Our reader surveys through the years have revealed that many of our readers spend at least an occasional night in a Walmart parking lot in their RVs. Some do it to save money. For others, it’s mostly for convenience.
And now, because of a lawsuit, the question is being asked is it possible the practice could be banned?
In 2020, more than 3,744 of our readers reported on how often they stay in a Walmart parking lot. About 13 percent did so at least once a month. Another 31 percent stayed “very rarely.” Others reported they never stayed in a Walmart parking lot.
We know, though, that on any given night in America, thousands, if not tens of thousands of RVers, spend a night in a Walmart parking lot in their RVs. Others hole up in other accommodating parking lots — Cabela’s, Cracker Barrel restaurants, Sam’s Club, Costco and many other retailers with large parking areas.
How about you? If Walmart and similar stores should post “no overnight” parking signs, would it matter to you? Or would it make no difference in your RVing? That’s our question.
Please leave a comment. We may want to quote you in a follow-up article.
I have never overnighted at Walmart. I have stayed one night at a Flying J.
Same here. Only after driving 12 hours and not able to go any further. One time in 20 plus years of RVing.
I’d like to know the age of the children. Leaving young children sleeping in a car anywhere is a recipe for disaster.
Yes and where was the van parked and why did she park next to it? Most people using Walmart for an overnight parking are parked well away from the store on the outskirts of the lot.
From what I read elsewhere in newspaper reports, the van occupants cooked breakfast on the stove outside in another part of the lot, then put the hot stove inside on or near some bedding and moved closer to the store and parked next to the car. This is why the plaintiff is making the charge of Walmart not monitoring.
I’m not saying I think Walmart can watch every act in a parking lot or know some fool put a hot stove on combustibles, just stating what I read happened.
Not Walmarts problem
I agree.
From what I have read elsewhere, 6 & 9.
Tragically they were 6 and 9 years old. The 6 y. o. died at the scene and the 9 y.o. will be disfigured for life. In my opinion, the mother should have been charged with neglect. And Walmart has NO control over her actions, just as they had no control of the guy who started the fire by putting a hot stove under blankets and pillows.
We stay at campgrounds with hookups.
One night at a Kmart in Jackson, WY, some ignorant sole just dumped his tank and waste flowed across the asphalt and down the drain, but left about 30 feet of offensive affluent then left. No more overnighting allowed.
Sad how some are. Too bad the law did not get him. They should truly clamp down on all law breakers. Have laws change to be much stricter on any violators. It would be nice if somehow people like this should be heavily fined and have their rig taken from them. Sad as it ruins it for us good people.
I have not overnighted at a Walmart since I became a Harvest Host member years ago. I was never comfortable staying there.
I do believe the mother is somewhat at fault for leaving children unattended in a vehicle, at 0600, well away from the main door. There is a lot more to this story. That said, I don’t think overnighting at a Wally World is a good idea anyway.
It’s free parking and you’re going to sue? Most of the Walmart’s already stopped the overnight parking. Mainly because of the trash campers leave behind! Another example of our litigious society.
Correction!!!! Most of the Walmarts have NOT stopped allowing overnite parking. Yes, there are fewer stores allowing it in recent years, but the majority of Walmarts still allow overnighting. We’ve travelled fulltime around the country (200K mikes) over the last 12 years & are noticing only a moderate increase in the stores that don’t allow overnighting. We’ve stayed in Walmarts about 40-50 times in the last 3 years alone. We only had 2 or 3 nights that we got turned away. We use the Walmart data in our Rand McNally gps that tells us if the store allows overnighting, but we also call ahead or check when we stop there to verify. There are definitely more stores in the Western US than the Eastern US that allow overnighting.
While traveling it’s nice to be able to pull into a Walmart in the night if only for a few hours of sleep. Wake in the morning pick up some needed supplies and hit the road again. Or even stop in the middle of the day for a few hours rest from heavy traffic.
We’ve stayed many times in Walmart lots when travelling across country, in the last 12 years of our fulltime travels. If Walmart chooses to ban overnighting, we will no longer have an incentive to shop at Walmart, which has been our main “go to” store for the last 12 years. We would do our shopping at whatever grocery store was convenient, & then look for other free places to park overnight as we’re passing thru an area. In our case, it would cause us some inconvenience, but in the past, we have stayed many times in other empty lots of closed or abandoned businesses. Walmart was just the handiest, because we could always run in & purchase a few things that we would otherwise have to make a separate stop for, in the next day or so.
Pay for your camping or get rid of it.
Obviously you’re not a RVer. There are times when campsites aren’t available and a Walmart or other box stores are convenient.
Thank you, Ron,for telling us how to live. If it wasn’t for people like you in congress, we might still have to make decisions on our own. I’m glad you know how I should live my life better than I do.
You go Tom B… I agree…..earlier comment was homeless people are the best…..the are just people like u and me and not the best…very few are trying to change their life….I’ve dealt with them and it can be a challenge with most…..as far as suing WalMart is wrong…the only reason is because they have deep pockets….why did the people park next to the camper in the first place….Why were the people shopping ( the people suing ) at WalMart in the first place….one could go on but a lawyer is involved yet again to GET JUSTIFICATION in their mind….and MONEY…enough said
Woman did not park next to camper. The camper parked next to the woman. After camping in another section of the lot the camper wanted to do some shopping so moved closer the the store.
In a hurried trip from Ohio to Montana a couple of years ago we stopped every other night at Walmart. We found that most of the Walmarts filled up quickly with campers and tractor-trailers in the early evening and had to make sure we arrived before 5 pm to get a good spot that would allow us to exit in the morning without unhooking the toad or being blocked in by another vehicle. One morning before leaving Walmart we counted 37 campers in the lot. I would miss the opportunity to overnight at Walmart if for some reason if I absolutely had to. Due to the crowding and no assurance of getting a spot to park I plan all of my trips well in advance to be assured of having someplace to stay overnight. I’m sure the trucking industry would like overnight parking at Walmart to continue as well. Sadly, it was the mother’s own negligence that caused this tragic situation and deserves no compensation except for prayers. She needs to take responsibility for her actions and not blame Walmart.
Cabelas in Mitchell, SD already closed its lot to overnight parking. That was a popular stop for overnighters along I90. While we are not generally parking lot campers, we stayed in the Mitchell Cabelas numerous times on our way to the Black Hills. Last October we stopped and the lot was empty. Then we saw the No Overnight Parking signs.
I believe Walmart should stop over night parking at all stores.
More and more homeless are living in their lots and let’s face it they are the best people.
That’s one reason for the last 3 yrs I do the “pickup” my order and very rarely do I do that, I shop other local stores when possible.
I know there are many who most likely not comment like I never do but I will on this. It is extremely hard to find a campground that has pull throughs that accept 70 foot long rigs on quite a few routes from point a to point b in your travels. It is always nice to be able to pull off a highway or interstate when your getting tired of driving and also need a few items at a store. Very convenient to just find a Walmart, spend some money there and just do a sleepover and start the next days journey. Also great to find a Cracker Barrel and have a good breakfast then continue your journey. Hats off thanking all of the businesses that allow an overnight rest/sleep time. Safer than driving sleepy for sure.
guess you should have purchased a more modest rig
Walmart parking lot is NOT a campground and should NOT allow overnight parking. If you can afford a camper, quit being a tight a%s
That is really not the point of being a tight butt. Travelling 1350 miles in a total of 3 days, possibly 4 days being 70 feet long there are not many camping facilities to accommodate that. Plus not many in all places on our route. We cherish the big box big parking lots as a way to rest/get some shut eye. We also love conveniences going shopping or eating with one stop supporting the businesses.
It would definitely affect our travels. We always make one-night stops in a parking lots (with permission of course) on our longer journeys. it definitely helps our travel budget and provides easy shopping opportunities.
While this don’t affect me. You never know when in the future I may need a place like Walmart to camp overnight in the future. The lady shouldn’t have let her children alone in the parking lot sleeping. There’s many more things that happen in parking lot that store can’t be responsible for. The trouble is there are to many wack jobs in the world today that hurt the law abiding citizens.
Never have and never will.
We rarely stay overnight at a Walmart, but it comforting to have that option in case we need to for some unknown reason.
Crazy world when you are being sued for being generous to people in need.
Very sad for what we collective have become.
I wish some of the big players in the RV industry would get behind and help defend cases like this. (What say you Marcus?) Seems to me that you might have helpful resources in circumstances such as this, and you just might make some much needed positive headlines to earn some respect with the rv community.
Big players? To defend WalMart?
Why would any mother would leave two young girls, 6 year old and 9 year old, alone in a parked car sleeping? Walmart is just deep pockets ripe for a lawsuit. We have, on rare occasions, stayed at Walmart, Cracker Barrel or Cabela’s for a quick overnight, especially on very long trips. It will be a shame to not have that available.
We travel out of Florida a couple of months during the heat of Florida’s summer. This summer that will be around 6,500 miles. As we prefer to drive only about 200-250 miles per day, it takes several days to get to our next major stop. Therefore, we stay at Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Lowe’s, Bass Pro Shops, etc. in between. It would certainly affect our budget if we had to pay additional $100’s to make our trips, particularly with the increased price of gas. And, with full campgrounds, the planning would be far more complicated. We hope things remain as they are.
Try Harvest Host!
News flash, the campgrounds are not full
Very sorry to hear about this tragedy, but why were two children left alone and sleeping in a parking lot? We don’t often use retail store parking lots for overnighting since we’re still employed full time and don’t travel as much as we’d like. It would be nice to have the option to stop for a quick layover if necessary.
A lot of time I am travelling from point A to point B. Sometimes I don’t have the luxury of taking a week to get there, and I only want to stop to grab a quick something to eat and drink. I am not “CAMPING” at Wal-Mart, but just stopping enough to refresh and continue my travel. I understand that it is a privilege to stop and spend the night, and act as a GUEST and not as an entitled Karen. Taking away the ability to stop at Wal-Mart is just one less option in my travels. I would be sorry to see it go, but understand and respect the need for it.
We have never parked overnight and rarely shop there so it would not affect us. I know if I lived near by I would like to see it discontinued.
Totally agree. It just doesn’t seem right that people can purchase an rv for hundreds, maybe thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars but can’t afford to spend a few bucks to park overnight in an rv park or campground. Planning your trip in advance can insure the you’ll always have a place to spend the night.
It’s not always a matter of money. We travel south from Canada and the RV parks in the northern states are closed for the season. Having a safe place to sleep is important. We spend money at Walmart because they are nice enough to let us get off the road.
Ron, Do you buy lunch and leave it on the counter? Or buy fuel to pump on the ground? We travel in a self contained small Class A. It makes no sense for us to pay 40~70$us a night just to sleep and not use any of the other things we don’t need or want.
Well Ron can call me a tight a$$ all he likes, but I for one will never forget back in our car-camp days (a Vega hatchback with a single layer nylon wall) of the time before owning a coach, when we were very tired and pulled off the highway to try to find a promised KOA($). It was already late and we were tired and still had to find our way about 10 miles through the hinterlands to the RV crampground. We pulled into our assigned place and set up. When we were really ready to sleep, we found that we were next to a serious grade. All night long, trucks were either powering up that grade or Jake-Braking down it. That is an old memory that will stay with us.
I sometimes just need a place to sleep a few hours and move on. Was that woman staying all night also? Why park next to the guy or why not move? Why leave children alone in a car? It makes me nervous to leave my dog alone in a car, so I don’t, due to dog thievery.
Once I parked at one to sleep until 11:30 p.m. and moved on to another spot. So I was not there “overnight”. Other people were there for overnight, even though signs said no. And I did shop there. I parked far away from the store and other vehicles.
If I had a $200,000 motorhome, I could surely afford a campground.
I wish there were places a person could stop just for sleep, where one could use a restroom. Spending $35 in a campground for six or eight hours seems like too much. Most rest stops are along freeways, and I don’t travel much on freeways, plus rest stops are usually full.
From what I read at another source the woman had dropped relatives off at airport then stopped at Walmart to do shopping. Kids were sleeping so she did not want to wake them while she went in to shop. Camper (actually a Dodge Caravan) was camped in another area of the parking lot and after breakfast loaded a hot ‘stove’ near some bedding in his vehicle then parked closer to the store, next to the woman’s vehicle, to also do some shopping.
We’ve overnighted in a Walmart parking lot exactly once in all of our years RV’ing, about 15 years ago, and it was the most unpleasant overnight of our RV’ing “career”. It was a “last resort” thing, after dark, in an area we didn’t know. I’m sure the security guard in his truck thought he was helping out by driving around our RV every 15 minutes with the yellow light atop the truck flashing in all of our windows, or maybe he was trying to drive us away, but I got very little sleep with the noise and bright flashing lights. After it got light and I could see, I got out the maps and found a little road out of town into a wooded national forest area where I could take a nap in peace and quiet, and we eventually went on our way. Lesson learned! No more “Walmart” overnights for us.
Leaving a 6 year old and 9 year old alone and asleep in a car while Mom goes shopping is unthinkable. I will never be able to understand why anyone would leave children in a car while they shop. To me, that is child endangerment, and now Mom wants Walmart to pay for a tragedy that is ultimately her fault. I frequently stay at Camp Walmart, and really appreciate their policy that lets us stay, and hope this tragic event will not change their policy.
I agree if those children had been abducted who would she have sued!
Absolutely. She was very negligent in leaving her children alone in the car. Hopefully, the courts see that and absolve Walmart.
I have never had to stay at a Walmart or similar store yet but was planning to once we started traveling full time. I wasn’t going to make it a steady diet but just occasionally as needed for just a night.
I know there are some full timers that this is a must but I feel a CG, COE, BLM or state/national forests/parks would be much safer…
This is just my opinion whether right or wrong in others eyes!!!
No never stayed in a parking lot that’s what Harvest Host is for! There is also free camping in a lot of city parks and some have free hookups!
Harvest host are more expensive than regular campsites, by the time you buy or eat what ever the host offers.
I normally use our 5th wheel unit for employment. I may be on site up to 3 months. Money saved in rent for rv spot compared to motel room pays for unit quickly. If needed I stop in a rest area or tourist information centre with permission.
We’ve had some very pleasant experiences at Cabelas, Bass Pro, and Cracker Barrel. Would be a shame if a few of us ruined the experience for the majority of us.
There are WAY too many other choices to stay at Big Box stores for one overnight that it won’t affect our travel plans for one nano-second. Walmart’s just happen to be plentiful and usually very conveniently located. If they ban RV overnight parking, they will lose all of the revenue they would normally receive when we shop at their stores while parked there.
I normally “overnight” at a Walmart or other “friendly” business ONLY when going from point A to point B is more than a one day drive. When I do have to avail the hospitality of a business, I ALWAYS spend money there. Cracker Barrel locations are a favorite as I can usually arrive just after 9PM and have dinner. The next morning, a Cracker Barrel breakfast is a great way to start the day. It IS hard to resist the “Old Time” candy selections found at Cracker Barrels. 😉
There has been only ONE time where I was NOT allowed to overnight at a Walmart (outside of Denver, CO). I left without spending a dime but, did stock up at another Walmart 5 miles down the road.
I DO find it annoying when RVers abuse the courtesy that many Walmart locations extend to RVers and “set up” camp (and stay for extended periods). These are the ones who will cause Walmart to stop extending courtesy overnight RV parking.
To date we have never had to stay overnight in a parking lot. What we do like is that. places like Walmart have allowed the practice. Having the ability to stop overnight at select retailers, does give peace of mind, should we ever run into a problem while traveling.
Do hope the wrongful death law suit in (currently) Federal court gets thrown out. Suing Walmart for the negligent fire, caused by a van camper is unwarranted, IMHO.
back in our early days of RVing (1986-1990) we would often overnight at Wally, Flying J and other truck stops. in those days we had limited vacation time so 12-14-hr on-the-road days were not uncommon. we always…always…asked permission first and if turned down (rarely happened) we left and went elsewhere.
We always stop at Walmart on our way to a National or state park. Never stopped without buying a $100 worth of food and supplies. We don’t really like resort type campgrounds. Their efforts to stop over nights is counter to free enterprise. The people that OVER stay their welcome is wrong and should be dealt with. A two night max and leave it clean.
Though it would not affect us directly, it would likely reduce available spots in campgrounds since the parking lot boondockers would have to find other options.
Driving too long in a very heavy vehicle with out rest is wrong.
A rest stop should not be listed as camping.
Things are purchased at stores with large parking lots extra time spent for safety sake.
Would be dangerous to force tired drivers to exit.
We take 2-4 week long trips, and seldom make reservations unless we are planning to spend a few days in a popular location. We live out west and use BLM and FS options, but Walmart is often part of our back plan. What we save on passing-through overnights goes towards fuel costs. It wouldn’t stop us, but we would really miss the convenience.
It probably won’t force Wally World to stop all overnight stays, but it will make them police it more closely – and I guarantee the NIMBY people will use this when they try to push ‘no overnight’ laws at their city/county councils (we see that a LOT here on the west coast).
When we take road trips we stay at WM’s every few nights. Driving over 600 miles in a day from outside Seattle, we spend the first night around Twin Falls, ID, then the next night at Nellis AFB (Vegas/PHX trips) or at a rest area/WM in Kansas (Tulsa trips). We’d have to rely more on First Nations casinos (Seven Feathers in Oregon is a great place) for our ‘between’ nights. On most of our trips, we will spend two nights ‘dry camping’ and the third+ with hook ups, in our 35ft Class A. The cost of staying every night in a RV park would add around $50- a night to our budget, which wouldn’t ruin the trip, but would be an unnecessary cost.
For reference, my first time staying at a Walmart was on a 2014 trip to Kansas Speedway. We arrived at one Supercenter near the track and found over a dozen rigs around the back section. We pulled in and asked the manager, who said we were welcome overnight. I was impressed with just how nice and easy it was, and dropped about $20- on snacks and some essentials. And, yes, that evening was a blast – not a crazy party, but most of us got together near the core group of rigs, one guy broke out a grill (bought steaks and chicken inside) and everyone was chatting and laughing like at the infield. Everyone policed their site, cleaned everything up and was in bed by 10P (with a planned 6A departure to convoy to the track). We try to maintain THAT standard.
For us not a real big deal. Heading South in December we like to use Walmart for our first and sometimes our second nights stop. This gives a chance to stock up on groceries and supplies, get a bit of rest as we try to avoid the approaching winter, and save searching for a place that is open to RVers for a nights stay when the winter temps have closed conventional campgrounds.
We choose not to overnight at Walmart. That being said some local governments are taking the issue out of WM’s hands by prohibiting overnight stays (example Tucson and Las Vegas). The combination of professional homeless persons and a few slob RVers are causing the welcome mat to get rolled up.
The mother of the children should be placed in prison for not supervising (attending to them). I would take her children away from the mother.
I have found in most cases that it is not Walmart or other businesses that decide not to let you park there. It is the local campgrounds that don’t want to lose or have to compete with places like Walmart. So they get the local government to restrict parking.
I don’t stay at one of those places often. But, it is nice to know if I get in a bind it’s there to fall back on. I travel in the summer and spend the winter at one location. Last summer I spent one night in a Cracker Barrel
We stayed at a Cracker Barrel as a last resort after finding that not one of the 4 hotels at the exit had a parking lot big enough for us (truck + 28 TT) It was so comfortable and easy compared to hauling overnight bags & dog into a motel room that we’ve used CB ever since. Always enjoy a nice supper & a good sleep. Illinois in February means campgrounds are closed, but CB is always available.
Have only been RVing for a bit over a year now. We have been very successful finding some along the road RV sites or the best luck is state parks and the mostly free camp grounds in towns along the small highways. Not the interstate system.
Walmart is good for a lay over between destination , it’s always a few bad Penny’s that ruin it for everyone.
Iam new to rving traveling and already hit 3 states in a 22 ft rv . 3 sticky tags on my windowes from law enforcement in California and Oregon security pulled up to me before I even came to a stop in my parking spot to go into Walmart and told me I had 2 hours to leave . California only allowed one night , so I believe it depends on what state. If those options were not there , it would definitely be harder . Not too bad if they weren’t . But nowadays yes unfortunately it’s a bad few apples I agree
I find knowing the availability of these sites are a comfort to me in the face of diminishing opportunities in otherwise crowded campgrounds. And, additionally, its a comfort to know that as I travel, when I discover I’m sleepy, those places are available for a brief respite.
Van lifers/ homeless ruining it for the rest of us. Dumping human waste in shopping bags, open cooking on their trunks or open doors. Using the store bathrooms like a private bath. shrugs, lots of entitlement
Of course you have the monster 5th wheels putting jacks down, deploying slide outs and running generators all night. Parking a crossed 12 or more parking spaces and blocking marked travel lanes. Putting your rv house hold trash in the parking lot trash cans. Even seen dumped or really leaky tanks on lots.
I think this might speed the process up a bit. With the bad behavior they were going to ban RVer’s sooner or later.
So negligent parents who left their children in a car while they shopped should be rewarded for their action. Of course there’s always an ambulance chaser ready and willing to continue to destroy businesses that they see as a piggybank..
As long as we have these blood suckers around common sense will be thrashed. Although I feel sorry for the family I don’t think they deserve to be compensated for their part in this tragedy.
well said
Walmart is not a campground. It will be ruined by those that out the slides pull out the bbqs and set up a camp site. We do not. We pull in, shop a little and go to bed without looking like we are camping. I’ve seen what looks like jamborees going on in some lots. No wonder locals get upset.
I do not often park at Walmarts overnight, as I often travel alone and am concerned about safety…but having that as an option is really nice, I would hate to see it go away!!
We have spent the night at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on three occassions over the past 6 years, but never stayed at a Walmart. Generally we prefer the perceived security of a campground over that of a business’ parking lot.
I’ve never seen a walmart parking lot packed at 6am. Usually a handful of cars and no reason to park near anyone, let alone close to a camper van and leave your kids in the car. It almost seems like there’s more to this story
She apparently parked there first, on her way home from an early trip to the airport, and he moved from another location in the parking lot and parked next to her. Have a good night, Lance. 🙂 –Diane
We stay at Walmart and any other place that allows you to park overnight. I always check with the business first, as some allow it, some don’t and as a common courtesy. But if you pull in after dark and leave before sunup what’s the harm? We always shop the Walmart, eat at Cracker Barrel and truck stops so it is also good for those businesses. We generally are on our way to a park where we plan to spend more than a few days, and drive until we are tired. So we don’t make reservations at a campground as we don’t know how far we will get at any given time. Often it is difficult to find a campground later in the day and sometimes the office isn’t open past 5 pm so you have no way to stop and ask about open spots. Plus it is generally a short stay where you don’t even hook up so why spend $50++ to stay at a campground. We seldom put a slide out, never set up a grill. It’s just sleep time.
It would probably end all our long trips. Camp grounds are too expensive for a one night, leaving early morning. We always stay at Walmart the first night and stock up. Usually $100 or more groceries. After a long trip we always stay at least one night at a Walmart to buy for our house supplies. Another $100 or more.
I have never camped at a Walmart parking lot and have absolutely no plans to do so.
If it would be a financial burden if you were not able to stay at a Walmart then maybe you shouldn’t be RVing. Over 7 years full time and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve stayed at Walmart or similar location. It was a convenience issue not I can’t afford to camp
I could afford to stay wherever I want, but WalMarts are ubiquitous and usually close to the highway, plus, there’s usually something to buy.
Wouldn’t affect us in the least. If I stop at Walmart with our trailer hooked up ,it’s just long enough to get supplies and then we leave. If we HAVE to stop for the night, it’s going to be someplace where we won’t get sideways looks for setting up our popup! Besides, in some locations some rather unsavory types tend to hang out in Walmart (or other business) parking lots at night…
IT is SO nice of the stores and restaurants to let us stay and yes, I DO patronize them! it’s peace of mind for me, to go to a lake, to go jet skiing, at the spur of the moment, and know I have a place to sleep, and maybe I’m weird, but I find watching people come and go and observing some of the silly things they do, very entertaining.
I stopped using Walmart for overnight stays because many of the stores no longer permit the practice. I stick to highway rest areas and Cracker Barrel restaurants. Given what I have seen left in Walmart parking lots by RVers, I most certainly understand Walmart discontinuing the practice of allowing overnight stays.
Why in the world is nobody mentioning the fact that this lady left her kids sleeping in a car alone? Isn’t that the real story here? She actually has the nerve to sue Walmart. When she left her kids sleeping alone in a car? That’s the biggest crime of all. And she is responsible for her child’s death. Way more so than the man who inadvertently started the fire. You don’t leave your kids alone in a car. Anything could’ve happened to them.