Does Walmart promote camping in theire parking lots? Are there laws against it?
Hi...We stayed in some Walmart parking lots on the way to Alaska. We shopped in the store for groceries,etc and had no problems. Talked with some of the staff as they park at the back of the lot also. Heard some news awhile back that a few people could ruin this for all of us as they unplugged a pop machine to use the electric.
The folks in Johnson City and Bristol TN were very nice when we spent two weeks down there. Spent a couple nights at the wal-mart and attended paintball school and parked in the lot and carpooled from there. Bill&Mary
Some Walmart stores are located in cities/areas that have local ordinates preventing overnight parking of any kind. Some stores in higher crime/trouble areas may not allow it at all. Some stores may stop overnight parking for a time after having a trouble, to clear the problem out.
Here is a weblist that seems to be well maintained by users.
http://onfpg.com/Parking%20Not%20Allowed.htm
BDD
We sometimes do a drive by and see if there are any big rigs or other overnighters. If there are and it looks safe, we'll stay. I have never been asked to leave one and I even run my generator all night in the summer fo my air conditioner. We think that it beats rest stops. At one time the campgrounds were against it because of the loss of revenue so most stores post signs prohibiting it but we have never seen it enforced. Police go by several times per night at every one we have stayed at and have never asked us to leave.
We often stay at WalMart when on trips. Some we like and some we don't feel as safe staying at. On a long trip, it comes in really handy because that allows us to drive later than we would if we were staying at a campground. I have heard of people being on the road for long periods of time and never staying in campgrounds. I don't understand how I could do that but they seem to not have a problem doing it. We normally don't boondock more than two nights in a row. We have run into several WalMarts where overnighting is not permitted. That is pretty inconvenient when it is late at night and we were planning on staying there. Once near Gettysburg, PA, we had pulled in and were planning to stay the night. We had not noticed the signs and a night guard came by and made us move on. That was tough after we had driven all day, it was late and were tired. We found another one that permitted overnighting in Lancaster. The guard in Gettysburg explained that the properity did not belong to WalMart and the owner did not allow overnight parking.
I drive a truck for a living and Walmart lots used to be a well kept secret for truckers. No one seemed to mind that I parked at night. That is until just about anyone could get a CDL and drive.
The undesirables started throwing trash out on the lots as well as some other things I won't mention. Now, it is not uncommon to get run off. Meijer stores also. I still park on their lots just try to stay out of sight out on the edges of the lot or around the side.
I see lots of campers on these lots also. Campers are much better behaved and generally shop in the stores.
I have a TC and fully intend to use these lots when neccessary.
Goes to show ya that a few ne'r do wells can ruin a good thing for everyone.
Don't try to spend the night in the Wal-Mart in Williston, ND. With the oil boom going on, so many people were camping in the parking lot that they totally shut it down to camping, even for one night. Also, in Billings, MT they have a city ordinence against it. It was petitioned by the owners of the KOA in Billings which is where the KOA was founded. I still see campers in the Billings lot, but I don't know if they will kick you out or not.
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