Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints

Owners of recreational vehicles can park their motor homes overnight in the parking lot of most Wal-Marts in the U.S., free of charge.  (I checked with them on this - Wal-Marts sent me a U.S. map indicating where their stores were and also giving specific street addresses.  There are two where they request, for your own safety, that you don't use - one of which is in the Chicago area. Available at the Wal-Mart stores (up front, near the registers, you can also purchase a special Rand McNally Atlas - Wal-Mart price $4.97 which includes store directory.)

The practice is called "boondocking" and appears to be endorsed by Wal-Mart's top managers in Bentonville, Arkansas, who obviously value the business brought in by the RVers.  Alternate free parking suggested: church and hospital parking lots.

Using sense, this should be done as an overnight while traveling situation, not a two or three day no-charge campground which, unfortunately, some people are doing. 

AAA and DeLorme teamed up to provide a version of AAA Map'n'Go geared specifically for RVers. AAA Map'n'Go 7.0 runs on Microsoft Windows or Windows NT 4.0 and provides RVers with the latest AAA ratings of restaurants, attractions and lodgings, as well as maps of more than a million miles of routable roads through the United States, Canada and Mexico. The new version also features locations of Wal-Marts, Sam's Clubs and Flying J Travel Plazas where RVers can park overnight.  DeLorme, Department MH, P.O. Box 298, Yarmouth, Maine 04096; (800) 561-5104; www.delorme.com

I traveled to Florida in November of 2001 and Cape Hatteras in June of 2002. I overnighted while traveling at Travel America, Flying J and Wal-Marts.  Flying J has an excellent restaurant which features "all you can eat" buffets for breakfast, lunch and supper (or dinner as the case may be).  Quite reasonable and very good.  The store is well stocked with electronic stuff, CDs, video tapes, motor oil, toiletries, food stuff, etc.  Prices are reasonable.  

	These photos were taken at the Flying J, exit 52A heading south on I81, I believe in Pennsylvania just before the Maryland border.

Other options:

Check out www.freecampgrounds.com which lists 16 states worth of spots where you can park over night without paying a cent (and without being harassed by police or landowners).

www3.simpatico.ca actually lists, describes and rates major airports of the world in terms of how easy it is to sleep free overnight in their waiting areas, thus avoiding a hotel expense. It's the "Budget Traveler's Guide to Sleeping in Airports," a novel kind of camping out.  (Please note, this was in the September/October 2001 issue of RVing Women, prior to September 11, 2001.  I very much doubt this option will be allowed any longer.