California road trip

[Equinox2016]

We are planning a road trip to california,oregon,utah and Colorado from Texas.
The idea is to use Airbnb as well as sleeping in our car on some nights. 
What are the best spots to park our car. What should we look for? 
Thanks!

 

[vanman2300]

For starters use freecampsites.net is a very good source for free sites in forests, BLM land, etc. Other then that look for Walmarts, big rig fueling stations, etc to stay overnight in. Hope your plans work out well for you.

 

[DannyB1954]

What are the best spots to park our car. What should we look for? 
Thanks!

I would suggest joining Couchsurfers.  https://www.couchsurfing.com/  The cost is about $25 a year, but your stay with the hosts listed there will be free. The way it works is you fill out a profile about yourself and then search for hosts in the areas you expect to be. You contact these people through the web site and see if they can accommodate you. They can look over your profile and choose to have you or not. If they agree, you will then get their address. You stay the days requested and leave. You do a report about the host, and they do one about you. This keeps everyone on their best behavior. There is a paper trail of who stayed with who, so it is fairly safe for both parties.

 

[VanForNow]

IMHO, the best app for long distance driving (not boondocking) is OvernightRVParking. It costs about $25 per year, but it lists a huge variety of overnight parking options. And if you update listed parking sites, they extend your subscription renewal date, adding even more value to this superb app.

 

[AreWeLostYet]

For starters use freecampsites.net is a very good source for free sites in forests, BLM land, etc. Other then that look for Walmarts, big rig fueling stations, etc to stay overnight in. Hope your plans work out well for you.

In CA, the vast majority of Walmarts have "no overnight parking" signs - and most enforce them. Some USFS/BLM (mostly dirt) backroads have 'no camping' (tent with diagonal line) signs posted at entrance from main highway. Mostly this is near towns, close to residential areas.