Finding parking

Finding a place to park is a daily task for nomads. Without a sticks and bricks residence, you are dependent on the available public and private parking options in the area. However, vehicles large enough to live in are too large for some of the available places due to length or height restrictions. Also, overnight parking is restricted in many places.

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.

If you are asked to move

If you get "The Knock" (which is very rare if you're doing vanlife right) and are asked to move:

1. Apologize - "Sorry, I didn't realize I couldn't park here."
2. Let them know you are moving - "I'll pack my things up and be on my way within a few minutes."
3. Leave - Move out of the area to another location.

  Read how to avoid The Knock …

Apps and sites

These apps and web sites 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 Note that this data is generally crowdsourced and may be inaccurate or outdated.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.

• AllStays
• Arvee
• Boondockers Welcome
• Campendium
• CamperMate
• Camp‘n‘Connect
• FreeCampSites.net
• Gaia GPS
• Harvest Hosts
• Hipcamp
• IExit
• IOverlander
• Nomad Park
• Parceled
• Roadlifer
• Sēkr
• The Dyrt
• Vanly
• Workamper

• On the individual United States pages, there are links to State-specific resources.

Parking regulations

Parking regulations have a big impact on nomadic living, and finding parking is always subject to national and local rules, laws, and ordinances. Some localities, lawfully or otherwise, restrict the activities which are part of life in a vehicle, especially for parking on streets and other public properties. This is especially important for stealth camping, since you may not be noticed by most people but will be noticed by the police and by any property owners who have had parking problems. Note that it may be allowed to park your vehicle in a certain location, but it may not be allowed to sleep in your vehicle in that same location.  Continue reading …

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") allow overnight parking; check signage and local laws.

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:

Parking in populated areas

• 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.

Parking in unpopulated areas

Parking in the California desert.

• In desert areas, avoid camping in or beyond desert washes. The water can rise suddenly in your camp, or block egress from the camp. 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.
• 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!

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.
• When parked, leave the driver seat empty so that you can get in it without delay.
• Put your keys where you can find them easily and always in the same place.
• 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.

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 vanlife …

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

Resources

	Resource	Description
	Safe Drives	A women-only private Facebook group offering safe park up options for female travellers and their companions on the road.
	SpotAngels	Easily find paid and free parking options in major cities
	USFS Interactive Visitor Map	Online map from the US Forest Service to explore all USFS properties and roads, create geo-enabled PDFs, and see warnings and fire activity.
	Parking forum	A sub-forum of VanLivingForum.com
	Search forums and groups	Search van life discussion groups for "finding parking"
	Search related sites	Search van life sites for "finding parking"
	Search NomadLife.wiki	Search other pages on this wiki for "finding parking"