- The fine print
- COMAR 11.04.07.11 is a one-line prohibition; no hour limit stated.
Parking overnight to sleep and camping are two different acts under most rules. Camping usually means setting up outside the vehicle: a tent, an awning, chairs, a fire. Staying inside a legally parked vehicle is often treated differently. Which one applies to you.
The posted sign and the officer on the ground beat this table. Rules change; the date above is when we last checked.
Maryland prohibits camping and overnight parking at its rest areas. The entire regulation is one sentence: “Camping and overnight parking are prohibited.”
What the regulation says
That sentence is COMAR 11.04.07.11 in the Code of Maryland Regulations, verified July 17, 2026. It could not be shorter or clearer. No overnight parking, no camping, at Maryland rest areas, full stop.
What the regulation does not say is also worth knowing. It states no hour limit for ordinary stops, so there is no published cap on a daytime rest, and it names no exception for commercial drivers. We have not verified any separate rule granting truckers overnight parking in Maryland, so if you are running against federal hours of service, do not count on a Maryland rest area for your 10-hour break.
The line between a rest and a night
A rest area stop in Maryland is legal for what rest areas are built for: a break, a meal, a nap on a long drive. The regulation draws its line at overnight. There is no published clock to watch during the day, but if a specific rest area posts its own time limit, that sign controls the site and beats anything written here.
For a full night, the realistic nearby options are truck stops and retail lots that allow overnight parking; our truck stops guide covers how to do that without guessing. Both neighbors publish their own rules and neither is generous: Virginia also prohibits overnight parking, and Pennsylvania caps stops at 2 hours. See Virginia rest area rules and Pennsylvania rest area rules before you build a route around either.
How to check locally
Maryland’s 511 service covers closures and travel conditions. At the rest area itself, read the posted signs; they carry the current rule for that site, including anything added since this page was last verified.