Prevent Unwanted Cars from Parking on Your Lawn

Whether you’re dealing with some invasive neighbors, or you regularly host events that attract a lot of drivers to your property, your lawn will wear out quickly under regular traffic from their heavy cars. You don’t need to fret – there is a variety of ways you can create a barrier to prevent people from parking their cars on your lawn.

To keep cars from parking on your lawn, you can put up fencing, mark your property line with markers or boulders, or create a living barrier of vegetation. Other more creative solutions include putting up standing lamps, or creating a rock garden or decorative pond to keep cars out in a more aesthetically pleasing manner.

Physical Barrier Ideas to Keep Cars From Parking on Lawn

To keep cars from parking on your lawn, your best option is to block them out with a physical barrier of some sort. We have discussed a myriad of methods to create a barrier around your driveway or property line below.

1. Put Up Fencing Around Yard

A simple but direct way to keep cars from parking on your lawn is to put up a fence around your property. You can place the fence to span the entirety of your yard, which offers the highest level of protection compared to alternative tactics.

You have a lot of options between different types of fencing that vary in materials, height, and price. Low picket fences will be enough to keep cars off your lawn, while high-slat fences offer an extra dimension of privacy. For a firm but non-obstructive fencing option, you can use bricks to create a low brick wall. If necessary, check with your HOA before installing your fence to avoid any infractions of your local regulations. 

2. Put Up Signs

Putting up signage is another simple way to deter cars from parking on your lawn. Although this method doesn’t guarantee protection, it may be enough to get the message across to your neighbors and others who may drive on your lawn.

Traditional options for signs include messages like “trespassing” or “keep off the lawn” and will work to deter intruders. However, these may not be the most effective as people are typically used to seeing signs such as these. 

Alternatively, you could put up signs that take on a more whimsical tone. For instance, some signs use jokes or profanity to get their message across. These signs carry humourous or shock value that may be more impactful on the reader than traditional signs.

3. Put Up Standing Lamps

You can put up standing lamps to create a physical barrier around your lawn. To keep cars from parking on the lawn, it’s ideal to place the lamps at close intervals.

There is a wide variety of lamps that differ in style and size. Both short and tall lamps will work to keep cars off your lawn. From practical, modern lamps, to those that are more on the classy, fancy side, there is a style to suit every home. 

4. Create a Rock Garden

A rock garden is an aesthetically pleasing physical barrier you can create to keep cars from parking on your lawn. Rock gardens are relatively cheap to install and generally require little long-term maintenance. 

You can plant your rock garden with seasonal flowers to enhance its aesthetics even further. This will create a visually pleasing landscape feature that also serves the important function of keeping cars off the grass. All you need is one or two well-placed rock gardens to reinforce a flat lawn.

5. Create a Decorative Pond

Another attractive lawn feature that will also keep cars off your lawn is a decorative pond. It’s possible to install this landscaping feature in most climates. The pond doesn’t necessarily need to be large or right in the middle of your yard; creating a small pond at the front edge or a front corner of the area will be enough to put people off trespassing. If you have the space, this is another effective and aesthetically-pleasing way to deter drivers from driving on your lawn.

6. Create a Barrier of Spikes

As a slightly more hostile option, you could place a barrier of spike strips to keep cars off the lawn. These strips are easy to install and highly effective at deterring people from driving over your grass. The only caveat to this option is that the spikes may not be the most visually appealing to some; with that said, it isn’t difficult to paint or decorate the spikes to improve their look. 

7. Set Up a Security Siren

As a more extreme measure, you could fit your yard with a security system that includes motion-activated sirens. When a person, vehicle, or animal enters your yard, the sirens will ring and alarm the intruder. These systems are ideal for those who are often away from their property for long periods of time.

8. Create a Barrier of Vegetation

Creating a barrier of vegetation like a row of hedges, trees, or artificial topiaries or bushes is a popular choice for homeowners to prevent cars from parking on a lawn. Most find these barriers to be more aesthetically pleasing than alternative fencing options.

Hedges

Hedges are a suitable choice in many situations to keep a lawn car-free. There are some low-maintenance shrubs that are easy for the average homeowner to care for. In terms of style, you can either opt for a low hedge or a higher hedge if you desire a bit more privacy. 

Trees

Trees are another living barrier you can use to keep cars from parking on your lawn. The most obvious way to create a barrier of trees is by planting a row of them around the perimeter of your yard. If you want to get a bit more creative, you can plant the trees in in the center of your yard; strategic placement of the trees will still hinder people from parking their cars on your lawn. 

Artificial Bushes and Topiaries

An alternative to using live shrubs or trees is to use artificial greenery like fake topiaries or bushes. Although some may view these as tacky, artificial bushes and topiaries are commonplace in areas like the western US where water is sparse. They are a great no-maintenance option to create the effect of a vegetative barrier without needing to take care of live plants. 

9. Mark Driveway or Property line

Marking out your driveway and property line clearly will help to prevent people from accidentally driving onto your lawn. There are a few different objects you can use to mark out the boundaries of your lawn, including boulders, pole markers, parking posts, and parking cones. 

Boulders

Some well-placed boulders can serve as an attractive decorative feature on top of marking 

the edges of your lawn. Made from either rock or fiberglass, these objects are solid and will therefore work very effectively to halt invasive drivers. Just be careful not to place the boulders too far into any public driveways or streets to avoid unnecessary accidents.

Pole Markers

Pole markers are another effective way to clearly mark the boundaries of your driveway and lawn. These brightly colored poles will make it clear where the edges of your lawn are, helping people to avoid trespassing. These markers are particularly useful to outline property boundaries in deep snow. 

Parking Posts

Parking posts are similar to pole markers, but will do a better job of indicating your property line as they’re more conspicuous. These markers are better suited for temporary use, e.g. if you’re hosting an event at your property or anything else that will cause an influx of traffic. They are ideal for rural yards to keep cars from parking on the lawn. 

Parking Cones

Also best suited for temporary parking needs, parking cones are the classic method of marking out boundaries. If you don’t mind the look, they make a highly effective marker that you can keep up all year round.