![]() ![]() In the West, except near urban areas and famous tourist attractions, the best sites abound. In the East, camping parks are always crowded and sites are often unavailable. You could literally spend your life there.) Arizona, Arkansas, Texas are also favorites. The cost keeps increasing, but they’re often well worth it. Some State Park systems have annual permits. Some Points: Paid permits are often required. Do a web search for this government info. The important thing is to take the time to gather this material so you know where to go (or not go) and what to expect when you get there. Current addresses for obtaining such info appear constantly (with frequent changes) in all RV publications. ![]() Long Term Independent Parking: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forests, Corps of Engineers, State Parks, etc., information is available in great quantity from any number of sources and I’m not going to repeat all that here. Any place off the road that’s littered with lots of beer bottles (unless you like to visit with drunken high-school kids and weirdos). Church lots used to be OK but now, often have activities at all hours. Places to avoid: Downtown and many other areas that are fine by day can come alive with druggies and thugs after dark. Tip: When asking ranger, have binoculars and camera, notebook, and all that other “birder” stuff on you and mention how you want to see the “flaming boobie hatch” or similar real bird’s name at sunrise. Out west, especially, check out Federal and State “Wild Life Refuges” (as opposed to “Wilderness Areas” where you can’t take vehicles anyway).Make sure you don’t block access to farm fields (and have to move out of the way of migrant worker convoys at 4 AM). Out west, where roads go off to nowhere, you can find nice byways.Some tourist attractions (museums, etc.,) are OK but read the signs about day use only and such.Tip: Don’t park in RV sites at casinos until you first go inside and check on the need for a “coupon” or similar that allows cheap or free use of the RV sites. Gambling casinos are almost always OK.Do NOT, though, set up camp for over two weeks (as some chintzy campers have done). Wal-Mart intends that you park overnight only, but is a little more generous - up to a point. Wal-Mart is a preferred parking place for many RVers.City/County parks can be great! Be leery of parks that close at dark (if they can’t keep the loonies out, you don’t want to be there). Some boat ramps allow parking (but don’t hog the whole lot). Some motels are OK (not big ones with security force and not dinky mom ‘n pops).Camping World and similar lots can be OK (they’ll assume you’re waiting for an early appointment).RoVer asks how about all the other RVs parked there. Always be discreet! (There’s an old RV story about “permission.” RoVer asks the security guard at the mall if it’s OK to park overnight. In the big ones, just blend in with the crowd. Truck stops, malls, restaurants, etc., can be OK. If you don’t act like riff-raff or a homeless person, you won’t be treated like one. Restrictions are mainly to keep drug dealers, prostitutes, and local riff-raff from setting up shop, homeless people from setting up camp, etc. All say they’ve better things to do than roust RoVers unless there’s something else wrong. I’ve never seen it enforced if RoVers are discreet. Some states encourage overnights and even have special areas set aside for RVs. When just going from point A to B and not playing tourist, Rest Areas can be fine (it helps if you’re partially deaf). Sometimes you need to be sneaky, sometimes not. No awnings, lawn chairs, and such in rest areas and malls. This means, when overnighting, you blend in and don’t call attention to yourself. This is Rule #1 to successful boondocking no matter where you do it. In general, the secret is to do it with Discretion. Long-term independent parking is another. Overnight stops or a few days at a rally are one thing. There’s boondocking and then there’s boondocking. Being prepared to live independently is what it’s all about, then you’re free to do what you want to do. It means that you are prepared to dry camp but, make use of amenities when they’re available. Independent Parking is the preferred term. Dry Camping (parking anywhere without or with limited amenities) is more accurate. Boondocking is not really a good term but has somehow come into common use.
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