COE campgrounds don't like hammock campers?

[ShayA]

So, I was traveling and paddling in Arkansas over the weekend and stayed for the first time at Iron Mountain Rec Area campground on DeGray Lake. Nice campground, but when I checked in and asked for a site and said we didn't need much just some trees for our hammocks the host said I had to have a tent on a tent site. I said ok then what about an RV site? He said you have to have an RV. I told him I've never heard of such rules and he informed me that recently some campers were not using a tent in a tent site and instead used a pop up canopy and slept under it and the ranger wrote them a ticket. He said I had to have a tent in the tent site or else I would get a ticket. Luckily I had a small tent in my camp box so I put it up on the tent pad just in case bigfoot needed a place to crash for the night and we still put our hammocks up and slept in them. I saw a ranger drive by but he didn't stop to inquire about our hammocks and I wasn't going to stop him to bring up the issue. Has anyone ever heard of this or encountered anything like this in other COE campgrounds? I would like to get in touch with someone other than calling the campground because I'm sure it would just be the host that answers the phone. He didn't seem to be much use other than telling me I had to have a tent and the fact that he didn't know how to use the computer to register me.

[sig]

We have run in to many campgrounds that have a strict "tents must be on the tent pad" rule. I could see the rangers point that a canopy/screen house that those folks slept under functioned as their tent.

That said, we haven't run into problems when camping with our hammocks though we tend to have a tent plus hammocks.

[okieboater]

Interesting stuff on the rules and how they are interpreted.

The no hammock rule I hear the most is "the ropes injure the trees". I can see that a improperly rigged hammock could do this, so this makes sense. However if the hammock user has the proper rigging and area tree's can safely support hammocks - why not? I am thinking of some sort of pole setup that will allow me to rig a hammock on these RV camp sites between my truck rack and a pole I supply. Bottom line here is most camping areas are not set up for hammock campers. Hopefully, this will change as hammock campers become more common.

The all tents must be inside the "tent setup space" rule has given me some laughs as well. On one of the Mt Princeton CO Federal camps I had a tarp set up fully inside the "Tent setup space" But, one stake was in the bare dirt just outside the indicated space. Ranger came by and told me to move the stake. I asked him why and he said the stakes would interfere with the ability of the area's grass to grow. My comment was to the effect the stake was on bare ground devoid of grass with the nearest grass many feet away. Ranger said move the stake. I moved the stake and the ranger left.

Another interesting interpretation happened from the Camp Host on the Federal Camp on the Piedra River in Southern CO close to the main paved highway. This is the usual take out for the Piedra run. We parked our trucks in the visitors parking area and were reloading to set up shuttle. The Camp Host came out and asked what we were doing. Advised him we were going to run the river and take out there. Several fisher people were walking the shore (obviously well used and packed down to bare earth). Camp hosts said no way. Asked why, he said dragging the kayaks would injure the river banks. Our response, well we will carry the kayaks out of the water. His response was load your boats and leave now else I will call the Ranger and you will be ticketed. Time was wasting and the nearest Ranger was probably hours away in Pagosa Springs so we elected to get on with our run. As the Camp Host followed us out of the camp area, we went down the access road to the bridge area. Set up our shuttle. later that afternoon we floated by the camp and kids were running up and down the beach area hollering at us wanting a "ride". No sign of the Camp Host.

Bottom line. When dealing with the local enforcer and interpreter of the "rules" unless you got the time to state your case to a local Ranger or what ever law enforcement person is available, the thing to do is go elsewhere or do your best to comply.

[ShayA]

Hopefully campgrounds and the entities that manage them soon realize that hammock campers are usually the most low impact, quiet, best campers to have in their campgrounds. Never mind the dozens of "locals" using the camp that are loud, throwing cigarette butts and trash everywhere, making new fire rings, nailing stuff into trees, dogs barking and pooping everywhere, etc, etc. I understand the tents need to be on the pads to localize the impact. I definitely think it is a rule interpretation issue at many places. In this case the host thought he was being nice to warn me that the ranger there had written a ticket recently to someone who was not sleeping in a tent. Which still I don't understand because if they were using a pop up canopy on the tent pad then why the ticket? From the road when the ranger drove by you could see our not used tent pitched on the pad and two tarps hung in the trees hiding hammocks under them.

[okieboater]

Shay, I understand how you feel.

Sometimes, I scratch my head and wonder about these types of decisions.

Common sense is not that common these days I think. Not sure who said this first but seems to apply here.

[Gordon Kumpuris]

This is an interesting exchange. I have noticed that "hammocking" as my two teenage daughters call it has become wildly popular with the high school and college age set. My 19 year old daughter goes to OBU and she explains that it is not uncommon for her and her friends to set up dozens of high dollar hammocks along the banks of the Caddo river there on campus or nearby at Degray Lake. Throw in students who are also undoubtedly doing this from Henderson State and elsewhere plus the occasional Chaco wearing adult like us who just like to chill and I can see where the Park Service could see this as something that needs to be regulated, especially if trees are being damaged. I have no recommendations to offer but I just thought I'd throw out my perceptions of the issue.

[Gordon Kumpuris]

This is an interesting exchange. I have noticed that "hammocking" as my two teenage daughters call it has become wildly popular with the high school and college age set. My 19 year old daughter goes to OBU and she explains that it is not uncommon for her and her friends to set up dozens of high dollar hammocks along the banks of the Caddo river there on campus or nearby at Degray Lake. Throw in students who are also undoubtedly doing this from Henderson State and elsewhere plus the occasional Chaco wearing adult like us who just like to chill and I can see where the Park Service could see this as something that needs to be regulated, especially if trees are being damaged. I have no recommendations to offer but I just thought I'd throw out my perceptions of the issue.

[Gordon Kumpuris]

This is an interesting exchange. I have noticed that "hammocking" as my two teenage daughters call it has become wildly popular with the high school and college age set. My 19 year old daughter goes to OBU and she explains that it is not uncommon for her and her friends to set up dozens of high dollar hammocks along the banks of the Caddo river there on campus or nearby at Degray Lake. Throw in students who are also undoubtedly doing this from Henderson State and elsewhere plus the occasional Chaco wearing adult like us who just like to chill and I can see where the Park Service could see this as something that needs to be regulated, especially if trees are being damaged. I have no recommendations to offer but I just thought I'd throw out my perceptions of the issue.

[ShayA]

I personally don't know any high school or college age kids but I'm 38 and most of my friends and paddling companions I travel with are all my age and older and most of us camp in hammocks. Didn't know this was seen as a young person fad thing. Although the host at this site and many sites are 65+ and retired they may see me as a young reckless person who doesn't know what I'm doing.

[DL9914pr]

I have camped at a number of campgrounds over the years and each has its rules. At a few of the areas I have camped at I can understand why those rules exist. In refering to the hammocks, its not a matter of just sleeping in the hammock, it is about those people that come in early in the week and set up some small something to illegally reserve the site for the weekend. That is why an enclosed camping unit is required at many campgrounds. I have seen a lot of folks come in and try to just put chairs, icechest or a canopy over the tent pad just to say they are camping there. They say they are coming back but it is usually a day or too. That's just not right! Rules usually have their reasons, we may just not see it sometimes from our prespective.

[ShayA]

In refering to the hammocks, its not a matter of just sleeping in the hammock, it is about those people that come in early in the week and set up some small something to illegally reserve the site for the weekend. That is why an enclosed camping unit is required at many campgrounds.

Well in the case of this campground it is managed by people 24/7 and has an office where you must go to first before getting a site to get a permit that you must display at the site. Also the sites can be reserved online ahead of time so the idea for having no hammocks as a rule so you can't hold a site doesn't work here. I camped 30 nights last year in different campgrounds all over the US and this is the first to say I actually have to put a tent up. This is the first Corps of Engineers campground I've been to in a few years so I was thinking it was just a COE rule.

[DL9914pr]

Wow, cut me down man. I do know this campground and the booth is open from 10-6 and you have to set up your camping unit first before you pay then you get your pay slip to put on the site post. This campground also has 1st come-1st serve sites, not all are reservable online. I know there are COE Lakes in Georgia that are this way also and they get even more specific. You have to state what type of camping unit you are using. So let's say you are going to stay in a tent, then you cannot later bring in an RV as your camping unit. That is a set of rules for you! Granted I haven't tried to stay in just a hammock. I usually use a tent or my truck shell. Happy camping!

[ShayA]

No sorry. Not meaning anything bad. I just didn't think that would be an issue at this camp. Still I'm amazed this is the first time I've heard of this kind of rule. Guess I'll make sure I keep my small tent packed away in my gear when I travel from now on. I had been meaning to take it out of my gear box but glad I didn't!

[DL9914pr]

No worries, thanks.

[SteveGabbard]

I didn't see Shay "cutting anyone down" with his response. But I agree on people throwing something down to hold a spot. Go to the islands on lake Ouachita and some people pitch a POS tent and leave it all summer. However, with a managed campground that shouldn't be an issue.