Free Campgrounds And Overnight Parking Places

Free Campgrounds And

Overnight Parking Places

As a service to our traveling readers, every issue we will list some of the many places where RVers can park overnight for free or almost free. These are not intended to be campgrounds where RVers will make extended stays, just safe places to pull off the highway and get some rest. The listings included here are from our Free Parking list, and come from our own traveling experiences, input from fellow RVers, and different RVing publications. The parking areas listed were accurate as of press time to the best of our knowledge, but the Gypsy Journal cannot guarantee an area might not have been closed down or parking prohibited since its inclusion in our list.

To obtain our list of over 1,000 free and low cost overnight parking places, send $8.95 to Gypsy Journal, 1400 Colorado Street, C-16, Boulder City, Nevada 89005-2448. You can also order with your credit card online at www.PayPal.com by making payment to Gypsy Journal, 1400 Colorado St. #C-16, Boulder City, NV 89005. *Due to shipping costs, this book is not available for Canadian addresses.

California

Rest areas: No camping, but overnight parking (resting) is allowed, with a six hour limit. Look for trucks & other RVs and remain inconspicuous.

Salton City : Free overnight parking at Oh My God Hot Well, about three miles west of town.

Salton City : From SR 86, take County Road 22 west toward Borrego Springs. Large flat areas north of road to boondock.

Santa Nella: Truck and RV parking area off I-5 next to Holiday Inn and McDonalds.

Tecopa: Tecopa Hot Springs Road at Highway 27, BLM land offers free RV camping.

Twentynine Palms: Stars Way Out Cafe, 17 miles east of town on Highway 17, allows overnight parking.

Wasco: Big K store, west end of parking lot behind store.

Walker Pass : Free BLM campground on State Highway 178, about 30 miles from Lake Isabella .

Williams: Granzella’s Restaurant on 6^th Street allows overnight parking.

Williams: Truck/RV parking area in rear between Denny’s restaurant and Uniroyal tire shop.

Yuba City: Live Oak Park, 8½ miles north of town on Highway 99, exit Live Oak, turn west on Pennington Road for one mile. 12 sites, 14 day limit, RVs under 30 feet. Picnic tables, toilets, drinking water

Yucca Valley : Take Highway 62 five miles west of town to Morongo City Park . Six sites, picnic tables, toilets.

Connecticut

Danbury: State Welcome Center at Exit 2 on Interstate 84 has dump station and allows overnight parking in a separate area designated for RVs.

Illinois

Rest areas: Overnight parking permitted, just don’t call it camping & keep a low profile.

Cairo : South of town on US Highways 60/62 is Fort Defiance Park , with long RV sites with water, electric & dump station $10/night.

Flora: At junction of US Highway 50 and northbound US Highway 45, northwest quadrant, is a stretch of abandoned roadway about ¼ mile long. Several signs posted say No Parking, but we have seen many RVs and eighteen wheelers parked there when we have passed. Easy access in and out.

Compton : About one mile north of town on State Route 251, rest area on east side of highway has picnic tables and room for several RVs.

Gibson City : City park on State Highway 9 has 30 amp electric service, water & dump station. Free. Two day limit.

Gilman: Great city park at east side of town, south side of US 24. RVs welcome. Room for 4 large rigs. Quiet.

Grayville: City owned campground on bluff overlooking Wabash River . 30 amp full hookups,.

Hoopeston: McFerren Park on south side of town at junction of State Route 1 and Penn Street near McDonald’s allows overnight RV parking. Use south entrance.

Kampville: Kampville River Park in center of town on 2^nd Avenue has RV sites with electric, water & dump, $12/night.

Kewanee: Francis City Park , about 4 miles east of town on US Hwy. 34 has 64 RV sites with electric, water and dump station available. $8/night, $48/week. 21 day limit. Open May 1 to October 1.

Oblong: Oblong Village Park , on State Highway 33 has RV sites with dump, water and electric. Free from October 15-April 15, $5 during remainder of year.

Sheldon: There is picnic area a few miles east of town on US 24 with a paved parking lot big enough for three or four RVs.

Wolf Lake : Pine Hills Campground, Shawnee National Forest , primitive RV sites, fire rings & tables, vault toilets, no water. Open all year, $5/night, seniors with Golden Age Card $2.50/night. Located ½ mile east of State Route 3 on Forest Service road. GPS: N37^o30.826’ W089^o 25.382.

Iowa

Rest areas: Official rule is no overnight parking allowed, stays limited to 5 hours. But we have stayed overnight in two rest areas on I-80 with no problems.

Akron : County park one mile north of town has grassy RV sites with electric, dump, and water available. Pool with showers and restrooms. 6 days free.

Alden: Hardin County Park , 25 RV sites, one night limit.

Alton : There is a roadside park with water& electric hookups on the west side of State Route 60 on the north side of town. $5/night.

Audubon: RVs can park up to 14 days at Albert the Bull park. $8/night. Sites have water, electric and a dump station. Located on US Highway 71, on south side of town.

Aurelia: Cherokee County Park , on lake 2 miles east of town on Highway 3, 10 sites, free.

Battle Creek : Crawford Creek Lake Park , two miles south of town on Highway L51, has full hookup RV sites. Dump station, fishing lake, restrooms, showers. $5/day.

Baxter: Ashton Wildwood Park , seven miles west of town, one night limit.

Bloomfield : Pulaski Park on SR 2 in town has sites for RVs up to 40 feet. Picnic tables & toilets.

Bristow: City park has sites for RVs to 35 feet.

Casey: Jackson City Park on north side of town has 6 RV sites with 20 amp electric & dump station, $10/night. no listed stay limit. GPS: N41° 30.566', W94° 30.995' Directions: I-80 Exit 83, go N into town, continue N on McPherson Street , well signed.

Cedar Valley : Cedar Valley County Park has RV sites with electric $5/night. Dry camp $3/night.From I-80 take Exit 259 north 5 miles.

Clarinda: City park has spaces for RVs, one night limit.

Council Bluffs : Bluff Run Casino, exit 1B on I-80 has free dry camping area on north side of parking lot, as well as a full service (paid) RV park.

Creston: City park just west of town has free camping, or you can pay $8/day for electric and water hookups. Seven day limit.

Dexter: City owned park on north side of town has 7 pair 20 amp electric, central water, flush toilets, gazebo with lights GPS: N41° 31.131' W94° 13.450'. Directions: I-80 Exit 97 (S of town) or Exit 100 (due E of town), park is in NE part of town

Drakesville: Drakesville Park on north side of town has free RV sites, some with electric.

Estherville: North Riverside Park on west end of town on First Street , a block north of State Route 9 has RV sites with electric, water & dump station. No charge. Three day limit.

Exira: A mile south of town on US Highway 71, Plow in the Oak Park has RV sites.

Fairbanks : County park seven miles north of town has RV sites for $3/day, no size limit.

Fairfield : City parking lot three blocks north of US Hwy. 34 past town square at corner of Briggs and Main Streets allows RVs to park for up to 12 hours.

Floyd: Lions Park has two RV sites, one day limit.

Indianola: Pickard City Park has seven RV sites with water & electric, $8/night. Two miles east of town on SR 92. RVs use first road east of main entrance. GPS: N 41^o 21.406 W 093^o 31.239

Iowa Falls : Junction of US 20 & US 65, 6 miles north of town. Abandoned gas station & restaurant. Clean, level & paved.

Jefferson : City park allows one night parking.

Kalona: City park on Highway 22 has 32 RV sites with water and electric, and a dump station. $10/night.

Knoxville : Marion County Park has 150+ RV sites with electric, water, and dump. $9/night.

Lamoni: Slip Bluff County Park has large, level RV sites with water & electric available. Lots of trees, fishing pond, rest rooms.

Menlo: Six RV sites with 15 & 20 amp electric, central water, porta-potty toilet, lots of trees, $5 silent ranger drop box, no listed stay limit. GPS: N41° 31.255', W94° 24.242' Directions: I-80 Exit 88, N on Redwood Road/CR P20 to SR 925, right (east) to town, left (north) on Sherman St., turn right (east) before RR tracks to park

Ogden : Don Williams County Park has RV sites with water & electric, dump station. $11/night. Located on Highway P70, about 6 miles north of town.

Orange City : Veterans Park has RV sites with utilities, $8/night.

Osceola: Lakeside Casino has full hookup RV sites with 30 & 50 amp service, concrete pads. $10/night. Take Exit 34 on Interstate 35, casino is 1/4 mile west.

Oskaloosa: Penn Central Mall, on Highway 192 in town, allows overnight RV parking.

Perry: Pattee City Park has free RV sites, 5 day limit. Dump station. From Hwy. 141, take 1^st Avenue north a half mile, turn left on Willis.

Pulaski: City owned park south of highway near ball field has 4 sites, free.

Rockwell City : Rockwell City RV park has 10 RV sites with electric, water, and dump station, $10/day or $60/week. Directions: From US Highway 20, turn north on 8^th Street .

Rudd: City park on US Highway 18 ( Business Route ) allows RVs to stay overnight. $5/night. Electric, water, picnic tables.

Sheffield: Calvin City Park on west side of town has 6 RV sites with electric, $2/night.

Staceyville: Riverside City Park on east side of river has RV sites with water & electric.

Over 1,000 places you can park for free, or almost free - Taking advantages of boondocking can really stretch your RVing budget. We’ve assembled a list of over 1,000 city and county parks, public locations, rest areas, scenic viewpoints, RV-friendly businesses and other places across the country and in Canada where you can park over-night free or for a very minimal cost. Some allow more than one nights stay, some include full or partial hookups. Many RVers who have purchased this booklet report saving hundreds of dollars with these money saving camping opportunities. Available in printed or on 3.5" floppy formatted for Windows WordPerfect. Please specify preference. To receive your copy of this money saving list of budget camping opportunities, send check or money order for $8.95 to Gypsy Journal, 1400 Colorado Street, #C-16, Boulder City, Nevada 89005-2448, or click on shopping cart icon below. *Due to shipping costs, this book is not available for Canadian addresses.