Maryland Rest Area & Parking Rules
Three hours, then you're gone (COMAR 11.04.07). Maryland rest areas and welcome centers cap you at 3 hours and prohibit overnight parking and camping. Need longer for a federal rest break? Get a permit from the caretaker or Maryland State Police first. The MDTA I-95 travel plazas (Maryland House, Chesapeake House) are the exception - open 24/7 with up to a 24-hour stay, so a plaza, not a rest area, is your legal overnight reset (they tow after 24 hours). Overstay a rest area without a permit and you're towed at your own cost. This is a reference, not legal advice.
Sleeping overnight in Maryland
Three hours, then you're gone (COMAR 11.04.07). Maryland rest areas and welcome centers cap you at 3 hours and prohibit overnight parking and camping. Need longer for a federal rest break? Get a permit from the caretaker or Maryland State Police first. The MDTA I-95 travel plazas (Maryland House, Chesapeake House) are the exception - open 24/7 with up to a 24-hour stay, so a plaza, not a rest area, is your legal overnight reset (they tow after 24 hours). Overstay a rest area without a permit and you're towed at your own cost. This is a reference, not legal advice.
Limits, truck parking, and HOS rest
- Time limit: 3 hours at MDOT SHA rest areas (a permit from the caretaker or Maryland State Police is required to stay longer); the MDTA I-95 travel plazas allow up to 24 hours
- Truck parking in the Baltimore-Washington corridor is among the tightest on the East Coast. MDOT SHA rest areas cap you at 3 hours and ban overnight; the MDTA I-95 travel plazas (Maryland House, Chesapeake House) are open 24/7 and allow up to a 24-hour stay - towed only after that - so they, not the rest areas, are your realistic legal overnight reset. Maryland's Jason's Law shortage is acute - plan on those plazas, private lots, or crossing into a neighboring state for a reset.
- Dual lens: the 3-hour cap is real, but the permit option (caretaker or Maryland State Police) is Maryland's built-in way to legally extend a stay for a federal rest break - ask before you shut down. hosException: yes, via that permit, or by using an MDTA travel plaza. Welcome centers follow COMAR 11.04.07 (3-hour, overnight/camping prohibited). Correction: the draft's claim that the MDTA I-95 travel plazas 'ban overnight' was wrong - those plazas (a separate authority, COMAR 11.07.10) are open 24/7 and have a 24-hour maximum, towing only after 24 hours, so overnight IS permitted there. Weigh/inspection stations are not for overnight rest.
What overstaying costs
Towed at the owner's risk and expense if you exceed 3 hours without a permit (COMAR 11.04.07); overnight and camping are prohibited at rest areas
Maryland Rest Area FAQ
Can you park overnight at a rest area in Maryland?
Is there a time limit at Maryland rest areas?
What happens if you overstay at a Maryland rest area?
Reference information for planning, not legal advice. Traffic laws change and this can be out of date, so always confirm the current statute and obey posted signs before you rely on it. Last reviewed July 2026. Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/maryland/COMAR-11-04-07-11. See our Terms & Disclaimer.
More for Maryland
Check Maryland before you roll
Live weather, closures, and hazards on one map. Free, no account.
Open Live Map →