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57 Extraordinary Overnight Camping Spots and Ideas

From hospital parking lots and wind farms to remote cemeteries and vineyards, fellow truck campers reveal their most unusual overnight parking spots. No way KOA. We’re camping at the airport!

57 Extraordinary Camping Spots And Ideas

Many RVers—perhaps the great majority—stick to traditional campgrounds, set up their motorhomes and towables, and stay in a stacked and packed sea of other RVs.

However, for many truck campers—perhaps the majority—the spirit of camping is discovered in the unexpected. We prefer to boondock in unconventional spots that are both practical (aka free) and extraordinary.

We asked Truck Camper Magazine readers to reveal a few of their most extraordinary—think the polar opposite of a KOA—overnight parking spots. Note that we’re not calling these camping sites as they’re most definitely not. Looking for hookups and trash collection? Forget-about-it. Seeking a free or near free place to park for the evening with a dollop of adventure? Read on!

57 Extraordinary Overnight Camping Spots & Ideas

Playa Camping Lech

“The Black Rock desert in Nevada. You know it as the place for burning man, but my interest is much more geeky. It’s the mecca for amateur rocketry.

You can simply use Google. There are no designated campsites. It’s BLM land. You can park anywhere but don’t go there if it’s wet.” – Gary Lech, 2007 Ford F-350, 2015 Lance 1172

Public Boat Launch Sue

“I’ve stayed at the public boat launch under the Alaska Pipeline, where it crosses the Tanana River near Delta Junction. It was interesting to watch people launching into the very swift current. There was some highway noise, but otherwise, it was quiet.

Chitina Airport Alaska Sue

The Chitina Airport in Alaska is for bush planes only. The overnight before and after my friend picked me up to fly out to the family cabin for a few days. I didn’t take a close-up picture, but here it is from the air (red arrow pointing to my camper).

Pull out real maps to look for interesting places, features, or areas. Don’t be afraid to investigate. Remember we are just four wheels on the ground and can back out of almost any situation.

Alaska and Canada are easy-to-find boondocking spots. If on private property or business, always ask first. Respect the environment and landowners and you will not have any problem finding beautiful locations.” – Sue, 2015 Chevy 2500, 2003 Lance 1010

“Back in 2010, on an acting job for the TV show, Leverage, I parked on the top floor of a small parking garage in downtown Portland, Oregon. It’s a short structure and has an outside on-off ramp allowing for unlimited height vehicles on the top open floor.

It felt like my own castled-kingdom until the garbage trucks started bashing and de-trashing all the rolling dumpsters in the city, sometime around four in the morning. How anybody can sleep through such noise is beyond me!

I’m sure this is no longer allowed, but in 2010 you could occasionally find places without so many rules.” – Bob Frazier, 2001 Ford F-250, 2008 Bigfoot 2500

“I have camped for the night outside of a couple of different remote old cemeteries; the kind you see when traveling backroads. It’s a little spooky, but the neighbors are quiet.” – CW Grimes, 2015 Toyota Tundra, 2020 Four Wheel Camper Hawk

Jim Tomblin

“I’ve stayed at small town Muni Airport parking lots. You can see them on maps. Over the years we have stayed in about twenty and we’ve never had an issue. The photo is from an overnight near Eli, Nevada.

I recommend looking at hard copy maps and Google maps to find them or to just do a Google search; example: private airports in town A or airport town B.” – Jim Tomblin, 1994 Ford F-250, 2000 Bigfoot 2500 9’6″

“I have stayed at RV dealer parking lots. I have been questioned by the police and I explain I am waiting for them to open because I am in need of a part. Most of the time I have never been questioned. Either I leave earlier than when they open or leave after visiting their showroom and parts section after they open. I have never been questioned by the dealership why I am parked in their parking lot!” – Greg Vickery, 2016 Chevy Silverado 3500, 2016 Eagle Cap 1165

“Cemeteries are by far the best. The residents don’t care. Just pull in and go to sleep. That’s what it is. It’s a place to sleep. These stays are unplanned and impromptu.” – Richard Fischer, 2021 Ford F-250, 2021 Lance 825

Overnight Camping Spots Iowa Truck Museum

“Iowa 80 “the World’s largest truck” stop was interesting. We spent a night here tucked in among the big rigs. The museum next door is cool.

I also spent several nights in a hospital parking lot while my wife received treatment. This proved to be very convenient as I could be by my wife’s side during a difficult time.

Ski area parking lots are another non-typical place we have stayed (not as popular on the East Coast as they are out west). While we try to find more scenic/quiet spots, sometimes after a long day on the road you just need to sleep. We have spent the night at Walmarts, hotels, quiet dirt roads, etc.

My advice is that if you don’t feel safe, don’t stay. Try to call ahead and ask permission. Security guard parking attendants are a good place to start. If asked (we have never had the “knock on the door”…not once) but if asked, always say you are “resting” not “camping”.” – Bill Tex, 2020 F-350, 2013 Eagle Cap 850

“We have camped at many breweries and wineries in several states. Our most unusual spot by far was at Prejean Winery on Seneca Lake in New York.

When we arrived at the winery, the Harvest Hosts spot had a car in it and the rest of the parking lot was full, so the host asked us if we would mind parking in the vineyard. Mind? Not at all! Camping among the grapes was something that we had never even thought of.

That night, we had a great view of the vineyard and Seneca Lake and it was quiet and very peaceful. That was the day when we stopped booking conventional campgrounds!

We use a combination of tools. Harvest Hosts is an obvious choice. We have used Harvest Hosts to plan trips to national parks and other travel vacations. We also use Google Maps and On X Offroad to find state or national forest lands that may have free camping spots available.

Finally, some counties will have parks that offer camping – either at a county fair location or an actual park. These may come with a fee but again, they will give you a chance to experience more of the local life and flavor.” – Tom Simpson, 2022 Ford F-350, 2018 Cirrus 820

Bella Grove Plantation

“We were on our way back from Shenandoah National Park to New Hampshire when we got off the highway to look for an overnight spot.  We saw a sign for Bella Grove Plantation so we went to check it out.  It was after hours and it looked like a beautiful spot.  There were no signs saying, “no overnight parking” so we took a chance and had a beautiful peaceful night stay.

We like to start looking for a place before dark and get a little bit away from the highway.  We like to use iOverland also.” – Mike and Melissa Morin, 2022 Ram 3500, 2023 Arctic Fox 1150

Port Of Ilwaco Washington Airport

“Our son got his pilot’s license about five years ago. We started chasing him around to small airports where he would land during his practice flights. We perk coffee in the camper and have a cup with him, and then he takes off to go back home.

We live in different states and he has planned flights to all kinds of small airports in our county, where we met up. We noticed that the airports are quiet, off-the-beaten-path places with lots of parking. When we travel, we have stayed in small airports many times.

This sunrise photo was taken at the Port of Ilwaco, Washington airport in October 2022. I didn’t get a photo with our rig, but the airport was very remote. Perfect. We put 10,000 miles on our truck round trip that year. Just use your phone’s GPS, and search for airports. Stay away from the bigger airports where parking isn’t free.” – Rich and JoAnn LeMieux, 2014 Chevy Silverado, 2018 Capri Retreat

“The most unusual was an abandoned cheese factory. It had been abandoned for many years, but was still an interesting old industrial facility and was certainly quiet and secluded.

We camped there for three nights while we were in the area. It was a gated plant, so we parked there with the permission of the owner of the plant. A relative put us in touch with the owner when we were having trouble finding a place to stay in the area. Obviously, there were no hookups, so it was all off-grid boondocking.

Another interesting sight we’ve stayed at was a yak ranch. In general, many of the sites we have stayed at with Harvest Hosts have been unusual and always more interesting than Cracker Barrel and the like.

Chatting with locals or even relatives when exploring new places is always a good place to start. I’m always amazed at how many people can point you towards something more interesting than a run-of-the-mill campground.” – Dave Van Wyk, 2022 Ram 3500, 2023 Port-Lite Expedition 1

“Three times now we have parked in a medical office complex waiting for an appointment first thing the next morning. We did this twice in Arizona where we were not familiar with the area.  We went after hours and parked as far as we could out in the empty parking lot.

The next morning at seven we were surrounded by cars and the security guard knocked on the door and asked what we were doing there. I told him we had an appointment at 1:00 pm and didn’t know where it was. He drove me over to show me where we needed to go.

Another time in our local area in Colorado we had an apt at 8:00 am an hour away. We were leaving for a trip so we just parked in the parking lot of the doctor’s office. Another time in Arizona went to a car show at a shopping center, after we had supper there we just parked for the night.” – Frank Niehus, 2007 Ford F-350, 2021 Lance 1172

Overnight Camping Spot Alaska Howard Bisco

“On our trip to Alaska, we took the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk. The road ends at the Arctic Ocean. There are two ferry crossings on the Dempster. We arrived a few days before the first one was operational. They can not open the ferry until the ice flows are gone and the river drops to a certain level.

We camped in a gravel pit for two nights and on the ferry landing the third night. There was quite a lineup for the ferry and the villages on the other side of the river had not had any deliveries for about five weeks since the river had started to thaw.” – Howard Bisco, 2015 Ford F-250, 2020 Palomino HS-8801

“Driving trip to and from Panama Canal from Texas, I parked at so many unusual places. At a tobacco drying finca in Nicaragua, surrounded by local kids. At a carnival in Panama, where they locked the gates and turned vicious dogs loose at night. Near a volcano in Honduras. At a coffee plantation in Costa Rica. At an abandoned CIA airport for the Contra war in Costa Rica, near Nicaragua. At a gas station, plugged into the coke machine power plug, guarded by a rifle-toting “vigilante” in Honduras, underneath (yes, underneath) the East end of the Panama Canal, just past a canal gate. And numerous more during the six month trip.” – Donald Smucker, 2003 GMC 3500, 2006 Eagle Cap

Rail Yard For Overnight Stays Steam Locomotive Brian

“I volunteer my weekends at New England Steam Corporation in Hancock Maine. I park in the rail yard for overnight stays while working on the 470 steam locomotive. Volunteering opens up many places to truck campers that normally wouldn’t be available.” – Brian Hebert, 2011 Chevy Silverado 3500, 1993 Starcraft Leisure 580

“Before we discovered iOverlander, we were traveling with our truck camper in Columbia, South America. In the city of Medellin, we could find nothing resembling a place to park, much less a campground. We found a city truck parking lot and spent the night surrounded by a huge semi-trailer and other trucks parked for the night. No one else was around anywhere. It was a bit eerie but we were locked in and very safe.” – Mike and Pat Jones, 2000 Ford at the time, 2014 Bigfoot 9.6

Overnight Camping Spots Harvest Hosts Blown Away Farm Braddock

“We much prefer boondocking to campgrounds, and usually, at least in the western USA, find great unofficial camping spots. One of these spots was at a Harvest Hosts in northeastern Oregon called Blown Away Farm (it might not be a Harvest Hosts anymore).

The ‘farm’ consisted of numerous wind turbines arranged on a regular grid and scattered over a large area. We were told we could camp anywhere; just drive around the huge area and pick a spot.

We chose to camp at the base of a large turbine as there was plenty of space to pull off the access road. I thought it would be noisy, but it really wasn’t. The turbine made noise when it rotated to keep itself aligned with the wind, but the rotation of the blades produced very little noise. Sadly, there was no 120-volt outlet!” – Doug Braddock, 2021 Ford F-350, 2019 Cirrus 820

“On my way home from Rancho Cucamonga, heading back to Northern California, I stopped to visit a friend in the city of Ventura. I stayed longer than I originally planned, so I decided to stay overnight.

I couldn’t park in the apartment complex so I stayed right outside the fence on a somewhat busy street not too far from Ventura City Hall. I popped up my 2016 Northstar pop-up camper on my 2004 Ram 3500 dually and settled in for the night.

There was probably as much foot traffic as there were cars and trucks until 2:00 am when it finally quieted down and I drifted off to sleep. I was jolted awake by the sounds of a garbage truck emptying dumpsters. I wrapped up my stay and left.” – Steven Pederson, 2004 Dodge RAM 3500, 2016 Northstar TS1000

Cirrus Pelican Point Boat Launch Nelson

“I’ve stayed at Pelican Point boat launch, Bon Secours Bay in Fairhope, Alabama.” – N. Nelson, 2019 Chevy Silverado 3500, 2018 Cirrus 920

“We learned of a parking lot at a marina in Marin County, California. We were desperate for a place to camp as all of the local campgrounds were full. We paid our parking fee at a kiosk there. We parked at the end of the parking lot, thinking we would be out of the way. Unfortunately, that is also where trucks pulling boats to launch at the marina turn around.

Around 7:00 am, we were awakened by a loud boom and the camper shaking. We were hit by a boat turning around at the end of the parking lot. Luckily there was only minor damage and—after exchanging insurance info—we were on our way.

I found this spot on RV Parky. The fee was only $10 to park there. We had no problems with parking overnight. No one bothered us.” – Alice Tyser, 2008 Ram 3500, 2017 Arctic Fox 990

Overnight Camping Spot Medano Beach Cabo San Lucas Mexico Scott

“Beach parking lot in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. All of the RV parks in Cabo with its expensive real estate have been closed. The beach parking is a good option—right on Medano Beach. The fee was $25 per night with 24-hour security. iOverlander is a great app, especially in Mexico.” – Scott Sichler, 2022 RAM 2500, 2021 Northstar 850SC 

“In the summer of 2020, we were hanging around the western Montana area.
We camped next to winter backcountry warming huts, old fire watch towers, and any place else in the national forest that we could drive to. We were pretty sure on some of the really twisty dirt roads that we wouldn’t find a 40-foot Class A at the end of our drive. We had a great time. It’s a beautiful area.

On one excursion, while driving along a dirt road, we noticed a road to the left and decided to check it out. We were a little puzzled about how this narrow road came to be paved. Very narrow and twisty, it climbed up the mountainside. When we got to the top, we had an incredible view of mountain tops all around us. Growing up in the Air Force, it dawned on me that this was an old early warning radar site. All that was left were the concrete pads.

My wife has about four or five apps running to help find spots to camp. We also use Benchmark map books of the individual western states to find remote areas.” – Tom MacCallum, 2015 Ford F-350, 2013 Adventure 910FS

“When my son was playing junior golf tournaments (he is now 34 years old, a golf professional, and living in Phoenix), a very high-end, private golf club in Victoria was hosting an international junior golf tournament. The golf club was the Royal Colwood Golf Club located in Victoria, BC.

The Royal Colwood Golf Club is a very old club with gorgeous grounds in a setting of huge cedar and fir trees. There is no camping allowed. We lived three hours north on the Island. The club allowed me to park my truck and camper on the grounds, under some huge old-growth cedar and fir trees, and stay overnight for two nights. I was given use of the women’s locker room, bathroom, showers, and full access to the restaurants. I had a great time.

We would check with the golf clubs ahead of time. We found that the golf clubs were supportive of the junior golfers and their families and would often bend their normal rules and allow overnight parking/camping on the grounds. This allowed the families to save on hotel costs and enjoy an otherwise very expensive sport.” – Leah Wheeldon, 2003 Dodge Dakota, 1980s Vanguard Import Size

“Maybe not the most unconventional spot, but we have only done this once. After driving all day in the rain, we started looking for a place to stay. I called two RV parks and both were full. As we approached a town, I noticed a new hospital. I told the wife, let’s just stop here and fix dinner, then decide if we want to drive on. As we entered the hospital parking lot, we noticed there were two RVs in the parking lot. We stayed overnight and hit the road the next morning.

I get overnight parking ideas from friends, from reading TCM, and from a booklet for free campsites.” – Les Sage, 2015 GMC 3500, 2015 Lance 855S

“We stayed at a church parking lot on a Saturday night. We were headed to Florida from Maine and had driven all day and needed a spot for the night. We pulled off the highway and found a church. We spent the night in their parking lot and we woke up in the morning—forgetting it was Sunday—and everyone was showing up for church. We decided to go to the church service. It was the least we could do for them letting us spend the night” – Herb Kauffman, 2021 RAM 2500, Northstar 850SC

“We often park in small city or large town hospital parking lots as the parking lots are usually level, well maintained, safe, and well lit. Also, security doesn’t bother us as we look like we’re visiting someone in the hospital. Hospital parking lots are very easy to find; the municipalities put up large H signs directing us to them.

So far we’ve parked in Moosomin, Melville, and Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Also, the casino in Lethbridge, Alberta welcomes us so long as we register with them. The most unusual was the church parking lot in Napa, California; when we woke up we were surrounded by the churchgoer’s cars!

Using Boondockers Welcome or Hipcamp, we parked on an acre of grass in someone’s backyard in Portland, Oregon. I can’t imagine the value of that piece of turf.” – Kelly Nelson, 2020 Ford F-350, 2019 Northern Lite 9-6

“I’ve stayed on the top of Red Mountain Pass on Highway 555 in Colorado. The highway department was blasting out the road for an expansion and they were blocking the traffic for an hour or longer each way. I found a small spot just large enough for my truck. I spent the night and got a good rest. In the morning, the roadblocks were open.

Keep your eyes open and make sure you note them in your journal.” – Harry Palmer, 2022 Ford F350, 2008 Lance 915

We had a few responses from non-demountable truck campers:

“Along the Alaska Pipeline on a dirt road. When you’re tired you just find a spot. It was very quiet.” – Michael Fogerty, 2012 Subaru

“We are a couple of retired teachers from Canada who were boondocking around the Australian outback in a tiny camper van that we had rented. One evening at dusk we pulled off the road into a layaway to spend the night as usual. Soon thereafter a car pulled in behind us.

They were a doctor and nurse from China studying in Australia. They asked if we liked to sing and if we liked the Beatles. They unpacked their guitar and he found the words and music to all the Beatles songs on his computer. Talk about an amazing international evening; two old Canadians and two young communist Chinese people singing Beatles songs at the top of our lungs in the middle of nowhere in the Australian outback. We sang and talked way into the night. When we got up in the morning, they were gone.

Australia is such a wonderful place to explore especially the outback where you can stop for the night virtually anywhere. Just pull off anywhere and you are home” – Garry Mutch, 2017 Toyota

Frederic

“Here are some places to stay overnight with our Camper4x4 in Alaska. We did not include Walmart.

1. DeadHorse (front Aéroport) N70º11’59.75’’ W148º27’17.40’’ Elv. 16m.
2. BLM Galbraith Lake N68º27’18.14’’ W149º28’42.38’’ Elv. 849m.
3. Coldfoot (costat Aéroport) N67º15’20.80’’ W150º11’26.60’’ Elv. 312m.
4. BLM Arctic Circle N66º33’30.95’’ W150º47’30.01’’ Elv. 407m.
5. Yukon River Eagle Village N64º44’18.57’’ W141º02’40.60’’ Elv. 270m.
6. Tanana River Public Boat Launch N64º09’22.22’’ W145º50’54.68’’ Elv. 302m.
7. McKinley NP N63º39’01.35’’ W148º48’28.18’’ Elv. 611m.
8. Perscreek N62º30’57.59’’ W150º54’16.11’’ Elv. 564m.
9. Exit Kenai Glacier N60º11’18.95’’ W149º37’48.71‘‘ Elv. 119m.
10. Portage Pass Whittier N60º46’32.66’’ W148º43’49.52’’ Elv. 13m.
11. Valdez River N61º08’00.03’’ W146º23’28.65”

When traveling, we use the Maps.Me and Organic Maps programs, without an internet connection. With these maps, we search for all our needs, gas stations, supermarkets, pharmacies, water sources, unloading points, workshops, hospitals, parking lots, laundries, places to overnight free, etc. My co-pilot Emma takes care of this.” – Emma and Frederic Amorós, 2011 Toyota Hilux, 2011 Extra Cabin 2.5D4D 144CV, PSI-AZALAÏ (French) Fix Cell

 

 

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