ATVs or ORVs in Campgrounds?

ramgunner wrote:
Here in Utah there are a number of parks where you can ride directly from your space to the trail and back.

Exactly!! I don't stay in parks that don't allow toys. Too much fun and sightseeing, plus good people to meet.

We have just begun our 15th year fulltime traveling (as opposed to sitting in one place in an RV for the year and calling that fulltiming)

We have a number of nationwide CG affiliations that have served us very well over the years. We don't use them much anymore.

Still, we ask a number of pertinent (to us) questions when making a reservation
. Most of those questions are about noise: What are the quiet hours and what does that mean? What vehicles do you allow and how are they allowed to operate?

If any entity allows even electric golf carts or anything more noisy, we aren't going there.

Given that we stay in WAY out of the way places or boondock for the most part, this mostly doesn't apply anymore. But trust me, we will NEVER be bothered by weekend cacophony. We have done this for years seeking peace and quiet, We know where to find it.

Here in Utah there are a number of parks where you can ride directly from your space to the trail and back.

Most places require any vehicles on the roads to be street legal and registered.

A few allow electric golf carts, but limit the use to legally licensed adults.

I do not like to have ATVs or even golf carts running around on the roads. Too many parents want to turn the kids loose and use the golf cafr

Ken

Almost all of the golf carts in our campground are gas. We have a very large hill to go up and down and most electric carts can't make it. That hill and the sheer size of the campground are the main reasons for the use of golf carts.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Yes have seen ATV ban in private & public CGs


Now if they would do the same for them dang golf carts.

ATV's and golf carts are totally different animals. Golf carts are electric and hence make just about no noise. ATV's are noisier gas engine powered, and ... as someone has already mentioned ... used way too often/much by both kids and adults in and around camping areas (whether public or private).

We camped once at the Kentucky Horse Park. Our renting, and use of, a quiet golf cart was absolutely required in that situation.

Where my seasonal site is campground owners use a utv to gather trash and general maintaince. I don't know of anyone else that has one, everyone walks in the campground or rides a bike.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Yes have seen ATV ban in private & public CGs


Now if they would do the same for them dang golf carts.

Never would I have thought that I'd agree with you, but I'm in your camp on this issue.

If'n you wish to endlessly run your motorized (take your pick) stuff, that's fine. There are many venues where you can park with like minded folks who don't care about the noise levels and somehow believe that operating a golf cart while "camping" makes sense. (Please seek one out).

Its my impression that at FS campgrounds you can only ride in and out of the camp, not around the camp.

We own a lot in a private campground where ATVs and golf carts are allowed and almost everyone has at least one. Only golf carts are allowed to be driven during quiet hours 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and nobody is supposed to ride around a loop over and over but those seem to be about the only rules. Every vehicle is to have a plate on the back with the owner's lot number so if there is a problem, it can be reported.

The biggest issue I have is young children driving golf carts without an adult. The only rule about age is that children under 18 must wear a helmet when riding an ATV. I have seen a child who looked to be about 8 years old driving a golf cart without an adult. Way too young to understand rules of the road, etc. It seems that a child is always accompanied by an adult when riding an ATV but not a golf cart. Apparently some of these parents think a golf cart is harmless. With all of that said, we enjoy riding our ATVs on the park trails and cruising the campground in our golf cart. If they banned them, we would probably sell our lot.