Your Guide to Free Skoolie Camping
Free skoolie camping is one of the most discussed topics for those living and traveling in a skoolie. Where are we going to park and sleep tonight? It is a question repeated by thousands daily.
This could become a source of anxiety and frustration if not approached in the right way.
The best way to address finding free skoolie parking is by preparation and planning. It doesn’t require much preparation and planning either.
Just a few minutes to determine where and when you want to stop driving for the day. Maybe determine where you want to park for a week or more.
There are plenty of places to park for free in your skoolie. You just need the 411 on where and how to do so.
Where Can I Find Free Skoolie Parking?
There are tons of places you can park for a modest price. Nothing wrong with that if you desire shore power and water hookups.
There are even more places to park for free in a skoolie if you just know where to go. We have compiled a list of places you can park for free in a skoolie. These are all places we have parked ourselves with the exception of a few.
We will let you know if we have personally experienced parking at these locations and if there were any issues while parking overnight.
As with all places to park, free or not, be sure to leave your location as clean or cleaner as you found it.
NEVER dump your grey or black tanks anywhere you shouldn’t. If you do not know or understand the difference between where you should and shouldn’t dump your tanks, well, then bless your heart.
Casinos
Casinos love RVers. Skoolies are no different. Almost every casino we have ever been to has a designated parking lot for RVs and Skoolie to park overnight.
They are well lit and patrolled by the casino or tribal police on a regular basis both day and night.
Besides, it gives you a chance to play little slots, cards, or craps and enjoy a good buffet at a decent price.
Walmart
Oh, the overnight stay in a Walmart campground, err, I mean parking lot.
We have a goal as nomadic travelers. Our goal is to never sleep overnight in a Walmart parking lot.
Most Walmarts now prohibit overnight parking. This is in part due to city ordinances or store policy. Whatever the case, most Walmarts now have signs indicating, “No Overnight Parking”.
For some though, it is a viable and seemingly safe place to catch a few z’s.
It is always advisable to check with the store manager and let them know you are quiet, respectful, and plan on shopping in the store.
Dispersed Land
Free skoolie camping is allowed on all dispersed land in the United States, provided you abide by a few rules.
Dispersed land is any federal land within the United States that is outside of the recreational or campsite facilities. Dispersed camping is allowed in all National Forests unless otherwise noted.
When camping on dispersed land, you may unknowingly trespass onto someone’s private party that is not marked.
The U.S. Forestry Service has provided a very helpful interactive map for all National Forests. This map shows boundaries, facilities, campsites, trails, and activities of all types.
BLM Land
BLM land has more than 245 million acres of public land available to the public for free. This agency falls under the Department of Interior and stands for Bureau of Land Management.
Most BLM lands are located in the western states. Some of the most popular and easily accessed are in:
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Wyoming
Free skoolie parking on dispersed or BLM land is one of the best ways to enjoy skoolie life in the wild! There are times when you will not see another human or camper for miles or days.
It is by far, our favorite way to experience skoolie life!
Friends and Family
This really should be a no-brainer, but most people discount and overlook the option of visiting friends and family while traveling through areas.
A little planning and a phone call to let them know you will be in their town should be all it takes for a friendly and welcoming invitation to park at their place for a night or two.
The only thing we need to remind you though is that the HOA or neighbors may be a little apprehensive of a skoolie parked on the street. If it’s only for a night or two, and your friend or family doesn’t mind, then we say Go for it!
We have done this several times over the past few years. We have found that our friends and family are excited to see our skoolie in person!
Cabela's
Cabela's has always had a reputation for being RV-friendly. Most have a designated area in their parking lots for overnight parking for RVs’. Some even offer dump stations as well as shore and water hookups.
Understand though, while many Cabela's cater to and offer free skoolie parking overnight, the city may ordinances that prohibit sleeping in vehicles in locations other than designated such as RV parks and campsites.
Rest Stops
Rest stops along major highways and interstates are another option when you are in a pinch. They are a lot like truck stops, just not as loud or busy typically.
There is, however, another hot spot for human trafficking and prostitution.
We have stayed at a rest stop or two, but it is usually out of necessity when we did not properly plan.
Truck Stops
We have spent a night or two in the parking lot of a Flying J and Pilot. If you don’t mind the traffic noise and steady rhythm of diesel engines running all night, it’s a good safe spot to park in a pinch.
This is not our preferred overnight parking spot, but if we just get too tired driving while sprinting to a location, it works.
The reason we do not prefer truck stops is that they are notorious locations for human trafficking and displaced or vagrants. The noise doesn’t so much bother us but would prefer a quiet environment.
County, State Parks/National Parks
County, State, and National Parks are some of the best places to park, adventure, and experience the great outdoors. Many do not know this, but there are places to actually camp for free in-state and National Parks.
Some parks will designate where there are free parking and camping spots available. Check with the Park Ranger for the inside scoop on the best campsites.
As long as you are not impeding traffic and blocking access to campsites or roads, National Parks have lots of free parking and camping spots. Always check with the Park Ranger for areas you can park for free.
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is notorious for being RV-friendly. In fact, some Cracker Barrels have designated areas for RV overnight parking. Let it be known, however, not all Cracker Barrel locations are overnight parking friendly.
Don’t blame Cracker Barrel though, it is almost always due to city ordinances prohibiting overnight parking and sleeping in a vehicle.
Be sure to patron your Cracker Barrel for some yummy Southern-style breakfast before you leave the next day.
Hotels
This is a great little hack while traveling on the main highways or interstates. There are always chain hotels at many exits along major throughways.
We have, on more than one occasion, parked in a hotel parking lot when we didn’t properly plan for a place to park and sleep overnight.
When doing so, it is always prudent to try and be as stealthy as possible in a big ‘ol bus. Discretion is the key here.
Skoolie Homesteads
Skoolie Homestead communities are becoming more and more popular as the skoolie community grows. Most offer one or two nights of free skoolie camping. Any stays longer than that and you should be prepared to pay a fee.
The original Skoolie Homestead Community is one of our favorite places to stop for a day two while traveling through Georgia. Bret and Renee have created a warm, welcoming, and safe place to park and rest.
If you want to stay for a while and do some upgrades or build out your skoolie, you can stay for a modest and fair monthly rent.
It’s always a good idea to call ahead and check for availability.
Can You Park A Skoolie In An RV Park?
Yes for the quick answer. However, there are rules, limitations, and costs associated with an RV park. You will not find free skoolie camping in an RV park.
RV parks are for-profit businesses and typically come with a moderate to a hefty parking fee. This is because most RV parks have shore power as well as water hookups.
Can You Boondock In A Skoolie?
It is the preferred form of parking and camping, however, your skoolie must be equipped for boondocking, unless you are prepared and prefer to live and camp in a very raw and organic manner.
By that, we mean, no heat, no electricity, and a limited supply of fresh drinking water.
If you have prepared your skoolie for free skoolie camping by installing adequate solar, freshwater, and heat, then boondocking should be a pleasurable breeze.
Do National Parks Allow Skoolies?
Yes!
Skoolies are considered an RV in all National Parks. There is no discrimination towards DIY skoolies or vans.
There are some size limitations however to National Parks. We wrote a post earlier about this and you can read it in this post on Choosing A Skoolie
Here are some National Parks with specific length restrictions.
Less Than 20 Feet
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
No RV or skoolie parking is allowed inside of the park
Up To 20 Feet
Zion National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 19 feet at Lava Point Campground and 40 feet in all other areas.
Up To 25 Feet
Big Bend National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 24 feet.
Death Valley National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 25 feet.
Glacier National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 25 to 45 feet depending on the area of the park.
Grand Canyon National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 50 feet at South RIm and 22 feet at North Rim
Great Basin National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 24 feet.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 23 feet to 35 feet depending on the campground.
Jasper National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 25 feet to 35 feet, depending on the campground.
Kings Canyon National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 22 feet.
Olympic National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 21 feet. There are some limited spots that will accommodate a skoolie or RV up to 35 feet.
Redwood National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 24 to 28 feet depending on the campground.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 24 to 31 feet depending on the campground.
Limitations on length vary by the campground. The average campsite length is 40 feet. Most campsites range from 25 to 50 feet.
Up To 30 Feet
Arches National Park
Limited to a maximum length of 30 feet.
Canyonlands National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 28 feet.
Grand Teton National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 30 to 45 feet depending on the campground.
Mount Rainier National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 27 to 35 feet.
Redwood National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 24 to 28 feet depending on the campground.
Up To 35 Feet
Acadia National Park
Limited to a maximum length of 35 feet
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 23 feet to 35 feet depending on the campground.
Jasper National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 25 feet to 35 feet, depending on the campground.
Joshua Tree National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 35 to 42 feet depending on the campsite.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 35 to 40 feet.
Mount Rainier National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 27 to 35 feet.
Olympic National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 21 feet. There are some limited spots that will accommodate a skoolie or RV up to 35 feet.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 24 to 31 feet depending on the campground.
Up To 40 Feet
Badlands National Park
Limited to a maximum length of 40 feet. Sage Creek Campground is limited to only 18 feet.
Denali National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 40 feet.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 35 to 40 feet.
Limitations on length vary by the campground. The average campsite length is 40 feet. Most campsites range from 25 to 50 feet.
Yosemite National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 40 feet.
Zion National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 19 feet at Lava Point Campground and 40 feet in all other areas.
45 Feet or More
Banff National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 50 feet.
Everglade National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 45 feet.
Glacier National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 25 to 45 feet depending on the area of the park.
Grand Canyon National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 50 feet at South RIm and 22 feet at North Rim
Grand Teton National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 30 to 45 feet depending on the campground.
Joshua Tree National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 35 to 42 feet depending on the campsite.
Mesa Verde National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 46 feet.
Sequoia National Park
Limited to maximum feet of 42 feet in the Lodgepole Campground. No limit to length in the Dorst Creek Campground.
Shenandoah National Park
No Limit on skoolie or RV length.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
No Limit on skoolie or RV length.
Yellowstone National Park
Limitations on length vary by the campground. The average campsite length is 40 feet. Most campsites range from 25 to 50 feet.
How To Find Free Skoolie Camping
Who doesn’t love FREE?
Buy one get one. Free!
Bonus material. Free!
It just makes you feel good! Marks you feel like the Universe is in line with you and wants you to succeed.
As a full-time traveler in a skoolie, we love free parking! We don’t mind spending $15 – $30 a night at a nice campground with hookups once in a while, but man oh man, free parking sure does make us have a better night's sleep!
One of the things most skoolie people do is look for parking. Free parking at that! Knowing where you are going to park and sleep at night can be one of the biggest stresses for a nomadic traveler.
A little planning and having the right resources can take ALL of that stress away.
Some travelers like to make a game of it or see it as a challenge to find the best free parking available and then do some jealous marketing on their social channels.
The best way we have found to find free parking is through apps. There are some really good apps and there are some not worth the time to download.
Skoolie Apps
There are a ton of apps for free skoolie camping, hiking, parking, water, cell phone coverages, and tons more. These apps are perfect for skoolies.
We look for all of those things while traveling and camping. The great thing is, that many of these apps are free!
Here are our top three favorite apps for free parking.
- iOverlander
- Campedium
- Sekr
- The Dyrt
Skoolie Friendly Campgrounds
Skoolies and campgrounds have a poor reputation when it comes to them getting along with one another.
Each campground, whether it is a privately owned “mom and pop” campground or if it is a nationally recognized brand such as KOA or Jelly Stone.
There are some good reasons why some campgrounds frown upon skoolies and invite them in with open arms.
Most of the responsibility for the reasons they are rejected lies with skoolie owners themselves.
Campground Etiquette
There is a certain image and reputation that is married to skoolies and skoolie owners. Fair or not, that image is associated with the 1960s and 1970s hippie or Bohemian movements. Free love, drugs, rock n roll music, alcohol, and any other societal vice that we have so hypocritically created.
Unfortunately, there are too many skoolie people still around today who more than live up to that image.
Perhaps they lack the social graces of knowing how to behave around other people in a societal atmosphere.
Maybe, they just don’t “give a flip” and embrace the role of “outsider” and “trouble-maker”.
Understand, we have no problem with people enjoying free love, drugs, alcohol, or loud kick-ass music. Just know when, where, and how to appreciate it by being considerate of other people around you.
If you wanna play loud music until 3:00 am, go for it. Just do it the way the hell out in the woods where no one else can see you.
Poor Image
This is kind of related to the etiquette in campgrounds.
If your skoolie looks like something you purchased off of the set of a Cheech and Chong movie, or something left over from the Mad Max apocalyptic movies, then you are likely not going to “fit in” well with the other coaches and RVs.
People like to associate with others with whom they feel have things in common. Most RV owners are older and have a predetermined mindset of how things should look, feel and just be.
When you break that formula, some people get a little bent out of shape and have nothing more to do than a complaint about it.
We love the uniqueness and individuality of each skoolie’s appearance. Just understand that in modern society, people still judge others primarily from their appearance.
Skoolies are no different. Don’t be offended if this happens to you, just understand that you may be more accepted and more comfortable in a campground and more accepting of different lifestyles.
It is the way it is, unfortunately, so we should be prepared and not allow it to affect our energy and experience.
DIY Conversions Are A Liability
Most skoolies are DIY projects. Most of us have done all of the work on our skoolie from demolition to plumbing, electrical and solar array.
That being said, most of us have little to zero formal training and experience in plumbing, electrical or solar array systems.
Most of us have been trained and educated by YouTube and the people just like us who post videos of “How To”.
The funny thing about those who have posted the YouTube videos that we are learning from, have no formal education and training on the things they are showing you how to do.
Think about that for a second. Not sure if it is more fun than it is scary.
RV park and Campground park owners know this for the most part and they understand the liability that creates for them as a business.
Allowing a skoolie with DIY electrical and solar to mark only a few feet away from a 1 to 2 million dollar coach opens up a world of hurt if a fire would start from your skoolie and spread to other coaches.
So, we all need to understand if we are turned away from a campground because we are in a DIY skoolie, then maybe we shouldn’t take it quite so personally.
Wrap Up – Free Skoolie Camping
Free skoolie camping isn’t just possible but it is preferable to all other parking for us. We love the ability to get away from everything and just be one with nature.
Having on-demand electricity, fresh drinking water, and heat in the colder months gives us a feeling like nothing else.
It doesn’t matter if you are in a remote National Forest, BLM land, or a county RV park, just being on your own in your skoolie is the freedom millions of people only dream about.
They constantly tell themselves, “one day I am going to travel and have adventures full time.”
Unfortunately, those days never come for most people.
We love our skoolie lifestyle and can’t imagine living any other way.
If you know of some places where you can enjoy free skoolie camping, leave us a comment. We would love to hear from and connect with you!
