Community Forums

pdirv2 · 03-28-2020, 10:19 AM

hi all.

I would love to pursue the idea of traveling with my travel trailer for winter sports. I get the impression that I am not alone in this. But the bit that puzzles me is where do you guys park your rigs during the day?

State lands and private camps are closed in winter. The few that are open (primitive camps sites or private) are hours away from the mountain, obviously not a very practical solution. Places like Walmart or Home Depot allow parking on their premises through the night. This is a good start, but where do you leave the trailer for the day when you are out enjoying winter sports? Below are my ideas that come to mind. I would appreciate it if you guys could help out with your tips, perhaps someone who has done it.

1. Call ahead the principle of a school in a nearby town and ask permission to park the trailer Fri night into Sun night on school parking lots. I figure this is a public place virtually deserted during weekends, so why not try there.

2. Interstate truck rest stops - would they allow to leave my trailer unattended?

3. Tow the trailer to the mountain in the morning, then return to some Walmart parking lot for the night. Repeat for the remaining number of skiing days.

Cheers!

Peter.

C5c5 · 03-28-2020, 01:09 PM

There are more and more folks who let boondockers stay for free or low cost on their properties for a small period of time.

I cannot remember the name of it, but there is an app and a website where you can find what is available. Im sure there will be some people who do this near the places you wish to go.

UTTransplant · 03-28-2020, 04:17 PM

In the west there are a number of places set up for snowmobiled parking, and I have definitely seen rigs parked there overnight while dry camping. Since it is definitely a lot more work to camp in snow than warmer weather, you might want to think about serviced sites too. Some ski resorts have RV parking, and there are sometimes private parks near skiing spots with year around sites. Pick your preferred location and look at places like Campendium.

DRM901 · 03-29-2020, 07:13 AM

Due to liability, many public schools do not allow anyone to park on their property overnight.

keymastr · 03-29-2020, 08:22 AM

In Washington there are parking lots near ski areas and snomobile trails called Sno-Park parking lots and are free after you purchase a yearly permit. There is one very close to the Hyak/Snoqaulmie ski areas with a cool 3 mile long abandoned train tunnel next to it and the old rail bed goes for about 70 miles or more of excellent mountain biking trail.