Hi /out/. Naïve euro here, I plan to travel the US with my minivan I just purchased and hit the various national parks on my way from east to west coast. First off will be crater lake in Oregon, then down the highway 101 and do various stops. In may I plan to spend some time in Nevada/Utah and do the big parks (Mesa verde, GC, Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce, Zion).

Here’s my question: how feasible is just parking my car in some slightly remote part and sleeping in it? I saw that at some of the popular parks campgrounds have to be reserved weeks in advance, which sucks bc I want to be as flexible as possible. Can I generally find decent spots to park my car and just camp there w.o. getting in trouble? To clarify: I know why campgrounds exist and I respect nature. I won’t be leaving any trash.