Free and inexpensive places to stay with your RV in the U.S. and Canada!

Updated weekly

When it comes to free places to stay a night in an RV, Walmart is the best bet. We estimate that about 65 percent of all its stores in the USA allow stays in self-contained RVs.

Other businesses that allow free overnight stays include Flying J Travel Centers, Cabela’s, Cracker Barrel restaurants (official policy is overnight stays are NOT permitted although most stores allow the practice), Costco and Kmart. Many RVers routinely stay in shopping center or factory outlet parking lots. Many casinos allow or even encourage overnight stays in RVs.

Recent reports of free and inexpensive places to stay with an RV:

From OvernightRVParking.com

Blue Water Casino, Parker, AZ
FREE! Overnight parking is allowed and permission is not required. Follow signage to RV parking lot areas; do not park in dirt area. Few level spots in lot, so some RVers park off casino property, in level gravel area at jct of Bluewater Dr and SR 95. Several restaurants on site. Maximum stay: 2 nights. Click here for details. 

Mankato City Park, Mankato, KS
FREE! Overnight parking is allowed along west side of McRoberts St. Parking is on grass, with no marked spaces; there are numerous 15A E outlets on power poles. There is a picnic shelter and potable water near shelter. Restrooms, but no showers. Playground. Residences nearby, so please be courteous with generator use. Open all year; no reservations. No registration process. Maximum stay: 3 nights. In exchange for providing free parking, city asks that you patronize local businesses. Click here for details.

Overnight RV Parking, with more than 14,000 locations listed, is the largest and best resource for locating free and inexpensive places to spend a night in an RV. For membership information and a demo of the site, click here. A modest membership fee required, but try the free demo. Watch a video about OvernightRVparking.com.

From our Facebook group, Free Campgrounds:

“If you want a place to park overnight without hookups, the Louisiana welcome center in the middle of the swamp before you get to Baton Rouge will let you. It’s a great place. RVS ON ONE side of the freeway and trucks on other side of freeway. 24 hr security and nice concrete parking spots.” — Albert Wax.
Jim O’Briant from OvernightRVparking.com commented, “The Louisiana Welcome Center mentioned above is the “Atchafalaya Rest Areas and Welcome Center” in Butte La Rose, LA. It’s often used by RVers for an overnight stay.

Please join our Facebook group and share your favorite free camping spots or submit free or inexpensive campground information to us here. Thanks!

See last week’s free (or almost free) locations here.

Resources
• Walmart Directory: Best printed directory of Walmart locations
• Guide to Free Campgrounds: Best-selling directory, year after year.
• Overnight RV Parking: More than 14,000 location listings. Inexpensive membership required.
• Harvest Hosts: Members can stay free overnight at farms & wineries.

AFFILIATE OFFER: Save 10% on campground fees when you join the Good Sam Club!

Helpful videos
• Video: Where to camp for free in an RV.
• Video: How to camp in an RV at Walmart for free.
• Video: Best source of free and inexpensive RV camping.
• Video: Which “Big Box” stores allow free RV camping?
• Video: RV camping for less than $1 a day. Stay months.
• Video: Okay to stay overnight at truck stops?
• Video: Camping at Elk Lodges. An amazing bargain.

Walmart Free RV Parking
• Walmart’s official policy about overnight stays in RVs.
• The ABCs of “camping” at Walmart.
• Guidelines for overnighting in an RV at Walmart.

Good Reading
• RV park owners say “Walmart campers are cheapskates.”
• The appeal of boondocking in the desert.
• Articles and information from RVtravel.com about boondocking.
• Six safety tips for overnight RV stays at casinos.
• Free camping at wildlife refuges.
• Why overnight RV parking at truck stops is a bad idea
• Try winter boondocking at LTVAs in AZ and CA deserts.