Park4Night and alternatives: Are the camping spots actually legal?

Park4Night is probably the best-known app in the camper community for finding a place to sleep for the night, but what about the legal regulations on wild camping? What is the definition of wild camping and are you even officially allowed to camp on Park4Night pitches? We want to clarify these and many other questions and present alternatives to the Park4Night camping app that resolve some legal uncertainties.

• What exactly does the Park4Night app offer? 
• Legal regulations for wild camping in Europe
  • Wild camping in Germany
  • Wild camping in Austria and Switzerland
  • Wild camping in Scandinavia
  • Wild camping in Southern Europe 
• Legal uncertainties with Park4Night
• The most beautiful camp alternatives in Germany
• The most beautiful camp alternatives in Italy
• The most beautiful camp alternatives in Austria
• The most beautiful camp alternatives in Sweden
• Costs of the Park4Night app
• Comparison: free vs. pro version
• Tips for using Park4Night
• Alternatives to Park4Night
• hinterland.camp - Is there now "legal wild camping"?
• Practical feature: The new route planner from hinterland.camp 
• Highlight routes through Europe: planned and ready to go
• Frequently asked questions

The Park4Night app was founded in France in 2011 and is now one of the largest providers of camping pitches. The parking space entries consist exclusively of suggestions from users. The community can enter a wide variety of spots - whether public parking spaces, service areas, campsites or more remote pitches in the countryside. If you stay at a pitch yourself, you can leave a review, share your own experiences and upload photos - so campers can help each other to keep the information about the pitches as up-to-date as possible. The community has now created 140,000 entries - from simple parking spaces in the city to highway rest areas and beautiful spots in the countryside. It is precisely this diversity that makes the app so popular - but it also brings challenges, particularly in terms of the legality and quality of the spaces.

The biggest uncertainty when using Park4Night concerns wild camping. This is because the app not only lists official pitches, but also parking spaces, forest paths and other areas that have been entered by the community. This is exactly where the question arises: Are you even allowed to spend the night there?

Wild camping in Germany

In Germany, wild camping with a motorhome or caravan is generally prohibited. An overnight stay "to restore fitness to drive" is permitted for one night in public parking lots, but anything more than that is considered camping and is prohibited. Many of the spots listed in Park4Night - for example at bathing lakes or forest parking lots - are therefore in a legal gray area and can quickly lead to high fines and conflicts with local residents.

You can find out exactly how "wild camping" is defined in Germany, what you should look out for and what fines you could face in our detailed guide: Wild camping in Germany - is it even possible? We also show you alternative pitches where you don't have to worry about high fines. 

Wild camping in Austria and Switzerland

Wild camping is also largely prohibited in Austria and Switzerland. While it is strictly controlled in some federal states (e.g. Tyrol or Salzburg), there is more tolerance in less touristy areas. Switzerland is even more restrictive: wild camping in a car or motorhome is prohibited almost everywhere, with the exception of a few designated mountain regions.

Wild camping in Scandinavia

The situation is completely different in Scandinavia. In Norway, Sweden and Finland, the Everyman's Right (Allemansrätten) applies. It allows camping in the great outdoors - but only with a tent and under certain conditions (e.g. sufficient distance from residential buildings, maximum 1-2 nights). The law is much more restricted for motorhomes and caravans: you are only allowed to camp in suitable areas or parking spaces, which is not the case for all Park4Night entries. 

Wild camping in southern Europe

The regulations are also strict in popular vacation destinations such as Spain, Italy and Croatia. Especially on beaches and coastal regions, wild camping is often punished with high penalties. Here, too, the use of Park4Night spots sometimes leads to problems because many of the registered sites are not officially permitted. 

In our guide: Wild camping in Italy - What is allowed? you can find out about the conditions in Bella Italia and learn about alternative legal pitches.

The Park4Night community entries are a valuable source of information - but no guarantee of a legal parking space. In Central Europe in particular, most spots outside of official pitches or campsites are not permitted. So if you want to spend the night in a legally secure and relaxed manner, you should look for alternatives that cooperate with landowners and officially release pitches. This way, you won't disturb nature or local residents and you won't have to worry about fines. To go directly to the best alternatives to the Park4Night app, simply scroll down.

Park4Night offers two different versions: the free basic version or the paid Park4Night Plus version. 

The Park4Night app is basically free to use. Even the basic version gives you access to the database of parking spaces, parking lots and campsites. This makes the app particularly attractive for beginners, as you can get started right away without having to spend a lot of money. 

However, if you are regularly on the road or use the app as your main tool for finding a parking space, the free version will quickly reach its limits. Park4Night offers the Pro version (also known as Park4Night+), which allows you to unlock all of the app's functions. This currently costs around 9.99 euros per year.

To help you decide whether the Pro version is worthwhile, you can get a brief overview of the differences here:

Free version

• Access to all pitches, parking spaces and campsites entered by the community
• View ratings, photos and comments from other users
• Upload your own entries or rate existing ones
• Basic filter options (e.g. pitch types)

The free version is completely sufficient for occasional campers or shorter trips.

Pro version (Park4Night+)

• Offline maps: good if you are traveling in regions without stable internet
• Advanced filters: more precise search for facilities such as power connections, waste disposal stations or sanitary facilities 
• Ad-free: no annoying banners or pop-ups 
• More detailed information on the individual pitches
• Saving of favorites possible to a greater extent 

The Pro version is therefore aimed at all those who are on the road more frequently or for longer periods and value a reliable, fast and convenient pitch search. The offline function in particular is cited by many campers as the most important argument for upgrading.

The Park4Night app thrives on its community - this is also its greatest strength, but can also be a weakness. Every user can enter parking spaces, parking lots or rest areas, upload photos and write comments. That's why you should definitely keep a few things in mind when using the app: 

• Read comments carefully: Experience reports from other campers often provide valuable information about noise, cleanliness or possible problems with local residents. Pay particular attention to the date of the comments. An entry that was rated positively three years ago may no longer be up to date today - for example, because the parking lot has since been closed or signs prohibit camping. 
• Observe regulations: In recent years, many regions have tightened their regulations on wild camping. Particularly in popular tourist areas such as beaches, lakes or in the mountains, residents have increasingly reported problems with overcrowded parking lots and wild campers. The result: stricter controls, new prohibition signs and sometimes high fines.
• Do your research in advance: Don't rely solely on the information in the app. Check in advance whether there are regional regulations or restrictions - for example in coastal regions of Spain, the Alps or at German bathing lakes. 
• Bear in mind legal uncertainty: Even if Park4Night lists many exciting spots, an entry does not automatically mean that overnight stays are actually permitted there. Many of the places are in a legal gray area that can quickly bring you into conflict with the police or public order office. 

If you use the app consciously and with common sense, you can discover exciting places - but you should always be aware that you are not on the safe side with many of the pitches listed there.

Even though Park4Night is very well known in the camper community, it is not the only and often not the best way to find a pitch for the night. Many platforms differ primarily in terms of how legal, sustainable and relaxed camping actually is. 

Here is an overview of some of the best-known alternatives:

• hinterland.camp - private, natural pitches away from mass tourism, good infrastructure provided by private hosts 
• StayFree / iOverlander - community apps, information often outdated or unreliable → similar to P4N 
• ADAC Stellplatz-Radar - classic campsites with typical infrastructure 
• roadsurfer spots - mixture of campsites & private pitches, sometimes very touristy

The term wild camping sounds like adventure, freedom and a place in the middle of nature. But in almost all European countries, as mentioned above, it is strictly regulated or even forbidden to simply park your camper or caravan anywhere. If you do it anyway, you not only risk fines, because unfortunately there are now countless pitches, public parking lots or open spaces in the countryside that have been left completely dirty. This is of course a huge burden for nature, but also for the people who call this place home. As a result, many of the parking spaces registered with Park4Night are now closed, controls have been tightened or penalties increased. 

This is exactly where hinterland.camp comes in: The idea is to preserve the feeling of wild camping, but in cooperation with the people who live there. This works by offering pitches directly on private land - with the consent of the owners, of course. The result is a concept that has several advantages:

• Wild camping feeling without the risk: quiet pitches by the lake, in the forest or in the mountains - but legal. Each pitch is carefully selected and the platform therefore guarantees a relaxed, peaceful location in the middle of nature.
• Sustainable & respectful: nature and local residents are protected through consultation with the owners.
• Infrastructure for campers : Many hosts offer relevant infrastructure for camping guests - e.g. waste disposal, sanitary facilities, fresh water, etc. So if you don't have a toilet on board, you can specifically look for pitches that provide toilets, so no waste ends up in the countryside and campers get exactly the facilities they need.
• Special extra: many pitches are not just a meadow, but offer individual highlights such as fire pits, saunas, hot tubs or cozy seating areas. 

So it can be said that to a certain extent, "legal wild camping" really does exist today - just in a modern, fair and sustainable way. 

hinterland.camp also picks up on the community aspect: After spending the night on one of the pitches, users can leave reviews to share valuable tips, advice and their own experiences of the site with the camper community.

The new route planner is a real highlight. Instead of simply jumping from pitch to pitch, travelers can plan their entire tour in advance - individually according to their preferences, travel duration and vehicle type. Particularly practical: in addition to motorhome pitches, you can also add sights, cities or personal destinations to the route. 

Once you have put together your desired route, you can set off straight away: Click on the "Navigation" button to open the route in Google Maps and you can start immediately. If you want to share your route with friends, you also have the option of passing it on via various platforms. 

And for those who prefer to browse, there is already a large selection of inspiration: carefully curated tours from the hinterland team or exciting trips from influencers who share their favorite routes. 

And the best thing? The complete use of the platform and the route planner, including all functions, is free of charge.