Hi everyone, as the RV and van life and travel community keeps growing and growing, it can be harder and harder to find a safe spot to park overnight as you travel around the country. As you may know, more and more Walmarts are not allowing it. Here are 21 secret or unusual places you probably haven’t thought of to park at overnight. And again, we’re not talking about Walmarts, rest areas, or truck stops. These are, again, unusual places to park overnight, and number 12, you’ll be surprised by them!
We can work together as a community of RVers, van lifers, travelers, nomads, and truck drivers because these spaces are limited. Unfortunately, sometimes people don’t take care of them. They leave trash and disgusting things I don’t want to discuss. By making everybody aware that even though these are free places to stop at for a night or two, don’t abuse the privilege. You want to leave it better than you found it. So, if you see trash, please pick it up. And by all means, keep it from being trashed after you’re done staying the night. If it’s a business place, please patronize them, and if it’s a place where you would offer a tip, please leave a great tip. If many of us do this, we can start being seen as a group of some of the best people that businesses want us to come and spend the night with.
Now, many of these free parking spaces will depend on the size of your RV, van, or travel vehicle, local ordinances, and, obviously, the location itself. So if you don’t want that knock on the door at night, or worse, a ticket or a boot on a tire on your vehicle, then you should ask permission. Some people say, “Well, if you don’t ask, the answer won’t be no,” but we don’t recommend that. Plus, these locations are a stay at your own risk. Just because it’s free and might be allowed does not mean it’s safe. If it doesn’t look secure, look for a different spot to stay overnight.
First, we will start with the places we have yet to stay at personally, but in the end, I’ve got five places we have stayed at. Now, it’s wild that after nine years of RVing—yeah, it’s my ninth anniversary, or I just passed it, so wow, that’s many years—but even after all that time has gone by, there’s still a bunch of places we have not tried. These have been shared by viewers and other research that we’ve done, so keep track of the count of these locations, and let’s get started.
Number 1: Airports
Well, smaller community airports, also known as “flamping,” not glamping, but flamping—that’s flying camping. Now, a lot of this might be for tents, but it’s been suggested that you could also bring your RV or van in there.
Number 2: Colleges and Universities
I’ve never thought of this before, but many are prepared to have tailgate parties for sports games, as well as prospective students who are checking out the campus. Some of them have free Wi-Fi that you might be able to bum off of. So check it out. Number two, colleges and universities.
Number 3: Marinas
That makes sense. When the boats are in the water during the season, their storage locations might be available for RV parking.
Number 4: Shopping Malls
This was a new one for Sheree and me because you would think that something other than that would be allowed, but we noticed a couple of years ago that an RV was parked at a large shopping mall down in Destin, Florida. And we drove by it daily, and it was there every day. That’s what we do if we see an RV parked in an unusual spot; we wonder, “Are they there overnight? Did they get permission?” So, many viewers have commented that they do this as well. So overnight RV parking at shopping malls—that’s number four as a possible place to stay overnight.
Number 5: Hospitals
Yes, hospitals. It makes sense that if a family was visiting a patient, it would be an easy way to allow RVs to stay overnight when they’re visiting. Maybe you’re not visiting, so get clearance from the hospital or security.
Number 6: Convention Centers and Arenas
That kind of makes sense because they host big events, and they’ll need parking spaces for vendors or bands that come in to play for concerts. So let us know if you have used convention centers or arenas. That’s number six.
Number 7: Churches
Many viewers have said that they use this, and one of our viewers said they use it exclusively as they travel around the country. Churches have large parking lots that often open during the week, so that is number seven.
Number 8: Movie Theaters
Yes, there are big, large parking lots that, well, they probably clear out late after the last movie showing. But it would be kind of awesome to park your RV and check out a movie. We should try that. Actually, I need to talk to Sheree about that. But let us know if you’ve asked permission at a movie theater; go buy some tickets, enjoy the movie, and then hop in your RV for the night. It actually sounds kind of fun.
Number 9: Hotels with Large Parking Lots or a Field Right by Them for Truck Parking
Many big rigs don’t have a sleeper in the back, so truck drivers or construction workers with large equipment must spend the night in the hotel. Just ask, “Hey, can you park there overnight?” Some of these will be reserved for guests, like Sheree and me, who have encountered this before. We asked but were told no, so we had to find a different spot. But again, let us know if you have tried hotel parking.
Number 10: Race Tracks
There are lots of spaces near the hotel, and numbers nine and 10 are race tracks. This is a place you would do in between the races, but it is also another fun location to catch a race and then camp overnight or even longer if allowed.
Number 11: Public Libraries
Interesting, I am curious to know how popular public libraries are today. Their parking lots are more available, but that is number 11, as one of our viewers suggested.
Number 12: Police Stations or Fire Departments
Police stations? And actually, several viewers have told us they have done just that. But there’s a side benefit to this: you can go to a police station and ask them where you can park legally overnight in that town or community, and they can either tell you where you can go, or they will just let you park right there in their parking lot. Some people said, “Well, it’s going to be loud because there’s going to be people coming and going all night long,” and we had a retired sheriff say that no, it’s only noisy between shift changes. So, a police department was an unusual location. What do you think, and have you tried it?
Number 13: Kmart
Walmart was the first big-box store to allow overnight RV parking, even before Walmart. Some people might say, well, there aren’t any Kmarts left, but based on my research, there are currently 21 to 33 Kmarts still open. So, have you parked at a Kmart?
Number 14: Sam’s Clubs
I know Walmart owns Sam’s Clubs, but some RVers have stayed overnight at a Sam’s Club. We still have not, but that is number 14. Let us know if you’ve tried that one.
Number 15: Costco, Sears, and Other Big-Box Retailers
Yes, there are still 33 Sears locations left, and some of our viewers say they have stayed at some of these other locations as well.
Number 16: Bankrupt Stores
Yeah, it’s kind of related to Kmart, Sears, and a lot of these big retailers that have gone out of business lately. Now, they’ve got huge parking lots, you know, nobody’s there, and there is probably no security, and this has been one of our most suggested unusual places to park. The only thing I would be concerned about is security staying there. One thing about businesses still in business is that there are probably some lights and security.
Number 17: Warehouses or Large Stores, Shopping Malls Under Construction
On the flip side of that, number 17 is warehouses or big stores, shopping malls, etc., that are still under construction. So, the parking lots would be mostly empty because the stores haven’t opened yet, and there may not be anybody there to ask permission. So, again, this is a stay at your own risk. You might get that knock on the door at night. You don’t want that.
Number 18: Pharmacies Like CVS and Walgreens
We are almost to the ones that Sheree and I have personally done, but there is one more left that we have yet to try, and that’s number 18, which is pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. They have some good-sized parking lots, but they may be better suited for a vehicle, a van, or something like that. We would not attempt to bring our big RV in a parking lot like that, but that makes number 18.
Number 19: Food Lion or Other Grocery Stores
We did this a few years ago in our previous RV in Summerville, South Carolina. Food Lion Summerville is next to Charleston, a very large city, but I needed a spot to stay just a night or two to get the RV back from the factory for repairs. We asked management, and it was no problem. A couple of big trucks spent the night there as well. So number 19 is grocery stores like Food Lion, and that is something we have done.
Number 20: Fairgrounds and City Parks
Sheree and I just used this in Glendive, Montana. It was called the JC West Park, a beautiful spot. As I mentioned, we found it on the Dirt Pro app with beautiful trees and lots of grass, and nobody else was there. It was quiet and a great spot for zero dollars for the night. I should mention that some of these places also have hookups, and yes, they are even still free. That is number 20, that’s fairgrounds and county parks.
Number 21: Planet Fitness or Other Fitness Locations
Sheree and I were members of Planet Fitness a few years ago, and we stayed there during our 30-day challenge. We’ll link below to that old video series you have seen. If you want to check out our Planet Fitness and our Planet Docking experience, the cool thing about this, as some of you may know, is that the fitness facility has showers. So if you are doing much boondocking, traveling, not staying in regular campgrounds, and looking for a place to get cleaned up, Planet Fitness or other fitness facilities can be a great answer, and that is number 21.
Number 22: Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Other Large Hardware Stores
A few years ago, Sheree and I were looking for a spot with no regular locations we discussed staying at. There was a Lowe’s, and we did stay there as well. Many of our viewers are telling me that it’s hit and miss, that some of these places say no overnight parking. So you need to ask. It depends on the local management and, again, the city ordinances whether they allow that.
Number 23: Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Dick’s, and Other Big Sporting Goods Stores
Sheree and I stayed at one of these overnight in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota a few years ago. It was a Cabela’s, and we’re told that some of them have dump stations you can use for free or a fee. We can find these locations now on the Allstays app or website.
Hey friends, that’s all 23 secret and unusual places to park your RV overnight as you travel around the country. Again, let us know: Have you used any of these, or what did we leave out? What is the most creative and unusual place you have stayed at overnight? Please share them below so we can all learn about safe places to spend the night when we need a quick overnight stay.