Where to Park Overnight When Sleeping in Your Car

This was one of my biggest concerns before embarking on my fantastical and luxurious journey where I’d be sleeping in the back of my Hyundai Accent. What sort of five star accommodations would I be able to park in without any wierdos fondling my car, my home? My main worry while living out of my car, and rightfully so, is the cops. Let’s be honest, they seem to make most situations worse. Unless I need to call upon them because someone just robbed me at gunpoint, I prefer to leave them out of it; always. It’s technically against the law to park and sleep inside your car in some locations so that is a little worrisome. Common sense tells you that it’s unlikely to be arrested for camping out in your car. I mean, you could just make up a story about how you were driving somewhere and pulled over for a few hours to get some rest because you were about sleep behind the wheel.

Either way, it’s in your best interests to not attract the attention of law enforcement or to stand out in any way. As a person who lives inside of your car, you will be looked down upon by a nice chunk of law enforcement; you’re only on small level above the homeless in their eyes. These words are just from my experience so far, I’m not trying to bash on the police just for the sake of it. Then there’s some car dwellers who couldn’t care less about stealth and nestle themselves into the center of a Walmart parking lot with 3 tarps and 5 random things sticking out of their windows.

The point is, we want a good place to sleep at night so that we can feel as safe and secure as possible. Especially if you’re a woman, you’ll probably want to feel as secure as we can be under the circumstances. No matter what, there will be some risk involved, urban car living is entirely 10 times less safe than being inside four walls and under a roof. I’ve tried out many different varieties of spots and some are definitely better than others.

The spot that I prefer the most is the kind that is outside of town. Drive far enough to where you leave the town and then find somewhere to park where there are very little people. I’m honestly not sure why more people don’t do this, could be because their situation doesn’t really allow for them to do that. For example, you head out of town using the main road and then there is a gravel road that turns off of it heading into the woods. And even after you’re on that road, see if there’s another small road that turns off of that. This is the ideal spot for me because I’d rather there not be people in the first place. And even if there are a couple people who see my car, the chances are hopefully low they’ll stop. This sleeping spot is also less likely to deal with law enforcement, compared to a parking lot. The only downside that I experienced while sleeping out in the boonies was that sometimes you have to drive ten miles to reach your spot, which is an extra couple bucks in gas money; worth it for peace of mind in my opinion. Another example of this spot could be a gravel turn-off of the highway, not like a major freeway where you might get flattened by a semi in your sleep, but one in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully you understand what I mean.

The second best place to car camp in my experience are rest areas; especially ones with two sides. By two sides, I mean a rest stop for each direction of the freeway. That way you can swap rest areas every night without having to travel far; and help yourself remain unnoticed for longer periods of time. You will be recognized after a certain number of times staying at rest stops, but that is usually not a problem as long as you stay respectful and don’t leave trash everywhere. I’ve never been kicked out of a rest area or even talked to funny. I’ve stayed at the same rest area for two nights in a row but never three. At this point, I’ve probably stayed at fifty different rest stops and they’re great because of the vending machines, sense of security, and bathrooms. I’m sure I could have stayed for a week at one of them if needed. It probably helps that I don’t just stay there all day and I only come back during nighttime when it’s time to sleep. Rest areas are perfect for me because I’m always traveling, being a nomadic car camper and all. If you aren’t near any rest areas along the freeway or don’t travel then this spot might not work for you.

My next spot would be large parking lots. It is much preferred if the business is open 24/7 and has a medium amount of cars parked there overnight. If there’s too many, you will have people parking next to you and leaving repeatedly which makes you more likely to be noticed. If there’s too little people, you stick out too much and someone might check on you. Not all parking lots are created equal when it comes to urban car living. I’ve never had any trouble at the dozen or so Walmart parking lots that I’ve slept in but you might get unlucky and come into contact with a “Karen” manager. A lot of car campers recommend staying overnight at Planet Fitness parking lots because they’re open all night and are kind of our safe-haven as people who live out of their car. Funnily enough, the only time that I’ve ever received the “dreaded knock” on this adventure was when I was trying to sleep at a Planet Fitness! The cop wasn’t bad, he told me that I “can’t be doing this here and have to go to the Walmart across the street”; so I went over there and had a deep sleep. Other good options for parking lots to sleep in include: Cracker Barrel, truck stops, McDonald’s, the movie theater, grocery stores, hospitals, and churches.

The last place that I recommend for sleeping in your car overnight is BLM land. BLM land consists of about 1/8th of the entire country’s land mass. You can legally stay on any BLM managed land for something like two weeks. It’s usually located pretty far-off the beaten path but if you can find a good BLM site near you then you can stay there without any worries of waking up to a Macy’s manager angrily peeking through your window shades. You can checkout a map for help locating some BLM land on their website.

Your greatest asset in this lifestyle is your common sense, if you have some of that, you shouldn’t have much to worry about. I can guarantee you that small annoying things will happen to you here and there, but you can make it so that you can keep anything major from happening to you. It’s not hard to stay out of jail if you are always cautious and don’t push your luck. Hopefully you find a stealthy parking spot for the night and get all cozy underneath the covers with some Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone playing on your tablet. Stay rich out there fellow dwellers, peace.

-cross