Building a Better Parking Map

One of the most common questions people ask when they begin traveling or living in a vehicle is simple: “Where can I park tonight?”

For many nomads, that question isn’t just about convenience. It’s about safety, legality, and peace of mind. A good night’s rest is hard to come by if you’re constantly worried about being asked to move in the middle of the night.

That challenge is one of the reasons I created the Parking List on this website. The goal is straightforward: build a practical, community-driven resource that helps travelers find places where overnight parking is known to be tolerated or permitted. Instead of everyone searching alone, we can share knowledge and make the road a little easier for the next person.

When someone adds a location to the list, the form asks for details that really matter on the road. Things like maximum length of stay, maximum vehicle size, and whether the location is officially sponsored by an organization or simply a place another traveler has successfully stayed before. There’s also room to note amenities such as restrooms, trash access, or nearby services. Those small pieces of information can make a big difference when you’re planning where to stop for the night.

I’ve already added several locations myself to help get the list started. Some of them came from publicly available resources I became familiar with while working with the National Vehicle Residency Coalition. Their parking information is openly shared so travelers can access it, and resources like that helped inspire this project. Others came from my further research into Safepark programs, which allowed me to add a dozen or so of my own places. My goal here is simply to gather useful information in one place and make it easier for travelers to contribute their own discoveries.

Across the country, there are also growing efforts known as Safe Parking programs. These programs, often run by nonprofits, churches, or local governments, provide designated places where people living in vehicles can stay overnight legally. Many include basic services such as restrooms, security, or connections to social services.

Not every state has them yet, and availability can vary widely, but they represent an important step toward recognizing that vehicle residency is a real and growing part of modern life.

Resources like the Parking List can complement those programs by helping travelers share information about places that are working, places that welcome overnight stays, and places where others have had a positive experience.

But the most important part of this project isn’t the list itself.

It’s the community behind it.

Vehicle dwellers often travel alone, and that independence is part of the lifestyle many of us value. At the same time, no one thrives completely in isolation. The road becomes much easier when travelers share information, watch out for one another, and contribute what they’ve learned along the way.

If you’ve found a place that allowed overnight parking and felt reasonably safe and respectful of travelers, consider adding it to the list. The more people contribute, the stronger and more helpful the resource becomes.

My hope is that this project grows into something larger than a simple list of parking spots. I hope it becomes one small example of what can happen when people on the road work together instead of navigating everything alone.

Because sometimes the best way to make the journey easier… is simply to share the map.