Hello!
We are just finishing our build and as we start planning on where to go overnight, we have found that we've been having trouble figuring out where it's safe to park overnight. We are located near SLC Utah and would like to start parking at or near some of the trailheads, etc. for early morning mtn bike rides.
Any tips, etc that you use to find a safe, legal place to park? We are aware of the Wal-Mart and Flying J policies and are aware of some of the apps available (ie - free parking apps, etc). Any apps, websites that have been helpful?
Thanks in advance and happy Sprinting!
I've always used common sense. If you want to stealth camp - just look like you're not camping. No chairs outside, no awning use, keep the doors shut. You don't need to look like a paint truck, just don't look like you're obviously camping. There are a number of Sprinter campers here in the downtown area in Denver that may or may not have people sleeping in them. They just look like cars on the street, and it's not illegal to be inside a van that's parked on the street. But, if you start creeping other people out, leaving garbage outside, playing the music loud at night, or having all your shades open while watching porn, you're going to attract some unwanted attention. It's not hard to be quiet, discrete, and polite.
Unless you're in a rough part of town, I've never felt unsafe parking on onramps, road pullouts, or gas station lots, or anywhere in a NF. I've even slept at countless rest stops overnight, usually in the back of a Porsche or Audi. Not exactly inconspicuous. Again - park, use the facility, go to bed. Keep the shades drawn in the back, keep your light use to a minimum, and be discrete. The "no overnight parking" is usually to keep out the multi-day campers.
There are a handful of towns in the west that are fairly aggressive about van dwellers parking downtown (crested butte, for example). Camp off any nearby dirt roads and you're fine. Other than that, if the place you're camping at isn't specifically marked as "No Parking," then I don't see a problem. Even within National Parks, you have quite a bit of leeway parking at TH's overnight.
There's a big difference between camping (multiple days in a row in one spot), and pulling off the road to get some shut eye or parking early for a dawn patrol. I spend most weekends here in Colorado parking in weird places pretty early, and often overnight, for those big days in the alpine. I can't say that I've ever had a problem parking or sleeping, but I'm not staying overnight in a restaurant lot or someone's driveway.
Our Sprinter will look like an obvious expedition rig. We'll stay overnight in big cities, rest stops, gas station lots - everywhere you would normally see cars parked at.