Dead Eye Jake Posted January 28 Posted January 28 When traveling to a match that's more than one days drive, where do you try to find a place to park for the night? Has anybody tried Harvest Hosts overnight campgrounds. I think you have to be a member, though. Quote
Yul Lose Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Most Cracker Barrel restaurants will let you overnight as will a lot of Walmarts, no hook ups though. I usually park in an out of the way area of a truck stop. 3 Quote
Mad Dog Jack, SASS #77862 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Walmart is where I stayed, bathrooms and food 2 Quote
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 State and county parks offer good value. Forest Service campgrounds are good too, especially with a senior discount card. I'll send you a website that rates campgrounds as forum rules do not allow posting here. 2 Quote
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted January 28 Posted January 28 For a monthly I take my Grand Highlander, an air mattress, pillows and some blankets and stay at the range. Most ranges have facilities available, I eat on the way and keep plenty of snacks and drinks in the car. LiPo battery for the cpap and good to go. Bigger match, take the super duty and fifth wheel, have stayed out camping for up to 8 days before the tanks need dumped, two solar panels and the generator keeps electricity up, tall propane tanks last about 6 days each and good to go. If I can stay at the range that works best for me but lots of RV camping pretty much everywhere I have gone, they are just an overnight parking spot anyway. Regards Gateway Kid 1 Quote
watab kid Posted January 28 Posted January 28 1 hour ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said: State and county parks offer good value. Forest Service campgrounds are good too, especially with a senior discount card. I'll send you a website that rates campgrounds as forum rules do not allow posting here. we use state parks , fed parks , state forests and the occasional truck stop , never stayed at a walmart yet but i guess thats as good as a truckstop , both usually on main highway and the services are close , 1 Quote
Whitey James Posted January 28 Posted January 28 +1 for Cracker Barrel, I use the Campendium app to plan out my trips. 1 Quote
Crisco Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Harvest Hosts can work well if convenient to your route. Membership is required. Read the details closely when picking a place. Many are nice country settings, but I have friends that ended up in a parking lot in town next to a brewery. Nothing dangerous, but all the personality of a rest area. We usually stay in commercial RV parks or state parks along the way. You can save money staying at Walmart or in a rest area but I sleep much better in a place without all night traffic, drug deals, and street people. Hookups are not required but nice, and we always make sure to have them the last night before arriving at a multi-day match. 2 Quote
watab kid Posted January 28 Posted January 28 i agree with crisco that there are areas that we wont stay in the 'cheap' places , a nice KOA or other well known campground is quite easy to find as long as your willing to pay for it - in our case when we choose those we dont mind paying the tab , a year ago i stayed in a few of them , i liked them all , we were traveling late season in the colder areas , it was nice to have the electricity for the heat and light , didnt really use much else , but a safe haven is important , yes i sleep with a gun at hand , but id like to not have to use it 2 Quote
Barry Sloe Posted January 28 Posted January 28 7 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said: State and county parks offer good value. Forest Service campgrounds are good too, especially with a senior discount card. I'll send you a website that rates campgrounds as forum rules do not allow posting here. Would you send me that website? Thanks, Barry Sloe Quote
Griff Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Don't forget to get your Lifetime Senior Pass for National Parks and Recreational Areas. (If you qualify). And keep it in mind for when you do. 4 1 Quote
Sedalia Dave Posted January 28 Posted January 28 (edited) Be careful when staying at a Walmart or other big box stores. Some Walmarts do not allow overnight stays. They will have a tow company install a "boot" on your rig. Can be rather expensive to get it removed. Always verify with the manager beforehand. Edited January 30 by Sedalia Dave 3 Quote
John Kloehr Posted January 28 Posted January 28 10 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said: Be careful when staying at a Walmart or other box box stores. Some Walmarts do not allow overnight stays. They will have a tow company install a "boot" on your rig. Can be rather expensive to get it removed. Always verify with the manager beforehand. Definitely need to call ahead these days. Maybe some changes in Walmart management and directives over the last few decades. Back around 2000, some localities passed local ordinances prohibiting overnight camping in parking lots. Until then, Walmart was a common and popular place for urban boon docking. And Walmart was friendly to the practice. The friendliness evaporated some in 2008 as the number of homeless increased, and the overnight stays extended to a week, a month, or more. 2 Quote
Anvil Al #59168 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 We always just try and find a place on the way through internet search. Normally can find one right along the road we will be traveling on. Or at least no more than a mile or two off the main road we are on. Find the town we are wanting to stop at then google. 1 Quote
Choctaw Jack Posted January 28 Posted January 28 While traveling to and from , in our part of the country, we often overnight in casino parking lots. Most have 24 hour security in designated RV areas. Many have designated areas for 18 wheelers that RVs can use, but we avoid those when possible because of the noise of idling engines and the smell of diesel. And lots of casinos have very affordable dining also. Most Walmarts have changed there policy about overnighter and have posted signs against it. We haven't stopped at a Cracker Barrel in a while, so I don't know about them. I have yet to attend a larger match where there wasn't at least dry camping available. Of course, YMMV. Choctaw 1 Quote
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted January 28 Posted January 28 4 hours ago, John Kloehr said: Definitely need to call ahead these days. Maybe some changes in Walmart management and directives over the last few decades. Back around 2000, some localities passed local ordinances prohibiting overnight camping in parking lots. Until then, Walmart was a common and popular place for urban boon docking. And Walmart was friendly to the practice. The friendliness evaporated some in 2008 as the number of homeless increased, and the overnight stays extended to a week, a month, or more. Our local Walmart (2) used to encourage people traveling through town to spend the night in the parking lot, even had special markings on the ground to guide trailers. Then had a rash of slob campers and homeless started dumping black water there! Not just on the pavement, but directly into the storm drains. The city stepped in and started to chase long term homeless campers out but the activists came unglued! Can’t discriminate against homeless, So the city said okay Walmart, you are responsible for cleaning everything up and when it became apparent how much dumping was going on and what it cost to clean up, Walmart said…. Nobody is allowed to camp overnight anymore. Signs everywhere now. Sadly Gateway Kid 2 1 Quote
Irish Dan O'Shootem Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Check RV Parky App it shows campgrounds, Cracker Barrels if Walmarts allow or don't allow overnight parking. 1 Quote
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 10 hours ago, Barry Sloe said: Would you send me that website? Thanks, Barry Sloe Sent this morning. 1 Quote
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted January 29 Posted January 29 We use the Federal Senior Golden Age pass as often as we can. 1/2 price at all Federal campgrounds including Corp of Engineer parks and free admission into Federal parks. We usually stay at a COE park or state park when possible. 3 Quote
Krazy Kajun Posted January 29 Posted January 29 2 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said: We use the Federal Senior Golden Age pass as often as we can. 1/2 price at all Federal campgrounds including Corp of Engineer parks and free admission into Federal parks. We usually stay at a COE park or state park when possible. You really ought to change your alias from Badlands "Evil" Bob to Cheap Bob, I've seen you in action. 🤣 And yes, using the Golden Age pass at Federal Campgrounds has saved Cheap Bob and myself a good amount of drachmas over the years. The Thrifty Kajun 2 Quote
watab kid Posted January 29 Posted January 29 15 hours ago, Griff said: Don't forget to get your Lifetime Senior Pass for National Parks and Recreational Areas. (If you qualify). And keep it in mind for when you do. this for sure we use it all the time , its worth what you pay for it in the first year easily 1 Quote
Dead Eye Jake Posted January 29 Author Posted January 29 Thanks for all the replies and good info. I do take advantage of camping at the range when possible. Always nice to get to know fellow shooters better when parked close together. Finding a place on the way to and from a match is what concerned me and I will check out all of the suggestions. Thanks again. C'ya down the trail, Jake Quote
Sedalia Dave Posted January 29 Posted January 29 On 1/28/2025 at 7:24 AM, Griff said: Don't forget to get your Lifetime Senior Pass for National Parks and Recreational Areas. (If you qualify). And keep it in mind for when you do. There is a version for Active Duty and Veterans. It doesn't have an age requirement. 2 Quote
Griff Posted January 29 Posted January 29 1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said: There is a version for Active Duty and Veterans. It doesn't have an age requirement. Texas has a similar program... choose that one you qualify for: Texas State Park Passes. 1 Quote
doc roy l. pain Posted January 29 Posted January 29 We stay a lot in rest areas right along side of semi trucks 2 Quote
Griff Posted January 29 Posted January 29 57 minutes ago, doc roy l. pain said: We stay a lot in rest areas right along side of semi trucks Brave folks... and I'm in one of those sme-trucks! 😁 1 1 Quote
Barry Sloe Posted January 30 Posted January 30 5 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said: There is a version for Active Duty and Veterans. It doesn't have an age requirement. When I called to check on getting a veterans pass, the gentleman on the other end told me to look closely at the benefits of each pass. I ended up going with the Senior Lifetime Pass. It had more perks. Your mileage may vary, BS Quote
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted January 30 Posted January 30 1 hour ago, WymoreWrangler SASS 46187L said: KOA... KOAs are among my camping choices. Their "Journey" campgrounds are not too expensive though their "Holiday" campgrounds can be pricey for just an overnight stay. One can book online (including using a phone app) and get reservations without going through a clumsy phone reservation system. Love's travel stops are building campgrounds catering to overnighters. They too have an online reservation system. The campgrounds are paved which would be a bonus in increment weather. 1 Quote
watab kid Posted January 30 Posted January 30 we used a loves last year it was very easy and comfortable for our needs overnight , KOA this past summer was a last minute phone in in a teerrible storm , the nice guy talked us right in and had two adjoining spots for us and the relatives that were traveling along with us , driving that night was impossible , 1 Quote
Dead Eye Jake Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 Tha is for the additional replies. All good info and I will keep them all in mind. Quote
MizPete Posted January 30 Posted January 30 We have our spots at Ponderosa Pines (my N#1 happy place) and North Alabama Rangers (my 2nd happy place). And in Steinhatchee FL for the the Crabfest, where we'll be next month. Our friends take care of us! Quote
watab kid Posted January 30 Posted January 30 whatever you do enjoy it , never push too far circle the wagons at a reasonable time on whatever ground your on and drive safe Quote
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