By Gail Marsh
“We love it,” Kyle’s smile beamed. “Having our ATVs with us at the campground when we camp has opened up a whole new side of the RVing experience.”
Kyle’s wife agreed. “Remember when the kids just wanted to look at their phones the entire camping weekend? Now they can’t wait to get outside!”
A newer phenomenon?
We never used to see so many motorized vehicles such as ATVs inside campgrounds. Golf carts aside, all that’s changed since manufacturers began to make RV toy haulers. Also, COVID ushered in a brand-new bunch of RVers and many of them are families with children under the age of 18. It seems like more and more folks are bringing motorcycles, minibikes, 4-wheelers, and other toys to the campground.
But wait, there’s more!
“We’ve seen it all,” Theo commented. “Smaller motorized toys don’t always require a toy hauler. Kids are on motorized scooters, hoverboards, minibikes, and even segues!”
“Don’t forget people in golf carts and riding electric bicycles,” Kyle added. “I’ve been thinking about getting a bike for myself.”
On the move
Yes, many campers are on the move even while parked on their RV site. So, what do RVers think about all this movin’ and shakin’? Our campfire discussion revealed two distinctly opposite opinions.
Thumbs up
- Aid for mobility issues. “I don’t think my wife and I would RV as much without our golf cart,” John admitted. “She needs it to get around because of her mobility issues.”
- Helps with chores. “I don’t have any trouble walking,” Doris added. “But I take the golf cart to get the laundry to and from the campground’s laundromat. It’s just quicker.”
- Enjoyment. “We’ve met other motorcycle enthusiasts at various campgrounds. It’s fun to ride with newfound friends,” Leonard added.
- Distraction. Kyle spoke again, “As I said before, the ATVs are a good distraction for our kids. They love the freedom and the wind in their faces. Honestly, I’m not sure they’d come camping if not for the ATVs.”
- Ability to participate. “In some of the larger campgrounds, our RV site may be far, far away from the campground rec room. We use our electric bikes to get there and back for the planned activities,” Doris said.
Thumbs down
- Crowding. “I guess I’m the ‘downer’ in this discussion,” Marcy admitted. “Many of the campgrounds we visit don’t have big enough sites to park all these toys. Toy owners end up encroaching on the campsites that are located on either side of them, which aggravates me.” (What about this reader who says they book two sites? One whole site is dedicated to their “toys”!)
- Speeding. “I just wish everyone riding in these things would follow the speed limit,” Frank complained. “I worry some little kid is going to get thrown out of a 4-wheeler and get hurt, or worse!”
- Safety. Marcy added, “Many times the drivers of the ATVs are younger, inexperienced drivers. They don’t watch out for little kids, older adults, and pets that may come into their path. I wonder if they even know the basic rules of the road.” Frank added, “I just want them to stay on the roads! I’ve seen kids on scooters blast through campsites without a care. I think all motorized toys should stay on the roadways.”
- Courtesy. “I just wish the people with motorized toys would follow the quiet times posted by the campground,” Paul shook his head. “There’s nothing like waking up to the buzz, buzz, buzz of kids on minibikes at six in the morning!”
Suggestions
Several people brought up potential solutions:
- Campgrounds could do a better job of stating and enforcing rules for the safe use of motorized vehicles.
- Adults should teach children courtesy rules and the proper operation of motorized toys in the campground.
- In-person monitoring of children and pets may help prevent misuse and accidents.
- Dedicated areas within the campground may be set aside for the use of motorized vehicles.
- Large, noisy, motorized toys may be allowed the use of campground roadways only when leaving and/or entering the campground. Extensive use within the campground is disallowed.
My takeaway
We do not have a toy hauler. Nor do we pull a trailer. We do, however, have a motorcycle that is shipped to our destination whenever we plan to stay in a campground for an extended period of time. We love riding the motorcycle and meeting other RVers who share this same passion.
That said, I understand the concerns mentioned at our campfire discussion, but I also understand the desire to make the camping experience great for everyone. What do you think about motorized “toys” like ATVs being in campgrounds? Let me know in the comments.
##RVT1093
I’m okay with golf carts, although I don’t get the appeal, if the RV Park or campground can support it. We workkamp at a small campground in NC where no golf carts, ATVs are allowed because the roads and facility cannot support the extra space required to park them or the extra traffic. But at the RV Park where we currently work golf carts are rented or brought in by guests. ATVs should be kept for off road adventures. They are loud and obnoxious (most of the time).
On caveat, if you allow these types of vehicles and you have rules please enforce them.
Just bought a small electric folding bike. Fun to ride. We will see how it goes with our RVing adventures. By the way, it is street legal. Wear a helment!
I would have no objections if parents taught their children to be respectful of other peoples areas, the trouble is most young parents today aren’t respectful themselves.
I agree. There is no problem with kids or even adults riding “quiet” vehicles in the campground. Some just let their kids do whatever they want instead of teaching them respect for others.
100% agree. If I see an unruly kid, an unruly parent is not far away!
I’m in agreement. It’s a noise/quiet issue. With exception of the noise and possibly the dust, not concerned.
I think the whole point in the camping experience is a quiet one. If you have electric vehicles that’s fine, but if you’re bringing atv’s you should be camping where there are atv trails. Not riding around in the campground. Most are loud and emit exhaust fumes. Who wants to smell or hear that all day. I used to have an atv. Never took it to ride around in a campground. Took it to places where they were intended to be used.
I ride an atv at home on the place. I have no neighbors for a mile. I don’t want to go camping to hear the racket. I would never do that to others.
Hoe many of these people carry insurance? If their atv, golf cart, while, etc hits your car, RV or you?
Bikes have always been a part of camping so I don’t have a problem with them. However, the new E-bike craze is making things a little problematic. I see riders ignoring stop signs, exceeding the speed limits and forcing avid walkers out of their way as for some reason the biker seems to think they have the right of way. Golf carts are a craze that has gotten out of control. Many campgrounds use it as a revenue source with rentals but the rules of use are ignored. Young drivers out joy riding, loud gas motors, ignoring all the road rules, driving at night without lights, etc. Even the campground workers abuse the use of their golf carts. And the dust!!!!! Camping isn’t camping anymore. Many of the new campers have subscribed to the “ME” attitude while ignoring how it may affect others. Some claim it to be progress but others wish for the good old days.
This is one of the reasons we usually stay in state parks. There is always a sign stating that all motorized vehicles must be registered, licensed, and insured, including electric bicycles. Also, the parks are patrolled and rules are enforced. We have seen personal mobility assistors so there may be an exemption for them
The problem I have witnessed, unfortunately many times, is when the ATV’s ride on established trails. There are signs saying they can’t but some do anyway. They have damaged the trails extensively. As a campground host, when we would see an ATV coming in we would make it very clear they were to stay on the pavement. That rarely happened. Somehow they would always forget to stay off the trails. It made it unfair to the ATV users that did respect the signs.
I can beat that! I’m a camp host in a national forest, serving remote campgrounds at the end of forest roads. My campgrounds are gated off to vehicle traffic–people must park in the gravel parking lot and walk their camping gear in to their site. It’s very nice, quiet and peaceful. But the new trendy thing to do is for campers to force their way in by vehicle or ATV now. They’re going around the gate, over the boulders placed in the gaps between trees, anything! And if I talk do them about it and to move their car, we get total belligerence in response.
Yes, we also hosted and found the same response.
I camp in State parks which don’t allow ATV’s or golf carts. ATV are loud, obnoxious and tear up roads and trails they use. Most don’t have insurance or license to cross roads as required in Pa. Many ride them illegally and cops are to lazy to stop them and have excuses not to. Would not camp where ATV’s and golf carts are allowed. Don’t mind licensed motorcycles that are licensed and owners are respectful of others.
Currently sitting in a very sandy campground where the rules state, interestingly, that any golf cart must have tires with smooth treads, probably for environmental reasons, and … wait for it … they must be electric, possibly for environmental reasons, but perhaps to maintain a reasonably peaceful home for the wildlife.
It’s sad to see so many obese children riding on motorized toys instead of peddling bikes or taking hikes. We have a major obesity issue in this country starting way too early in our children. Do them a favor and get them physically active!
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Completely agree. Obesity is an epidemic.
More like a laziness pandemic.
As I was backing into my site, there came the hells angel pack of kids on scooters. then there were the adults racing golf carts at night. Life is interesting.
I prefer that kids not run rampant on ATVs, but I have never seen it or been subjected to it. Conventionally powered stuff (i.e., gasoline or diesel engine) seems to pose less risk than electric-powered stuff. The former create a known noise and thereby alert people to its approach, to its presence. Electric vehicles are quiet and can startle people and endanger them because of the lack of noise. Electric bikes typically are not moving fast enough to create much risk. Pedestrians usually can get out of the way and the rider can stop or evade at speeds legal within campgrounds (presuming they are followed even though they often seem ignored).
Land, sea or air – it isn’t the motorized vehicles that bother me. It is users who lack skill and/or courtesy in their use.
Where minors are involved, many times it is as much the fault of the adults who are responsible for their oversight. It is rare that an unsupervised minor posses the judgement to see the impact of their behavior on other people or the environment beyond their own or their group’s personal enjoyment.
Of course there are the children who never grow up.
Responsible users make little impact on others or the environment so we don’t think about them.
One downside not mentioned, is the noise of small engines. There is a solution at hand, though, which is electric power. Electric bikes are fantastic and open up bicycle trail riding to people of all abilities and ages. There is also a range of off-road electric options from ATVs to mountain bikes. Just take care not to damage, or destroy the natural environment by staying on the trails.
Where would one find a “current bush” to plug your battery charger in?
Ok when used responsibly.
Signed, PollyAnna
We mostly stay at national, state and county campgrounds and avoid those that are popular for OHV use. We just don’t care for the noise, dirt and pollution.
Agreed. We avoid places we know have rampant use of OHV. It’s a noise and dust issue.
We have friends that have OHVs and grandkids they take with them to Parker AZ or Havasu and occasionally we join them but we know what we are getting into for those days.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.
Wondering how you got to your campsite without causing pollution?
As with all “Things”, it’s the people operating them that cause the problem. Children should not be turned loose with “Toys”. Be with them and monitor them. Be a parent. Set a good example, as a parent, by operating yours responsibly. Be respectful. Rules have a reason, even if you don’t see it.
Don’t like it? Move on.
Not a fan of ATVs or golfcarts at campgrounds. There’s a time and place for everything. There are alternatives if you have mobility issues. Experienced an “adult” riding around in their golfcart playing their musical horn at a campground last Fall. Needless to say, we won’t be returning this year. Now when we book a campsite, we check to see what is allowed. We don’t have a problem with motorcycles if they’re operated maturely. We go camping to relax and enjoy nature. It’s difficult when there’s motorized vehicles racing around.
I take my Utv everywhere we go. It is a licensed Utv and can be driven on the road legally. I follow speed limits and drive it responsibly. It’s no different than you driving your car.
ATV type vehicles are for going out to get or feed the cattle. You should have to prove you own a farm to even buy one.
Ridiculous. You don’t like them, so nobody else should have them.
Sorry, I don’t know how to put the tongue-in-cheek emoji thing in. I do like them for getting cows.
So, if my wife and I aren’t rustling cows we aren’t supposed to ride our ATV’s or RZR’s?
Rustle what you wish, where you wish. Happy ATV trails.
Nothing like a Kawasaki Cowboy anymore.
The off road experience of seeing the scorched ground left behind when groups of ATVs compact the soil underneath conifers is upsetting- especially when the fir trees are defoliated by insects as a direct result and die. Such a waste.
We happened to see a motorhome enter a campground we were staying at in South Carolina with a trailer behind it that had a helicopter aboard. First and only time we saw that.
I think that atv camping should be specific to atv campground’s.
They are loud and generally the folks who have them are also loud.
I think it’s great that these folks are having this fun, but not at the expense if us who prefer camping with quiet.
I believe that if you need “toys”, other than for actual mobility issues (in which case it’s Not a “toy”), you should stay Out of other people’s peaceful and quiet enjoyment of nature. What’s wrong with a Non-motorized bicycle? What’s wrong with Walking to the laundry facilities – just to save a few minutes?? If you’re in That much of a rush, you don’t have your head in the right space to even enjoy where you are, so why be there? And teaching your kids to slow down and Unplug should be a major life lesson. Take away the phones (yours And theirs) except for certain times of the day/evening. Also, if the other people in your life (whether boss or family!) don’t respect your “away” time, it is Definitely time to reevaluate having them in your life.😊
We live/work in a CG for 7 months out of the year that doesn’t allow golf carts, atvs, utvs, etc. Exceptions are made for guests with mobility issues but those guests must declare that at registration. The CG is small, the roads are one-way, narrow (in areas), and gravel. Our guests appreciate our approach and rules. Our CG is quieter for it. We have a few electric bikes now and then but being a CG in the mountains we don’t have too many. Riders are reminded that all vehicles including e-bikes must follow traffic patterns and speed limits.
My wife and I are both disabled and to get around, we use a Cricket SX-3 Mini-Golf Cart. We have taken it into the Mariners Museum in Newport News and other museums with no issues. I have stayed in State Parks where the Ranger said we could not use the cart. When I show them the Federal Regulations on Mobility Devices, they back down. Every State we have stayed in have regulations on Mobility devices that very closely follow the federal regulations. Being as the Cricket is small enough to fit in the back of our Jeep Cherokee it doesn’t take up very much room in our camp sites. I can see where people can have issues with ATVs, Full Size Golf Carts and other toys.
The roads in a campground are for getting in and out of the campground/campsite! They are NOT race tracks or ATV trails and should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO BE USED AS SUCH!!!
As for those who think that it’s OK to use MY spot for YOUR toys, you will be warned ONCE by me, next you will be reported, and if you continue to encroach onto MY campsite, I have an icepick that is GREAT for things OTHER than making Ice cubes!!!
We have had it with rude campers!!!
It’s the same old story. Land use planning is for someone else. If the property is zoned for ORVs, you have no complaint (you likely have an ORV yourself). But if ORVs are specifically banned, there are reasons. Stay elsewhere or have a means to transport your ORVs elsewhere for use.
If they’re mindful of the dust they’re adding to my scrambled eggs, I don’t mind them. If they’re mindful of their noise, I’m a good neighbor. If they’re non-destructive and keep ‘em on the road and don’t drive through campsites, I’ll give them a friendly wave.
I don’t like drones regardless. Pulling shades and extending awnings to reduce someone’s voyeurism shouldn’t be a requisite to camping…..
It is way past time to stop people from rampaging through a CG on these unnecessary toys…there are other areas people can play with them instead of where have paid to camp, or live.Another fool thing they do is race on Forest Service gravel roads around blind corners.
I once came around a blind corner on a gravel road in the Colorado mountains going 30 mph in my truck. Coming toward me, spread completely across the width of the road, were three ATVs driven by teenagers going 40-45 mph. I swerved to the right to avoid hitting two of them and just missed going into the borrow ditch. All three just kept on going without even slowing down! We were on a county road miles from any town, so who do you complain to about that kind of recklessness–their parents, the Forest ranger, the county sheriff? How, when there was no cell service?
I agree.This is the end result of so called parents not raising their kids right to begin with… and allowing them to do as they dang well please. I doubt if many of the so called parents were raised right themselves. America has been on the wrong track for decades….and getting worse by the day.
There is a reason they are called “GOLF” carts.
People on ATVs and side by sides, usually end up driving like maniacs, plus the exhaust is loud. Should not be in campgrounds.
My wife and I just spent four days at ” Little Sahara” in Utah. Major sand dunes and trails used for off road machines! Everyone at the campground respected each other. They hit the trails and the sand dunes to tear it up! It’s more fun when you’re at a place that is made for off roading!
Thank you, Gail! 🙂 Off-road motorized toys in a campground are problematic. Leave those home if staying in a campground/RV park. If boondocking, then have at it! Motorcycles require licensing and are no different from having any towed or towing vehicle. Children “loosed” on a campground unsupervised should get their parents put on notice that the first “incident” was free and the second gets them and theirs booted from the campground/park with no refund. Ideally, similar language (sans distinction of 1st and 2nd) should be on booking website and repeated at check-in. Thanks again and safe travels, Gail! 🙂
Exactly. on point and dead on. Now get the CG manager and part time help to “enforce” the rule. Better yet have the local LEO agency to swing thru and pay them to do it
We have a sidexside utv and love riding it but we only take it to campgrounds that have riding areas accessible from the rv park. The two parks we go to have a strict rule of only riding to and from your site to access the riding trails and they enforce it. I don’t want to have atv’s buzzing round and round the campground either so I like their rules.
The more children having fun the better. Anything Goes. Except 2200 to 0600.