Five Best Apps for Campervan Road Trips

Find the best overnight spots for you and your van

Despite what you see on social media, not all overnight stays in a campervan are gorgeous sunsets over lakes or woodland. It’s not at all unusual to find yourself nestled between HGVs on quiet industrial estates or truck stops. It’s a sad fact that parking overnight wherever you want is, if not illegal, then frowned upon by local residents. And no one wants a self-righteous busybody interrupting your evening with ‘You can’t park there…’

Whether you like to plan your road trip and book everything in advance, or prefer the ‘figure it out as you go’ approach, here are five of the best apps for finding overnight places to stay in your campervan, RV or van when travelling in the USA & Canada — from free dispersed spots to formal campgrounds and unique private stays. Most have a free option (with ads) but all offer a better experience with a paid subscription.

Top Campervan Overnight Stay Apps

iOverlander

• Best for free spots & boondocking basics
• Community-driven and hugely popular among vanlifers and RVers for finding free camping, dispersed sites, parking spots, and essential services across North America.
• Includes user reviews and tips — great for less-crowded and off-grid locations.

Campendium

• Best map-based campsite & RV park finder
• Excellent for discovering campgrounds, RV parks and free remote camping spots throughout the US and Canada.
• Lots of reviews and cell coverage overlays — very helpful when planning remote stops.

The Dyrt

• Best all-in-one camping database
• Combines public and private campgrounds with free camping and RV parking listings across the United States.
• Pro version adds offline maps and filters for dispersed camping.

AllStays Camp & RV

• Best comprehensive RV parks index
• Long-running, detailed app covering 34,000+ campgrounds, RV parks, and related services in the US & Canada, with strong filtering options.
• Particularly good if you want comprehensive info on facilities like hookups, showers and dump stations.

Boondockers Welcome

• Best for private property stays & unique hosts
• A membership-based platform where local hosts across the US & Canada offer overnight stays on private property — often including hookups and local tips.
• Great if you want social and scenic alternatives to typical campgrounds.

Bonus Apps & Options

• Roadtrippers – Not strictly a campsite finder, but it now includes overnight RV parking and stop features as part of its trip planning suite, which is useful for route building and discovery.
• RV Parky – Simple app with a database of RV parks, rest areas, big-box store overnight options (like Walmart) and campgrounds — good secondary reference.
• Hipcamp – Great for booking private land and unique RV/campsite stays (like farms, ranches, scenic spots), including many in the US & Canada.

Tips for the USA & Canada:

Public lands such as BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and national forests are often free or low-cost places to camp — these are best discovered via apps like iOverlander and Campendium.

Always check local rules and seasonal restrictions (some places only allow dispersed camping outside peak fire risk periods).

If you are planning an off-grid overnight stay, make sure you have enough water with you for cooking, drinking, washing up, and washing you. A LifeSaver Jerrycan can be filled from any fresh water source - rivers, lakes, streams or dodgy standpipes - and holds 18.5 litres - plenty for a night or two. For solo trips, the smaller LifeSaver Cube might suffice. Simply fill, pump, drink.

For advice on which solutions might suit you best, please don't hesitate to get in touch.