Public parking and street parking | Informal Campsite

October 10th, 2023 by Christine

Convenient spot. I parked on the street as there was no room in the lot. Pretty quiet overnight.

September 3rd, 2023 by jessicareilly60

Great place to spend a night. Pretty urban so you have noise and streetlights, but safe. Stayed one night on street parking and was not bothered by anyone.

July 20th, 2023 by aphotographersodyssey.com

Found a spot on the pond side of the street around 3 PM. The sun was beating down so I didn't stay in the car long. Super close walk into town for the rest of the day. Overnight was pretty quiet until around 7 AM, and the shade of the trees kept the car cool enough until around 9 AM. I used the Porta Potty at the baseball field yesterday when games were going on, but this morning it was locked.

June 24th, 2023 by transformative2020

Great spot to park and sleep while checking out Portsmouth. There are definitely others staying in the area as well. Walkable to downtown and the waterfront. No signs noting restrictions on the street, where we parked since the lot was very crowded and a bit of a squeeze for our 22ft campervan (it's possible but we got a spot on the street no problem). We stayed Friday/Saturday. Port-o-potties are across the "lake" near the tennis courts and playgrounds. Thank you, Portsmouth!

April 19th, 2023 by margaritailt

Great spot to park. just as said, 72hr limit in lot, no signage for street though. right next to a little off-leash dog park so perfect for us. quick walk to shops/restaurants. pretty quiet during the night.

October 14th, 2022 by evansjd30

Parked on the street by the little lake on Friday night in a short schoolbus. There was an event going on at the near by school near by, so it was busy, but we found a spot and parked for the night. It is quiet at night, and it's an easy walk into the downtown from here.

October 13th, 2022 by TheWisconsinites

This is an awesome parking spot! We stayed for one night & had no issues. We were able to easily explore the parks & city all by foot. There is great AT&T & Verizon service. Inside the lot is 74 hours but the street parking has no signs/limits. The pond is a little stinky but not terrible. There’s courts, a dog park & a nice walking path right across the street. The lot fills up early but cleared out at night (Wednesday).

October 6th, 2022 by elizabethandursula

I parked on the street and enjoyed the passenger side view of the pond with the morning sun coming through the autumn trees. Beautiful. Quiet overnight, and relatively flat with excellent service—4bars VZN 5G. Went out for a lovely walk through the old part of town down to the harbor in the morning. Would park here again for sure.

September 24th, 2022 by chrisjohnsoncontracting

stayed here for a function in town
got there around 3 pm and the lot was full but got lucky as someone was leaving... easy walk into downtown posted 72 hour limit

September 8th, 2022 by @k8tskya

Lot filled up both nights we stayed (Tuesday and Wednesday nights). Easy walk to the restaurants and shops. Great spot.

July 4th, 2022 by amaranthsander

Great 72 hour parking lot right by the lake. There were port-a-potties and several other vans. We were lucky to get a spot because it was very busy due to the 4th of July fireworks. It was a great fireworks show.

May 29th, 2022 by katieruggles

Stayed here in our sprinter van w/ 2 children in tow. We parked on Parrott Ave, street parking next to parking lot + pond (which is very dried up and has a small odor- nothing too crazy). Walking path and playground nearby. Slept great all night, birds chirping and church bell rang at 4am. Just passing through but next time we will explore downtown more. Safe and easy.

October 26th, 2021 by John Murphy

Great location downtown close to shops and restaurants. The parking lot was full when we got there before noon but came back later in the afternoon and found a spot. There was also parking available along the street.

October 19th, 2021 by jimbo614

Like the others have said, this is a great location close to downtown and a number of parks. Take your bicycle and explore all the waterfront. One thing though, this parking lot appears to be used by many of the people that work the shops down the street. Like most cities, parking is a premium on the weekdays. Unfortunately some class C’s take two parking spaces and you can see the people that live here circling the lot and they will run short of patience.

August 1st, 2021 by twinsbaseball7

Parrot Ave lot is free and was nearly full on a Sunday night around 8:00pm. No issues, some noise from the nearby park.

July 26th, 2021 by matbranz

Great spot for an overnight or two. 72hrs limit?! Unreal but welcomed. We had a few other neighbors which we find a good sign.
Att sucked, t-mobile was fast

July 2nd, 2021 by cori.ontheroad

Public parking lot (72 hr parking) and street parking a close distance to downtown Portsmouth. There's a little pond next to the street parking.

I pulled up around 10pm and there were a ton of spots. Earlier in the day the lot was totally full. Saw another van lifer here too.

On a Friday night, being so close
to the bars it was a bit loud with people walking by until about 2am.

But otherwise was a good place to stop for the night!

May 30th, 2021 by belair574

Great place. Street noise depending what night of the week you are staying.

May 29th, 2021 by belair574

Great location/view, second time here. Parked right by the lake. Definitely recommend this location.

November 22nd, 2020 by mollydanandavan

Parrot Ave public parking lot (72 hour parking) and across street near water (no limits on street). Camped here last night in our van, no issues, a little traffic but quiet. Walking distance to the dog park, tennis courts and town! Love Portsmouth!

November 6th, 2020 by belair574

Perfect spot. Had other folks staying overnight. A few cars driving by and a few walkers that was it.

September 30th, 2020 by instagram.com/LeftyRiders

There's a parking lot that states 72 hours and across the street there are no signs at all on limits. Some spots are totally flat and the area is quiet and safe. Dog park right next to it as an added bonus!

September 25th, 2020 by ken.johnsson

great spot, just as described. It is a busy parking lot though and set up for cars, so nothing bigger than a class b would work here.

July 28th, 2020 by travelwithhank

Just like described, city street parking near a pond. Some shade trees and quiet.

July 4th, 2020 by louisthevan

Great slot near town. A few other vans and campers here. 72 hr limit inside the lot! The street next to the lot is on a lake and seems that there is no limit there.