Urban parks where RV camping is allowed overnight may be more off the beaten path than your itinerary. Anyway, some cities offer free overnight parking for the night in one of their parks. Exploring the country by RV can be a truly exciting trip at any age. But don`t underestimate the importance of finding the right parking spot overnight. When you understand where you can and can`t park, your travels will be much smoother and more enjoyable. In highly sought-after areas where there are municipal ordinances prohibiting staying in a vehicle, hotels/motels are likely to appeal to people who do. Done right, overnight RV parking can be a win-win situation where everyone benefits. Truck stops regularly provide space, showers, meals and other amenities to truckers, and often extend service to recreational vehicles. They know that recreational vehicles, like truckers, use and pay for indoor facilities.
Some shopping malls also allow RV parking overnight. However, you must contact the office or authority of the relevant mall to obtain permission to park overnight. You won`t want to be woken up at 2am to find out that the mall parking lot you`re parked in doesn`t allow overnight parking and has called a tow truck. If you`re relying on this free RV parking, it`s best to plan ahead by looking for that particular stop. I parked my RV in the Walmart parking lot in Vineland NJ and security woke me up in the morning telling me not to park my RV there at the property. Now you have a plethora of options when it comes to free parking for parking! Three-year-old vanvie veteran Brent Rose gives his best overnight trip on the road Parking tips Here I visited a friend who stayed at this Hilton. I think I spent the night in my motorhome and went in the morning. Target is like other department stores. Policies may vary depending on the store manager. Talk to the manager and get permission before staying. If the store is friendly enough to allow you to use its parking overnight, follow the rules and spend money before you leave in the morning.
For participating stores, they usually have a green sign near the entrance telling truck and RV drivers where to park overnight in Bass Pro Shops. Sometimes they even have a kennel there! The cracker barrel can be added to this list, but please park and pick up the FK after you. State and national parks can be wonderful places to park a campervan while visiting some of the most beautiful and scenic sites in the country. Many RV owners travel for months traveling from national park to national park and checking them off along the way. Many parks require an RV camping reservation, so plan well in advance if you plan to stay in a state or national park. You can also find free RV parking by searching for service roads in national parks along the way. You can use these roads to find a place to park your RV and camp for the night. This is especially fun for those who love nature and want to spend their night in a quiet environment surrounded by national forests. NOTE: I have not included the welcome or harvest hosts of Boondockers RV Camper Clubs in this free RV park article, as they technically cost money and require you to book. So they are not as simple, and they are not free as the places mentioned below in general.
Looks like you just mentioned places with parking. A number of them on the list would be blocked if they were not used for an event. Pitches can be actual campsites that don`t charge overnight stays, but offer paid facilities such as utility connections, water supply, and other perks. Harvest hosts are a popular option. Technically, it`s not free as you`ll pay an annual fee, around $100 to $150, depending on the plan you choose, but then you can park for free at over 2,000 wineries, breweries, farms, golf courses and more. Boondockers Welcome, recently purchased by Harvest Hosts, is the same concept. You pay an annual fee and can choose a suitable location for your destination or on the way. It`s a search database of over 14,000 free overnight parking spaces in the U.S. and Canada, regularly updated by RVs like you and me, so you can get the latest information on each RV parking spot. My best suggestion for finding them is to use Campendium to see if there is a park nearby that offers free RV parking.
While not everyone likes it, many churches offer overnight parking for RVs. These are the 23 potential secret or unusual RV parking spaces overnight. If you`ve used any of these locations, let us know in the video comments. If you have any other quick RV sites to recommend, let us know in the video comments! Stealth camping is fun and affordable. But if you`re not careful, it can also be a little scary, especially when you`re alone. A van parked on the side of a busy highway is certainly not the safest place in the world to sleep at night, for example. You can find places that offer free overnight RV parking, as well as other campgrounds and attractions while planning your itinerary on RV LIFE Trip Wizard. Ho! What about rest areas where RVs are directed to the truck side of the facility? If there are enough seats available and all 18 wheels aren`t stuck on the ramps, I have no qualms about napping in an available place. Moose Lodges have the same availability of RV accommodations for their members as Elks Lodges. You have to be a Moose member to stay in your RV, but there are Moose Lodges all over the United States. And did you know that there are many other options for overnight parking? If not, you`ll find out. Free overnight parking is plentiful if you know where to find it, especially if you don`t need full connections.
RELATED READING: Another of our favorite places to park our RV for free overnight is Cracker Barrel. We have an article called Can RVs Park Overnight at Cracker Barrel? where you can know everything about it! We love staying there because we can have a great dinner and breakfast in the evening before hitting the road in the morning! I have never used a car dealership. I have already used a parking space in a service center. Otherwise, some parks allow free nights, and some charge a small fee (especially if they offer clean water or electricity). Make sure you have a secondary location to park nearby overnight in case a surprise closure or lack of available space is large enough to accommodate your RV. If there are no RV parking spaces, take as few seats as possible in a corner or side area and make sure you park so that no one can park in front of you and block you. (My beginner himself didn`t do it here — it was about the third day of my full-time RV trip.) While you can park traditional RVs overnight on some city streets, recreational vehicles and RVs cannot. Because of their size and the fact that you would sleep indoors, many cities disapprove of car camping in the city.
Some cities and towns have even banned RV owners from parking on city streets for long periods of time. If this is the case, it is best to seek refuge elsewhere for the night. Boondocking is a great way to see the grounds and park for free. These places are usually located in large open spaces and you can have all the area you need. However, you could be miles away from a grocery store, so make sure and plan for that. Security could also be an issue if no one else is around. To be sure that you can spend the night, it is best to call the store manager first to confirm it. My second or third night in my motorhome, I spent here in this Flying J Truck Stop. I remember it very well! NOT parked in a big place for truckers.
But I did it once. Eek. I mean, where would you park if you went to the store but didn`t need gas? They would find a place out of the way. Do just that if you`re looking for a place to stay. There`s a lot of information on how to park in Walmart parking lots on the internet, so I won`t go into details here. Also note that Walmart overnight camping is not advised. This means you don`t remove the awning, install the RV camping chairs, etc. This is not a boondocking place! Parking your van or RV overnight on private property is considered trespassing and is illegal.