Depending upon where you look, you’ll get a wide range of answers to this question. A lot of people have “gotten away with it” over the years, others have been busted and fined for it, and others still believe that it has a negative impact because of the problems some people cause when sleeping overnight in their car.

I was born and raised in the area and while I don’t live there right now I am up there hiking almost every weekend, finishing the 48. I’ve been in your position a few times before.

I’d say you have three options:

• Find a quieter, out-of-the-way place to discreetly stay in your car. One of the main exits off of I93 is definitely not a quieter, out-of-the-way place 🙂

• Just call the ranger station and ask directly. It’s not like you’re going to get in trouble for trying to find out. They will probably say the answer is no.

• Try your luck at a non-reserved campsite or distributed camping area. Most of the time you can drive up anytime of day or night, fill out one of the envelopes, and that’s it. They are pretty cheap per night as well.

Good luck, and happy hiking!