Parking at Wal*Mart

An often-asked question among new RVers is “Is it really OK to park overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot?

The answer is most often, “Yes, we welcome RVers”, except in a relatively few cases where it is prohibited by city ordinance.

The way to be sure is to ask the management at the particular Wal-Mart where you want to park.

The way to make sure we continue to be welcome is to practice good manners; just as we would any where we are guests.

For most RVers, parking overnight at a Wal-Mart has little to do with money, and everything to do with convenience.

It’s a great convenience, for example, to travel without a strict schedule such as is enforced if you must make campground reservations.

I travel that way all the time, and, while I prefer to stay at a nice campground with all the facilities, it’s a comfort, and a convenience, to know that I will always have a safe place to stop even when I don't have a campground reservation.

I plan my long trips with that in mind, scheduling my stops for gas and groceries after consulting the Wal-Mart Atlas for the locations of Super Wal-Marts along my route.

When I'm home, or at am staying at the same campground for a while, I like to shop on-line, and I find that Wal-Mart's on-line shopping works very well.

Look in the sidebar to the right for a handy Wal-Mart Search Box where you can find most of the same things you can find in a "stick and stones" Wal-Mart store.