Finding a place to park and sleep is a near-daily task for nomads. Without a sticks and bricks residence, you are dependent on the available public and private parking options in the area. Fortunately, there are numerous apps and resources that can help you find a spot, and over time you'll develop the ability to quickly find safe spots on your own.
Where you can sleep legally depends on local parking restrictions, and where you can stay overnight without being asked to move along depends on the appearance of your vehicle and other factors.
Avoiding The Knock
If you park in a spot where you're not wanted or not allowed, you risk getting "The Knock", which refers to a knock on your vehicle window by the police, property owner, or someone else asking or requiring you to leave. There are millions of spots where you're perfectly welcome to park your vehicle where you are not also welcome to sleep in your vehicle. Fortunately, The Knock is fairly rare once you learn to find spots that work; many nomads report going years without a single knock. Or, you can avoid them completely by paying for a camp site. Learn what to do if you get a knock, plus how to avoid getting them.
Apps and sites
There are a few dozen apps and web sites that can help you find a good place to park (called "parkups" or "parksites" in some regions). Note that this data is generally crowdsourced and may be inaccurate or outdated. Also, parking spots added to these services may get too many visitors, which can cause issues like environmental damage and annoying the locals.
- Van life apps
- Apps for finding parking
- Apps for finding campgrounds
- On the individual United States pages, there are links to State-specific resources.
- When you find good spots, mark them in your navigation app as a saved location. Some people publicly share their lists at SavedLists.com
Parking regulations
Public parking
- Boondocking on public lands is generally free, subject to restrictions.
- In the United States rules for parking at rest areas vary. See individual States pages for links to parking rules.
- Public campgrounds
- Safe parking lots - designated lots in some cities where overnight camping is allowed.
- Some commuter parking lots ("park n ride") and some boat launches ("public water access") and marinas allow overnight parking; check signage and local laws.
- In most places, parks close at dusk or dark and should not be used for night parking.
- In the U.S., military campgrounds may be available for veterans and active-duty service members, subject to restrictions. Some states also allow public employees to use the campgrounds.
Private parking
- Private campgrounds / RV parks
- Free parking in business lots
- Parking garages
- House sitting - as a temporary caretaker, you'll watch someone's house and pets while they're away and can park where they normally do.
- Renting a parking space
Stealth
In the context of nomadic living, stealth is the ability to pass for an unoccupied, non-residential vehicle when needed, so that you can find a place to park and sleep in it with no one knowing. It's also known as stealth camping, urban camping, stealthing, and stealth parking.Continue reading …Where not to park
Sometimes when finding parking, knowing where not to park is half the battle! When looking for a place to sleep for the night, be sure to avoid places where you will be in someone's way, or where you will arouse suspicion. Avoid these parking locations :Continue reading …Safety while parking
Ensuring your safety and security is important when finding a place to park:
- When finding a place to park, choose smaller urban communities: lower crime rates and more upscale neighborhoods.
- Park under street lights (this can also help with stealth since light escaping from inside your vehicle will be less visible).
- Avoid neighborhoods where there are bars on the windows or other signs of crime.
- When parking on the street, park ahead of other parked vehicles. This will limit injury to you and damage to your vehicle in case a driver crashes into parked vehicles, since they'll hit other vehicles first. If your bed is oriented side-to-side, sleep with your head on the curb side to limit injury from vehicles hitting your parked vehicle.
- Keep all valuables out of sight to reduce the chance of a smash-and-grab break-in.
Parking in unpopulated areas
- In desert areas, avoid camping in or beyond desert washes. The water can rise suddenly in your camp, or block egress from the camp.[1] Carry extra food and water in case water or mud makes it impossible to get back to town. It will dry out in a day or two.[2]
- Avoid camping in low areas where runoff might collect from higher ground, or near streams and rivers which may flood.
- If you are parking in an area where hunting is allowed, know when the hunting seasons begin and end. Any time you are away from your vehicle during the hunting season in these locations, wear a "hunter orange" jacket or shirt so you can be seen by hunters. If you have dogs, get them an orange vest too![3]
Be ready to leave
- Choose a vehicle with passthrough, so you can drive away without exiting your vehicle.
- Park in such a way that you can pull out without backing.
- Park where it is difficult to block you in.
- Be aware of multiple exit routes if your primary exit is blocked.[4]
- When parked, leave the driver seat empty so that you can get in it without delay.[5]
- Put your keys where you can find them easily and always in the same place.[6]
- If you get The Knock and are asked to move, move right away.
- When camping or boondocking, be ready to break camp at a moment's notice if needed. This means deploying nothing that requires work before leaving: awnings, lawn chairs, grills, tilted or portable panels. Or at least being willing to abandon items that do not prevent your departure.
- Be careful about alcohol and drug use in your vehicle if you're parked anywhere you might be asked to leave and you're the only driver. Police aren't likely to ask you to move along if they can tell that you aren't safe to drive.
- Have a backup or "plan B" parking location in mind, so you can quickly get back to sleep.
Staying in one place
Staying in one place for a long period is sometimes a necessity when you live in a vehicle, but it's not nearly as easy as it sounds. Doing so for free is even more difficult. Family or friends may be willing to let you park on their property, but this type of arrangement is hard to find and is often illegal. Many countries, states, and local governments have laws and ordinances against temporarily or permanently living in your vehicle, even on your own property.More …Snow
When finding parking during the winter, you have to take extra care not to park where snow plows may need to go to clear snow. At a minimum they will disturb your sleep, but you may be asked to move or towed if you are in their way.
If you will be idling your vehicle for any length of time (not recommended), ensure that your exhaust pipe is not blocked by snow.
If you have a low clearance vehicle and are in a city, you may wish to pay for a spot in a parking garage. This way you can avoid the snow while parked.
Learn more about snow and vanlifeChanges over time
A good parking spot does not always remain good, and a bad parking spot does not always remain bad. Negative changes to a specific place to park might include:
- Too many nomads, or troublesome nomads leaving garbage behind or otherwise causing problems, which result in parking restrictions
- Population changes - more "karens" or grandmothers watching the neighborhood for outsiders
- Policing changes - more police observation
- Crime or nightlife changes - more activity after dark
- Zoning or land use changes
- As a result of the above, changes to parking regulations
Vehicle choice
Your vehicle choice does affect what parking options are available to you. In the U.S., standard parking spaces are 18 feet long and 8½ to 9 feet wide. Keep this in mind when choosing a van or other vehicle, since parking difficulty generally increases with vehicle size, and vehicle appearance has some effect on where you'll be able to park.
Campground networks for nomads
The networks are focused on van life community:
- Van Life Campgrounds - A growing network of community owned and oriented campgrounds just for nomads on wheels
- Wanderlust Waypoints - A network of build stops to work on your rig
Terminology
In some places, finding a free campsite is known as "parking up".
