Idaho Rest Area & Parking Rules

Sleeping overnight in Idaho

Idaho caps you at 10 hours on interstate rest areas and 16 hours on other State Highway System rest areas (IDAPA 39.03.50.300). Sleeping in your cab is fine inside those windows; camping, campfires, and plugging into outlets are banned. The 10-hour interstate limit lines up with a full HOS reset, but the rule never names HOS as an excuse to overstay. Ports of entry are not overnight lots. Reference, not legal advice.

Limits, truck parking, and HOS rest

• Time limit: 10 hours (interstate rest areas); 16 hours (other State Highway System rest areas)
• Truck spaces run tight at peak hours on I-84 and I-90; Idaho has no statewide real-time truck-parking board, so plan with ITD 511. ITD studied the shortage in its Idaho Truck Parking Research Project (RP 300), consistent with the Jason's Law survey finding that Western long-haul overnight parking runs short.
• hosException: not addressed - no explicit carve-out, but the 10-hour interstate cap conveniently equals a full HOS reset. Welcome centers follow the same rest-area rule; ports of entry (weigh/inspection stations) are inspection sites, not overnight parking. Dual lens: statute and posted signs agree - the posted hour limits (10 interstate / 16 other) are verbatim from Section 39.03.50.300 and are what ITD and troopers enforce.

What overstaying costs

Citation and/or tow for overstaying or camping; no dollar figure is published in IDAPA 39.03.50.

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