| "Do you know about Wal-Mart camping?" We didn't | | | | Forest lands. In both cases you're limited to a stay of |
| know, but the old man at the campground in Florida | | | | two weeks in one place, though this rule is not |
| insisted WalMart not only allowed RVs and vans to | | | | always enforced, and the next two-week place |
| park overnight, but encouraged it. "Free camping," he | | | | might have to be only a hundred yards away. State |
| told us, and we didn't wait long to take advantage of | | | | forest lands are usually open to free camping without |
| this new knowledge. | | | | permits, but policies vary by state (The two-week |
| Somewhere in northern Georgia we pulled into a | | | | rule seems to be common). |
| Wal-Mart, and sure enough, we saw some RVs off | | | | We camped in our van for ten days at Williams |
| to one side of the parking lot, looking like they were | | | | Landing, east of Tallahassee, Florida, on Lake Talquin. |
| there for the night. We were heading back to | | | | It's a beautiful place, with hot showers. Our cost? |
| Michigan in our conversion van, and free camping | | | | Zero, and you can stay up to two weeks. There are |
| sounded good to us. We parked, plugged in our | | | | free campgrounds scattered around the country. Ask |
| 5-inch T.V., and settled in for the night. Nobody | | | | an RVer about this, or buy a Woodall's directory |
| bothered us. In the morning we used the bathrooms | | | | from any large RV dealer. |
| inside, and bought some orange juice. | | | | Note: Wal-mart seems to encourage the campers, |
| The next night we camped for free again, this time | | | | except in coastal areas where too many RVer's want |
| at a "Flying J" truckstop. There were RVs camping | | | | to live in a parking lot. Don't roll out the carpet and |
| there as well. You'll find Flying J Truckstops all over, | | | | put out lawn furniture like one traveler we heard |
| and they actively court the RV crowd, counting on | | | | about, or you may ruin it for all. Some stay for a |
| gas and other sales. We filled our tank there in the | | | | week at a time, going out all day to see the sights |
| morning, and bought some food as well. As long as | | | | (and so they don't wear out their welcome). |
| campers stay out of the way of the truckers, free | | | | Wal-mart gets business from the campers, but they'll |
| camping is likely to continue. | | | | only continue their policy if they don't have problems, |
| Other Free Camping Places | | | | so keep it low-key. |
| Generally, you can camp free on any BLM (Bureau of | | | | To find a Wal-Mart in the area you're traveling to, |
| Land Management) land, unless it's specifically | | | | visit Scroll down to the "store finder" link to search. |
| forbidden in an area. This is also true of National | | | | Thank you for camping at Wal-Mart! |