Mt Ranier NP
Think I know the answer but would like confirmation. Just looked at two large CG and they say max is 34’ RV but only 27’ trailer. I assume that means a 30’ fifth wheel plus our truck would be considered too big. Yes?
Forum Discussion
- Camp La Wis Wis has a length restriction posted at the gate however enforcement is another matter. Sort of like a speed limit, nobody fusses much if you are a little over.
We went in with our 34' 5er. Went around the first loop twice to check sites out. Very few big enough for us but we shoehorned ourselves into one of them. We were literally a couple inches from a tree at the back, a few inches extra for a slide on one side & an inch spare for the awning. But oh what a CG! We had a raging river right behind the site. Early season, lots of snow melt & the second loop, with more slightly longer sites was not open yet.
Much depends on when you arrive. We came in on a Sunday just as all of the weekend warriors were leaving. Apparently the camp host was greatly entertained by our determined efforts to squeeze in. Shortly after we had finished setting up he came by to congratulate us on a job well done.
Again, absolutely stunning CG well worth the extra effort. - They're terrible at measuring the length of RV spots in this state! :)
Often times the length the describe only goes to a cement curb in the back of the site and you can back way over those for a lot more room. - Another option on the Nisqually Entrance is Mounthaven RV Park, very nice sites very close to the Nisqually Entrance.
http://mounthaven.com - We drove through the Ohanapecosh Campground the other year and yes, you are too long to fit these sites.
- Mt Rainier is the only place I’ve ever heard of which used a tape measure and told a couple setup that their 5er trailer was too long and they had to pack up and leave.
An NPS ranger I know works the campgrounds in the summer and told me the Superintendent of the park a few years ago got very strict on enforcement of the length.
The main problem at Rainier is the very tight campground loops with almost no clearance in the tight turns. 5ers that cut farther to the inside of a 70 or 85 degree turn with trees on either side and a 10 ft wide road. When I visited Rainier last June and talked to Maria, they were up to seven trailers since the campground opened which had gotten stuck between trees and required wreckers to clear.
Of course, such a stuck trailer means no one can come in or exit that loop for several hours.
I won’t tell you that your rig will fit or not, or that the park ranger might deny you a spot because their measurements say it is too long.
I will tell you that there is/was no way that I would travel from Medina Lake to Rainier planning to stay in a park campground if there was any question. We found several nice campgrounds close to the park.
We stayed at a nice municipal park on the lake in Mineral. Dry camping just like the NPS campground. - I have also stayed at Mounthaven. Right near the park entrance and plenty of room for my RV and car. I recommend it.
- La Wis Wis in in the National Forest, not the Park. Ohanapecosh is about 8 miles north, within the park. The settings are similar, as both campgrounds straddle the Nisqually River. The elevations are about the same.
The National Forest campgrounds tend to have campsites and loops that are a BIT easier for big rigs to maneuver in. But both are pretty tight. I have seen people force some pretty immense rigs into those campsites, at both locations. But keep in mind that these campgrounds and the sites within them were designed for tent camping. Your big rig is as out of place as an elephant in a dog kennel. ScottG wrote:
They're terrible at measuring the length of RV spots in this state! :)
Often times the length the describe only goes to a cement curb in the back of the site and you can back way over those for a lot more room.
It's not just your state. :)
As volunteers one of our 'jobs' in Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park was to make a new chart of the campsites at Glacier campground for assigning campsite reservations each morning. We suggested this to them as we found they were way off. In doing so we found a lot more sites for large RVs, especially motorhomes with a small car, than they knew about.
So... to get to the OP's question - if they state the site is for a 34' RV or a 27' trailer this is what they 'could' mean:
34' RV = motorhome and they assume you won't have a towed vehicle or else a small one that can be angled and parked creatively on the parking pad.
27' trailer - they're assuming you will have a big truck to pull it and will need the extra room for parking.
(In parking our 40' motorhome with a Jeep in public parks we always found we could fit on a smaller site than the stated size.)
and yes, Scott, they would be just measuring (or more likely - eye-balling) the site to the concrete barrier or large boulder or RR ties behind the site and they're not including any hangover space beyond the barriers as that's not considered the parking site.- The problem with Washington National and State Parks are the trees and most of the campgrounds are old. If you drive around a campground in a car you might see a site and say - yes I can fit my RV there, but when you get there you might not make it through the park as others have said. Our trees up here are big and there are lots of them. ;)
