Park inside/outside of the park - does it matter?

[dcmidnight]

Sneaking away for an overnight next week and wondering if anyone that lives nearby has an opinion at parking at Thornton Gap vs Beahms Gap. Emails to the Park asking for specifics ('any reports of vandalism lately') just end with a pretty mundane "Park where you are most comfortable, there are no guarantees." Going to be hiking North so Beahms cuts @ an hour or so off my day.

Just wondering if it really matters safety wise parking in vs out of the park...

[Furlough]

I do the vast majority of my backpacking in the park. So I pretty much always park in the park. 10 plus years and never had a problem.

[dcmidnight]

Thanks Furlough, decided in the end to park at the 4H Center and take a shuttle to Thornton Gap.

[Furlough]

That works well too. I just did that for my thru of the Park first week of this month. Left my car at 4H and got a ride down to rockfish gap. They have a registration form to fill out. Let me know if you need a copy or their email address and I'll post it for you.