Consider This RV Restriction Before Booking a Camping Trip to This National Park

From getting your registration and insurance in order to planning your route, and packing all of the essentials, preparing for an RV road trip takes a lot more planning than you might expect. After all, traveling via RV isn’t all freedom and flexibility — although, let’s be honest, that’s definitely a major benefit. That said, there’s also a long list of important logistics and considerations that, unless you plan ahead, can turn an otherwise seamless journey into a less-than enjoyable vacation.

That said, out of all the things you need to keep in mind before hitting the road with your recreational vehicle, there’s one crucial detail that can easily derail your entire trip if you’re not properly clued in: unexpected size restrictions.

Believe it or not, plenty of America’s best RV campgrounds and national parks out there have some pretty strict length limitations for RVs. So, while most of these destinations might certainly boast some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes, they also feature narrow roads, tight turns, and campsites designed way back in the day (when recreational vehicles were considerably smaller). All of which ultimately means that, if you arrive with an RV that exceeds the park’s size restrictions, you’ll more than likely get turned away. And you’ll be left stuck, frustrated, and without a place to stay.

Put simply, the size of your RV directly impacts which national park campgrounds you can access. According to recent data from RV Share, while all RV-accessible national park campgrounds can accommodate vehicles up to 12 feet in length, the options decrease significantly as your RV gets larger.

For example, if your RV is 25 feet long, you can access 93% of RV-friendly campgrounds in national parks. However, that number drops to 81% for 32-foot RVs, and only 53% for 40-foot models. Most striking is that only 7% of national park campgrounds can accommodate RVs longer than 40 feet, severely limiting options for owners of larger vehicles.

Additionally, these restrictions also tend to vary widely by state. For example, most Alaska campgrounds typically accommodate RVs up to 40 feet, while parks in Arizona allow vehicles between 30 to 50 feet, depending on the specific location. On the other hand, California parks have a wider range of campsites that accommodate RVs ranging from 25 to 50 feet, and Tennessee parks vary dramatically from 12 to 40 feet. Lastly, some states like South Dakota have no formal limits at all, while parks in Maine generally cap length at 35 feet. With so many variations, it’s essentially up to you to double-check your destination’s restrictions to know beforehand whether or not your RV will fit. On the plus side, if you’re not an RV owner but are just looking to rent one, knowing exactly what’s allowed at your preferred campground will make it a lot easier for you to choose the right RV size for your road trip — ensuring that you’ll be able to fit comfortably and safely into the campground.