Michigan's 48-hour rest area limit is a proposal, not a rule

Michigan does not have a 48-hour rest area stay limit you can rely on. It has a proposed one. MDOT’s own roadside facility page still opened with the words “MDOT is proposing new administrative rules” when we checked it on 2026-08-03, and we could not find an adopted roadside-facility rule in the state’s published administrative code.

That matters because the 48-hour figure is now circulating on RV and car-camping roundups as if Michigan changed its rules. It is a proposal that has not shown up in the code.

What MDOT actually proposed

The proposed set applies to all MDOT right of way: 61 highway rest areas, 82 roadside parks, 267 carpool lots, 23 scenic turnouts and 14 welcome centers. The headline items are a 48-hour maximum stay, overnight parking allowed inside a vehicle, and camping prohibited. Also on the list: no alcohol, fires only in designated areas, trash in receptacles, group activities by permit (MDOT roadside facility rules page, checked 2026-08-03).

MDOT held a virtual hearing on October 22, 2025 and took written comment through November 20, 2025 (MDOT press release, October 3, 2025). Its own hearing presentation says violations “may result in a misdemeanor under Rule R 247.633,” and put the timeline at review by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, then “implementation tentatively scheduled for spring 2026.”

Why we are not publishing 48 hours as the rule

Spring 2026 has come and gone. The MDOT page still says proposing.

We also checked the state’s administrative code index for Transportation on 2026-08-03. The published MDOT rule sets run from R 247.1 through R 247.4307, covering contractor prequalification, junk yards, traction devices, driveways, relocation assistance, seasonal county roads, and highway advertising. There is no roadside-facility set. The numbers around R 247.633 sit inside “Seasonal County Roads,” R 247.651 to R 247.660.

So we do not know of an adopted rule, and we are not going to publish a stay limit on the strength of a proposal. Our Michigan rest area page carries no hour value for exactly this reason.

What that means at a Michigan rest area tonight

You are not covered by a 48-hour allowance, because there isn’t one to be covered by. You are also not facing a published statewide hour cap that we could verify. What governs your stop is the sign posted at that facility and whatever local law enforcement does about it. MDOT says plainly in its own presentation that it “is not an enforcement agency” and that enforcement is complaint-driven.

The practical read: treat a Michigan rest area as a sleep break, not a place to park for two days, and expect the posted sign to be the last word. It beats this page and every roundup you will find.

If you are routing through the state, read the sign at the facility, and check the MDOT page before you count on anything. If it stops saying “proposing,” the rule landed, and we will update. Our rest area rules by state index tracks what each state actually publishes.