de facto. In most cases, hitchhiking is legal or tolerated. There are also many limited-access highways (i.e. with on-ramps and off-ramps) that are not part of the interstate system which prohibit pedestrians as well. California is notorious for prohibiting pedestrians on many of its controlled access highways.
Even in states where hitchhiking is illegal, the law is rarely enforced. Wyoming Highway Patrol reports that in 2010, they approached 524 hitchhikers but only cited eight of them (note that hitchhiking is no longer illegal in Wyoming as of 2013!)
If the police pass you walking or sitting by the side of the road without soliciting in any way, they may still stop to check IDs, but you are not required to identify yourself unless there is suspicion that you could have committed a crime. You may wish to hide your thumb or sign when a police car is approaching to avoid being hassled.
Often, particularly close to major cities, the police will ask you for photo ID, but as long as you have one with you (such as a passport) there shouldn't be a problem. Most of the time they will be polite when you come up clean, and not too rarely they'll give you a lift out of their area to get rid of you.
Especially in smaller towns and in the countryside, the officer stopping you is likely to never have seen a passport before. If that's your form of ID, bear with the delay caused, help the poor guy out by point out which is your name and your birth date and enjoy the confusion and the hilarious misconceptions that arise.
Tourists who intend to cross into the USA by hitchhiking should note that the US immigration department will log that you have been hitchhiking, should they discover that you are. This log will be visible to any guard who subsequently checks your immigration status. If you decide to leave and enter the USA again, it may make your entry back into the USA more difficult if it is not a hitchhiker friendly state.
Personal Experiences
Haven't hitched extensively there, but where I have, the experiences have been unique. I've hitched Oregon to Mexico along the famous highway 101. I also hitched from Oregon to Chicago on i90 in the dead of winter. Lots of clothes for that one, and a warm place to retreat to at every stop. The most remarkable thing about hitching in the States is that you get picked up by REALLY interesting people. Not all the time. But our beloved weirdos are more common in the US than anywhere else I've hitched. Regardless of what you think about the States, it's easily one of the most interesting places to hitchhike, especially if you LIKE adventure. - Chael
Have hitchhiked moderately in US, about 9,000 miles(including ferries and train hopping). Its a diverse country so generalizing a state or even a county(as I have been picked up in the most conservative counties) would not be right. I have been picked up by really awesome people(some of them are now my friends), Friendly cops(who offered me water and money) to discriminatory cops(who just wanted to get rid of me), people who turned out to be gay(asked sexual favors), bored people looking for a good conversation(what you have to do is just listen and and ask question to acknowledge that you are listening), people who saw me as a curious and tired foreigner etc. It was a great experience and helped me learn a lot about the culture here. One thing I learned is that if you are having fun then you get picked up easily as compared to when you are not. My personal favorite states are Alaska and Missouri. - Tarun
I hitchhiked over 200,000 miles in 50 states of the US, 19 states of Mexico, and 8 provinces of Canada I would say in general that it is easy to hitchhike in all those countries but some of the most difficult places are in America. Each state varies greatly in geography and ease of hitchhiking. In the south, for example it is easier to hop freight trains since the hitching is so difficult. My favorite states for travelers are Colorado, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Arkansas. I have hitched alone, and with numbers of other people. Hitchhiking with two people or large equipment like a bicycle or kayak seems to give shortest waits. I would rank hitchhiking as a slightly more risky activity than cycle touring on windy highways with no shoulder. These days I prefer to ride freight trains and motorized bicycles, and I recommend you do the same. - Thewindandrain
I hitchhiked from Panama to the US, intending to go through the whole of the US by hitchhiking with my little brother. I cannot recommend to hitchhike in pairs. It takes _days_ to find rides. We looked like regular guys, did 20k+ miles in more than 10 countries. If you do it, do it alone. - Summer '14
I crossed the US from Boston to San Francisco the southern way. The north east is tough, prepare for some waits and looks as if you were not worth anyone's attention. Luckily it gets better soon! Texas was the best state for me, lots of rides even from women, and basically no waites. Also California is pretty good to hitchhike, though more tourists. To all girls - it's definitely safe enough in my opinion, though I was asked for sex a few times by people not understanding hitchhiking much. And in general - for me waites for longer than in Europe (when alone I have to hardly wait longer than 10 minutes ever), but still the longest wait during the whole trip were ~2 hours at a bad spot. - Nora
These experiences are from a voyage undertaken during Autumn of 2023. Approximately 6 weeks in length, 41 rides, 3000 miles. Los Angeles to New Orleans with lots of detours. For context, I am young, male, Asian, clean shaven and have short hair. I travelled with only a backpack. It was difficult to get rides, whether I was standing on an onramp, walking on the interstate, asking at gas stations, waiting after traffic lights, standing on the shoulder etc. I tried pretty much every method of hitching, and would like to say none of them have good chances of getting a ride quickly. For me, it was an even split between getting rides easily (matter of minutes) and waiting HOURS for rides. There is no State that was particularly easy, not even California along the 1 and 101 was easy, in fact some of my longest waits were in California. But of course, no one goes to the US and expects hitching to be smooth sailing. Public opinion towards hitchhikers is terrible, the vast majority don't give a damn who you are, where you're from and where you're trying to get to. Expect to be given ugly looks and get used to being ignored, since people see you as just another homeless person, which you are. Asking at gas stations is arduous, people are often scared and a lot simply won't take you no matter how nicely you ask. Mexicans will save you time and time again, they are often the only people who will pick you up on the side of the interstate or will actually hear you out at a gas station. Asking Mexicans or other Latinos in Spanish works beautifully, even a couple phrases will get you a vastly more positive response than using English. I often freedom camped in towns and rural areas, never in cities though. No bad experiences from that, but it does get cold. I preferred hitching at on ramps over gas stations just because I didn't want to run the goddamn gauntlet everytime I approached someone. Walking along the Interstate is an act of desperation, I don't recommend it (but have done it many times) because it is FUCKING DANGEROUS, and loud. Now the good parts: The people who do give you rides will be fucking AMAZING. Food, weed, beer, work, money, parties, couches to surf, fishing invites, intriguing conversations, crazy people, funny people, random people. WOW. The US has got it all, a kaleidescope of humanity in overflowing abundance. When that ride finally comes, it will be awesome so HANG IN THERE. Cops didn't care if they were driving past and I was on an onramp but State troopers will give you a hard time if you're on an interstate, I got two rides from cops to their county border and also had the police called on me thanks to some Karen in Texas. Racism is to be expected in the South if you're a person of colour, but the blacks will be so much more friendlier if you aren't white. I was never threatened or harmed, but most of my drivers were terrible at driving, some drank, some were high. Be wary of that. In conclusion, this country is NOT a walk in the park to hitch. It's hard. You'll need determination, the patience of a saint and a little courage, but it'll pay off. Trust me. -The Falling Leaf.
Hitchhikernick - I have hitched around the US many times, only 3 short of doing every state 3 times 😁. WOW what can I say, definitely the most generous nation. I have been given money and bought food so many times without asking, several times being 100$ bills😁. I'm actually there now on a skiing trip (Feb 2024) and same thing has happened on this trip. Waiting times have been from instant pickups where I haven't had time to put my bag down to waiting 2 days consecutively (highway 6 Nevada in Feb 2014). Never spend my own money and always leave with some money left over 😁. Average waiting time about 3.5hrs, though a lot less around ski areas. Definitely the only nation where I get checked by the cops, though many times they have proven to be helpful. Some times I have had to walk up the onramp but never got into trouble for doing so, if cops arrived they would generally give me a ride to a better spot, never been given a ticket. Definitely some of the greatest experiences too...drinking and partying with the natives in Monument valley, hitching and winging a ticket into Burning Man, crusing on a boat around Kachemak Bay and hiking to the magic bus in Alaska, camping and hiking around the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Yosemite, skiing all big ski resorts, experiencing city life and experiencing life with the homeless to name a few...!!! You could spend a lifetime experiencing, travelling and tasting the USA 😉. *UPDATE* I should also point out some of the downsides of hitching america, to paint a more accurate picture. On quite a few occasions, drivers would deliberately give me smoke clouds when they went past. There has been some real grumpy/bible obsessed/guilt tripping drivers. Not every police officer was so pleasant, telling me i couldn't hitchhike or that it was illegal (Idaho in particular). Waiting times could be brutal on some occasions. Temperatures can be extreme on both ends, you must be prepared, especially when you are familiar with long waiting times. And last but not least, the repetitive questions...thats what i love about countries I cant speak the language (not always avoidable even if foreign language). One last point, that i must add, though not directly related to hitchhiking, is Tipping...this has become out of control in the US. Once i had a tough day hitching so i wanted to make it better with a cheap can of beer. I went to a liqure store, found reduced price section and got a damaged can of beer for 1 usd. When I got to the checkout to pay, the checkout girl asked how much i would like to tip. i gave her a dollar note and said that is all i have. she then put it in a brown paper bag in a rather surly manner. its getting ridiculous and not good for budget concious travellers like hitchhikers. Nowhere else in the world, that I have visited, is so reliant/entitled on tipping like the US. On the whole though, I have found the USA hitchhiking good and happily do it again...many times😁. Hitchhikernick
Links
Analyses of hitchhiking in the USA by Korn on warmroads.de - Hitchhiking in the USA.
Nomadwiki & Trashwiki
Check Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)
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