Overnight parking basics

You need a place to stop before the clock does, not after. This page is the planning version of that sentence. It is general information, not legal advice, and the federal hours-of-service rules change. Read the current text at FMCSA hours of service before you rely on a summary.

The clock, in one paragraph

For most property-carrying drivers, the long-standing federal limits are 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty, a 30-minute break, and a weekly cap (60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8). Sleeper-berth splits and short-haul exceptions change the arithmetic. The practical effect is the same: the search for parking has to start while you still have miles left to reach a second choice.

Pick the stop, then pick the spare

Choose the lot you want and the next exit that also has truck parking. If the first lot is full, you already know the backup. Use the interstate pages on this site to see what else is on the same route in that state, and the location page to see what is nearby. Space counts, when we have them, are a capacity figure from FHWA’s 2019 Jason’s Law compilation or an OpenStreetMap capacity:hgv tag. They are not “spaces open tonight.”

What kind of lot you are looking at

• Public rest area or welcome center. Usually no fee. A time limit, an overnight ban, or a truck ban may be posted. We do not fill those hours in from memory. See the time-limit guide.
• Truck stop. Private property. Parking is often available without a separate fee, and reserved spots are often paid. The listing says “free and paid” when the source did not pick one.
• Designated truck parking. A lot tagged for trucks that is not a branded travel center. Treat the fee as unknown unless the listing says otherwise.
• Shipper or receiver yards. Not in this directory unless someone submitted them. Park there only with permission.

Shoulders and ramps are not a plan

Parking on a ramp or shoulder is a last resort. It is often illegal, it is a poor place to be hit, and the rule is set by the state and by the signs in front of you. This site does not list which states prohibit it, because a wrong list is worse than none. TODO: add a sourced table of shoulder and ramp parking rules, one state at a time, from state statutes or DOT pages. Do not fill from forums.

When you roll in

• Read the sign at the entrance before you commit the trailer. Height, length, time, and “no trucks” are posted there, not in this database.
• The welcome-center building often closes earlier than the parking lot. Do not assume the desk and the stalls keep the same hours.
• Idling limits are local and posted. They are not catalogued here. TODO: source idling ordinances only from the city or state that adopted them.
• If the listing is wrong, use “Is this info wrong?” on the page. A correction beats another full lot that is not really there.