Where do people park their Skoolies?
We are currently sat in our living room boon-docking in the middle downtown Savannah, GA (insert Andy Bernard accent here…IYKYK). We found a great spot in a local park that allows over night parking…or doesn’t prohibit it publicly at least 😆. Since hitting the road we have stayed at all different spots; from vineyards, to golf courses, to parking lots, and random peoples houses…so we want to share with you how we find places to park while traveling and living full time in our converted school bus!
Research Before You Hit The Road
The best thing to do before hitting the road for the day is to do some research on the areas you'll be traveling through. Look for companies that allow overnight parking or truck stops and rest areas that also allow overnight parking. Some companies that generally allow overnight parking are:
Cracker Barrel.
Walmart.
Cabela's / Bass Pro Shops.
Camping World.
Anytime Fitness.
24 Hour Fitness.
Planet Fitness.
Costco.
Parking Lot of Tamarack Cultural Center | Beckley, WV
We’ve also found other companies are open to the idea if you just call and ask nicely. We recently spoke to a manger at Home Depot that would allow us to stay overnight, and we also stayed in a Church parking lot in Downtown Chicago for 3 nights for free. I mean you can’t beat that!
Along with parking lots there are also other great FREE parking options like Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This is public land that also allow overnight camping, sometimes up to two weeks, although you'll need to check the specific regulations for each area.
With all these options, just make sure to check for local ordinances regarding overnight parking or check with the property owner. Many cities have laws that prohibit overnight parking on streets or in public parking lots, while many at the same time allow it.
Look For RV Parks And Campgrounds
It might not be the most adventurous option, but RV parks and campgrounds are a great option for overnight parking, as they often have amenities like electricity and water hookups. We’ve stayed at a couple campgrounds while traveling and have had great experiences. The main reason we personally stay at campgrounds is for the hook-ups if needed. When we were traveling during summer months in North Carolina, we needed our AC running full blast for the dogs and our sake! Our rig has a pretty solid off-grid capability, but it just couldn’t compete with NC summers without a hook-up. Campgrounds are also great places to fill up on water and empty those tanks.
RV Campground Parking | Daniel Boone National Forest, KY
Keep in mind that some RV parks and campgrounds may have restrictions on the size of vehicles they allow, and whether they allow Skoolies, so be sure to check this before you arrive.
Use Apps And Websites To Find Overnight Parking Spots
There are several great apps and websites that can help you find overnight parking spots, such as:
HarvestHosts
Hipcamp
Campendium
Boondockers Welcome
iOverlander
Allstays
RV Parky
Park4Night
FreeRoam
These apps allow you to search for parking spots based on your location and filter preferences by filtering amenities such as; electricity, water, pet-friendly, cell phone service, and dump stations.
We love Harvest Hosts and use this one a lot, especially when traveling from one place to another for our extended stays. Harvest Hosts is a paid membership (starting at $99 annually), but in our opinion, especially for how we travel it is well worth it. We have stayed at some of the most beautiful vineyards and golf courses, as well as breweries and farms. The way it works in a nutshell is you pay the annual membership and get access to over 4,000+ “free” overnight parking. I say “free”, as it is strongly encouraged that each place you stay at you patron at that business in some capacity (if they have a way for you to do so). So say you stay at a vineyard, maybe get some drinks or buy a bottle a wine. We recently stayed at a couple golf courses, at one we bought breakfast at the Club House in the morning, the other one we hit up the driving range and rented some clubs. Some of these places also offer water and electric for a small charge usually $10 or less or sometimes free.
Harvest Hosts have also teamed up with Boondockers Welcome, so you can access all those spots in the app as well, this is where we stayed at a stranger’s home property and had the best time and met the most amazing family! Boondockers Welcome usually doesn’t have a business at the spots, its normally just people who have land, or a large driveway to park in. Some of these people may ask for a Venmo donation (rare) or others just love welcoming travelers and providing a spot for the night.
Use our code THEHIVEDRIVE15 you can save 15% on you membership or CLICK HERE
Some of our favorite Harvest Hosts & HipCamp locations…one was an Alpaca farm in Indiana!
The spot we are currently parked up in we found through iOverlander, this app is great for finding spots that others have used and you get to read through past peoples reviews and experiences. This is great for finding boon-docking spaces like this. We read that this space in generally a quiet area, people felt safe, it’S right next to downtown, had good cell service, and it’s beautiful! So we went for it and it’s been AMAZING!
Get To Know The Community
Another great way to find overnight parking spots is to connect with others in the nomadic community. Join online communities, attend meetups, or events & connect with others on social media. A lot of our stays have been with friends that we met online and have gotten to know over the years. When building our bus we also hosted a lot of friends/travelers that we met online on our driveway too. I believe we hosted at least 7 families that lived in buses and vans on our driveway. We encourage everyone in this lifestyle to get into the community get to know others, build friendships, seriously this community is amazing and has so many incredible people. People that might not only know great places to park, but also help you problem solve, and most of all just become amazing friends! So if you are on social media, we highly encourage you to get social, don’t just like a post and comment “first”… actually be social, get to know them, keep up with them, have conversations, it’s amazing the friendships that can happen!
Some of our friends and family’s places we have parked up at. (WI - TN - IA)
Overall, as much as living on the road can be a liberating and fulfilling experience, the challenges it comes with sometimes can be finding a place to park overnight, however with some planning and research, using apps and websites, and getting to know other in the community, you can make the process so much easier and find the perfect spots to park your rig!
If you have any questions or want recommendations of spots we have parked at, let us know in the comments, also share some of your favorites spots as we would love to check them out!