Charlottesville
December 20, 2021
Useful information from www.boondockersbible.com.
Most states allow overnight parking in rest areas. Only a minority of them do not. But even in states that prohibit overnight parking in rest areas, those rest areas are still open 24 hours a day. This means it is still technically legal to arrive at a rest area at night, and remain there for as long as the state allows.
Which States Allow Overnight Parking in Rest Areas?
The following states have no laws or regulations prohibiting overnight parking in rest areas. (yes = allowed, no = not allowed)
Note: click on the state to read full rest area rules on overnight parking…
Alabama – yes
Alaska – yes
Arizona – yes
Arkansas – yes
California – yes
Colorado – no
Connecticut – yes
Delaware – yes
Florida – yes
Georgia – yes1
Hawaii – no2
Idaho – yes
Illinois – yes
Indiana – yes3
Iowa – yes
Kansas – yes
Kentucky – yes
Louisiana – yes
Maine – yes
Maryland – no
Massachusetts – yes4
Michigan – yes
Minnesota – yes
Mississippi – yes
Missouri – yes
Montana – yes
Nebraska – no
Nevada – yes
New Hampshire – yes
New Jersey – yes5
New Mexico – yes
New York – yes
North Carolina – no
North Dakota – yes
Ohio – yes
Oklahoma – yes
Oregon – yes
Pennsylvania – yes
Rhode Island – yes
South Carolina – no
South Dakota – yes
Tennessee – no
Texas – yes
Utah – yes
Vermont – yes
Virginia – no
Washington – yes
West Virginia – yes
Wisconsin – yes
Wyoming – yes
1 Georgia allows overnight parking at rest areas, but not at its welcome centers.
2 Hawaii has no rest areas, but bans sleeping in vehicles parked along highways.
3 Indiana allows overnight parking at most rest areas; a few have signs prohibiting such activity.
4 Massachusetts allows overnight parking at most rest areas; a few have signs prohibiting such activity.
5 New Jersey allow overnight parking at most rest areas; a few restrict overnight parking to commercial vehicles only.
States That Ban Camping in Rest Areas, but not Overnight Parking
Many states specifically ban “camping” in rest areas, but do not otherwise ban overnight parking. Camping is generally considered as either sleeping on the ground, sleeping on picnic tables, benches, inside rest area buildings, or pitching a tent or shelter.
Sleeping inside a vehicle is generally permitted across all states (with the exception of Hawaii) and is not considered camping. However, if you put out camping equipment at a rest area, such as patio chairs, barbecue grills, dog fence, outdoor television, a law enforcement officer may use their discretion to decide if that crosses the line into “camping”…
California
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming
How Long Can You Sleep at a Rest Area?
Most states do not specify how long you can sleep at a rest area. This does not mean, however, you can remain for as long as you want. At some point, a law enforcement officer will tap on your window or door to check on you. However, there are several states that do have time limits.
Note: Read our more detailed state-by-state analysis on rest area time limits, “How Long Can You Stay at a Rest Area?“
Alabama – no time limit
Alaska – no time limit
Arizona – no time limit
Arkansas – no time limit
California – 8 hours
Colorado – no time limit
Connecticut – no time limit
Delaware – 6 hours at Smyrna Rest Area, no time limit at I-95 Welcome Center
Florida – 10 hours for commercial vehicles, 3 hours for all others
Georgia – no time limit
Hawaii – no time limit
Idaho – 10 hours in Interstate rest areas, 16 hours on all other highways
Illinois – 3 hours
Indiana – no time limit
Iowa – 24 hours
Kansas – 24 hours
Kentucky – 4 hours
Louisiana – no time limit
Maine – no time limit
Maryland – 3 hours
Massachusetts – no time limit for most, some rest areas have a 2 hour limit
Michigan – no time limit
Minnesota – 10 hours for commercial vehicles, 4 hours for all others
Mississippi – 8 hours
Missouri – no time limit
Montana – no time limit
Nebraska – 10 hours
Nevada – 18 hours
New Hampshire – no time limit
New Jersey – no time limit
New Mexico – 24 hours
New York – 10 hours for commercial vehicles, 3 hours for all others, 4 hours at service plazas
North Carolina – no time limit
North Dakota – no time limit
Ohio – no time limit
Oklahoma – no time limit
Oregon – 12 hours
Pennsylvania – 2 hours, 24 hours at service plazas
Rhode Island – no time limit
South Carolina – no time limit
South Dakota – 10 hours for commercial vehicles, 3 hours for all others
Tennessee – 2 hours
Texas – 24 hours
Utah – no time limits
Vermont – no time limits
Virginia – no time limits
Washington – 8 hours
West Virginia – no time limits
Wisconsin – 24 hours
Wyoming – no time limits
If a State Has Banned Overnight Parking at a Rest Area, Can I Still Park Overnight There?
Actually, Yes! The reason why is because all rest areas are open 24 hours a day. You are allowed to arrive at at night, and stay there for as long as it takes to get rested, or up to the maximum allowable time.
No law enforcement officer is going to force a drowsy driver to get back on the highway. As long as you can demonstrate that you are too sleepy to continue driving, they will let you stay. Therefore, it behooves you to act like someone who is too tired to continue. That is, don’t spend any significant amount of time having fun outside, stay inside your RV or vehicle, and turn down the volume on your television or radio.
Why Do Other Websites Publish Conflicting Information?
It’s because they are confused between the terms “camping” and “overnight parking”.
We’ve done a lot of research into this topic. Because we are boondockers, and because this website is intended to be the end-all, be-all, resource on boondocking in the United States, we looked into this with a microscope.
When a state prohibits camping at a rest area, they are referring to erecting a tent or other shelter on the grounds, or sleeping on a picnic table or inside a rest area building. They are not referring to sleeping inside your vehicle. Sleeping inside your vehicle is uniquely different than camping with respect to rest areas.
The fact is that sleeping inside your vehicle is exactly what a rest area is for. Every state refers to their rest areas as “safety rest areas”. The last thing they want is a drowsy driver causing an accident along a highway. They “want” you to sleep at their rest area. The question is, how long will they tolerate you staying there?