Length limitations at National Parks

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Ojisan

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Joined
Aug 26, 2009
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Greetings to all !  Sorry to be a PIA but have tried to find the answer to a question in the forum and was overwhelmed with the amount of information available ,so I guess the next best thing to do is simply ask.

I was looking at an ad for a motorhome locally and one seller was touting the advantage of the 29' length of his motorhome for sale claiming that it is not restricted to use in the national parks system.

My question is this: Is there a restriction on the length of motorhomes in the National Parks System?
 
Depends on the Park.  Many of the older parks with campgrounds that have not been renovated do have length limitations, in particular for "non-rv" sites.  There is no set limitation that I am aware of, it is based on the infrastructure of the specific location.

I stayed in a National Recreation Area (part of the park system) this weekend and sat on a pad that could have handled a 45' rig plus a car...
 
Thanks for the reply I tried checking with the National Parks website but didn't find what I was looking for.  Seems the guy selling the motor home was trying to blow smoke up someone skirt.  Thanks for the reply
 
A person needs to look in the NPS website of the particular park they are interest in.  Here, for example, is the camping info for Yosemite NP;

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/campground.htm 
 
I do not think he was 'blowing smoke"  In the Arizona national forests there are more places available 29' motorhomes then 35' or greater.  You have to check the length limitations of each park.

Jennifer
 
There are also length limitations with some state parks. Here in California, we used to visit many state parks with our 29' motorhome, but our current 38' coach wouldn't be able to fit. OTOH many Oregon state parks have huge sites. e.g. when we were touring Oregon with a friend who owns a 44' coach, he was very skeptical when I told him his coach would fit in the state parks. One day we drove a car to the nearest SP, I rolled down the window and asked "what's your longest site?" and the answer was "80 feet".
 
Contacting the parks sounds like a great idea but in reality it won't work. Last summer I had a 32' class C and I emailed North Cascades National Park to see if it would fit in Woodell Creek Campground. They told me no, 30 foot was the maximum length that would fit there. I went anyway and I fit in no problem. This summer I returned in a 39 foot Class A and had no problem fitting in. I could have gotten a 45 footer in my spot. Most park rangers know nothing about RV length. Some parks, like Yosemite are on the reservation system and each site has a maximum length listed. I reserved a spot that was for up to 40 feet with my 39 footer and I had a devil of a time parking it in the site. Driving out of the campground was a nightmare. I was sure I was going to hit a tree, but fortunately I didn't. However, in most of the National Parks I have been in this year I had no problem finding a spot for my 39 footer. Now that I am separated and no longer in the 39 footer I am in the market for another motorhome and it will not be longer than 29 feet.
 
Smoky Mtn NP has a 35  foot limit.  They have that length marked on the pavement where you pull up to register.  They can tell immediately if you are too large and they will turn you away.  All is true unless something has changed in the last couple years.  Based upon park expenditures in the NP budget, I bet not.



 
How are the parks doing the math on this??

For example, a 30' Travel Trailer is probably 34' long.

A 34' 5th Wheel is around 30' long behind the bumper

What are your experiences on this ?

Thanks in advance.
Matt
 
The 2 parks where we encountered length limits in the campgrounds (Navajo Nat Mon and Natural Bridges Nat Mon) simply measured the largest site and said that's the biggest that can fit. In some parks, it has to do with what size RV can get around in the campground (tight turns, trees, etc).

To check a particular NPS park, got to nps.gov/ and after the / enter the first 2 letters of the first 2 words of the park name (like GRCA for Grand Canyon) or all 4 of the first letters if there's only one word (like YELL for Yellowstone). Works for 95% of the NPS sites. At the website, click "Plan Your Visit" and then "Things To Do" and you should find camping info there. Often, the RV lengths listed are suggestions but they are enforced at some parks. If you need more info about the campground, call the park number and ask for the campground or the fee collection ranger. They should know what their rules are and should also know what will fit.

Enjoy the parks
Wendy
 
Even in the park, we worked in Yellowstone this summer, and site sizes interested me.  I have a 35' with a 12' (15' total) trailer and it all fit in my employee site.  Lewis Lake CG had a 24' limit.  Fishing Bridge, while tight could take about anything.  Rangers won't have much of a clue, but the vendors running the CG will.  Just because they can take a 45' doesn't mean in every site, heck you could find a Casita in one of those, because they wanted that view and got there first. 

I am in RV sales and many customers state 29' max so they can go to NPS.  Somewhere someone started a rumor that is being passed around and believed.

 
I originally thought park limits were a discretionary decision. We tried to get into Organ Pipe Cactus National Park many years ago. We had a 36' motor coach. The limit was 35'. I thought it would be easy to just say we were 35'. Not so!!!! They had lines painted on the entry point at 35'!!!

A forum friend told us he had been in that park and could not see why we could not make it even at 36'. Just another beaurocratic descision made without thorough investigation.
 
Jim Dick said:
Just another beaurocratic descision made without thorough investigation.
Click to expand...

While we may not know the reason why 35' was chosen as the maximum, I'm sure there was a reason.
 
Wendy,

I think the OP was asking how the Park Service does the measuring. Is it bumper to bumper or the model size? Do you include the tow vehicle when talking about a trailer? Unless they paint strips on the road like Jim mentioned, how do they measure?
 
I went to a park that had a height limit.  10' I think.  When asked the height I told her 17'.  Turns out they have to send a ranger with you to open a back gate if over 10' because of height of a bridge.  What cracked me up is that she didn't doubt the 17'.  I assurred her we were less, had been there before and could pass under the bridge.  (with enough momentum)

Cheesequake SP in NJ.  

 
It is my understanding that motorhomes are measured bumper to bumper in those parks that have actual length restrictions (in many its just a recommendation). I've never learned how they measure a trailer, though.  Also, I've seen some that state a different length limit for RVS (motorhomes?) vs trailers, e.g. a 36 foot RV or a 31 ft trailer.
 
I can't remember who (it gets tougher as you get older :D), but a few years ago a Forumite couple workcamped at Organ Pipe. They might have the answer about the 35' limit there, but IIRC it is because of the tightness of some turns.
 
BernieD said:
the answer about the 35' limit there, but IIRC it is because of the tightness of some turns.
Click to expand...

We have a friend who used to work law enforcement at Organ Pipe and I think Bernie's got it right, it's something about tight turns in the campground, not the size of the sites. They probably had too many people getting stuck or running off the roads. As for the Church's book, it doesn't even mention the 35' limit.

Wendy
 
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