In the event that you find yourself passing through southern Jacksonville on either I95 or Highway 295, you’ll have no problem finding a spot in the parking lot at this Walmart in St. Johns just off the 9B South exit. This blue big box retailer has a behemoth parking pad that for the most part, always has availability despite this being a heavily trafficked site in case you are looking for vacant pavement here to call home for the night. The upside? You’ll also benefit from being surrounded by a ton of shopping, dining and entertainment options and in fact, there’s even an amazing Cinemark theater in this retail complex. Suffice it to say, in and near this Walmart parking lot, you can find the tools to fix your onboard toilet at the nearby Home Depot, get your nails done AND sip down an ice cold martini all while chomping on some terrific pies or Korean double-fried chicken wings - now how's that for overnight parking accommodations?!
With this parking lot specifically in mind, you’ll be impressed by not only the expanse of the place, but the fact that the lot itself is relatively new, which makes for a perfectly flat surface to call home for the night. While the parking area is massive, you’ll want to be careful with all of the darting traffic coming and going. As for location, I would highly recommend either the far west or south side(s) on the periphery of the store where there’s more vacancy and less traffic. The good news here is that even if you find that this lot is jammed up, this Walmart is part of a much larger retail park, so you could easily drive further and park over by the Home Depot or one of the other empty parking areas in front of other retailers.
Tired of trying to configure what might be next for dinner from the depths of your onboard mini-fridge? Well, you’ve hit the dining lottery – from Island Wing Company, Tropical Smoothie Café, Jana Steakhouse, Dunkin' Donuts and Wendy’s to Keke’s Breakfast Café, Burger Barn and two of my favorites: Mellow Mushroom Pizza and Bonchon. There’s even a Cinemark movie theater over here should you be wanting a nice big screen distraction. From a shopping standpoint, of course, you can do this easily at this Walmart or further afield, you could pay a visit to Dollar Tree or Publix for your groceries as well as Ulta Beauty for her, Petco for the furry friends as well as a number of gas stations and even auto shops in case you need to change your oil or have something looked at. Insider’s tip? If you love donuts, you have to try Duck Donuts that is located north of here up in Bartram Trails.
If you’d like to grab a slice of nature while here, head due east to the beaches in Ponte Vedra where you’ll encounter one of the best kept secrets here in NE Florida and will find shark teeth treasure heaven. If you come towing watercraft, you’ll want to head due west to take advantage of the most amazing St. Johns River, where you can access Camp Chowenwaw Park for some easy trail hiking and splendid kayaking.
While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby). Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot:
Convenience: 5
Safety & Security: 4
Quality: 5
Peace& Quiet: 4
Amenities: 4
Overall, I scored this location a 4.
Happy Overnighting!
Overnight Parking
