Mendocino County, CA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)

There is no general county ordinance forbidding overnight parking on every unincorporated street. Instead, three rules combine. First, Mendocino County Code Section 15.12.091 makes it unlawful to leave any vehicle standing on a street or highway for 72 or more consecutive hours (with a narrow exemption for non-RV passenger cars and pickups at the registered address), and authorizes towing after that period. Second, several named locations in Section 15.12.040 prohibit parking specifically between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., including the west side of Ward Avenue at milepost 0.90 and both sides of Geysers Road between mileposts 0.00 and 0.64.

Third, County Code Section 14.28.050 bars parking a vehicle or trailer for camping, sleeping, or dwelling for more than one day on public property other than a licensed campground or designated County park, with several locations off-limits entirely. The former Chapter 15.14, which had banned overnight human habitation in vehicles between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., was repealed in its entirety by Ordinance No. 4353 in 2016 and replaced by the Chapter 14.28 camping framework.