Campground speed limits

[Homebrew]

Seams like your judged either way and there are exceptions or excuses for the violators, but no exceptions for the people calling you out.
If someone is taking the time to tell you your go to fast you need to correct your actions or find out what’s wrong and apologize.
Not say I was speeding a little and threaten to send your spouse to say hello or calling people jerks and Karen. What is wrong with you guys?

[BSHGTO]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I'm thinking Geritol and Metamucil?

Lost me, which side of the fence does your insult apply.

[jlynn721]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

A bit of a vent but I had to get it out there.

So my wife and I were out and about on Sunday afternoon around 3ish and decided to go check out a CG that we had been to a few times previously but had gone through a few ownership changes and some expansion recently. We are fairly happy with our seasonal site where we are at but we are always on the look-out to see what else is out there.

We were hoping to talk to someone in the office but they were closed so we decided to just take a drive around the CG to see what was new and how many open sites there were.

This was a fairly large campground but being late Sunday about 90% of the campers had already closed up and headed for home. We passed a few people sitting outside but not many.

So we are creeping through looking around and we passed a couple of groups of people sitting around their campfires. We waved as we passed as is customary but it turned out we were on a dead-end/turn about so we turned around and passed the same groups a 2nd time.

As we were passing the first group my wife happened to have her window down and someone yelled out "Slow down!".

I looked at my speedometer when I heard that and we were literally going 6 MPH. If I was going any slower I would've been stopped.

Then as we pass the second group they also shout at us about what the speed limit is. We simply shouted back, "We are only doing 5 MPH. Just looking around."

We've been seasonal campers for many years. Most places have a speed limit sign of between 5 and 10 MPH. The one we stay at is no different. I know how to travel slow through a CG. I also know it's pretty easy to tell if someone is going through at 10/15/20 MPH which we obviously weren't.

This is a CG that we had debated on going seasonal at many years ago. The only things that stopped us were the fact that it's a little farther than we'd like to drive every weekend and the fact that they don't allow golf carts.

The fact that they can't tell the difference between 5MPH and 20 MPH (which is what most golf carts can easily get up to) is probably the reason.

It kind of left a bad taste in our mouths about the place and added a 3rd reason as to why we will be unlikely to take up seasonal residence there.

If you weren’t speeding, give it no thought. Move on and let the campers who are “want-a-be” cops make fools of themselves.

As someone who has worked in and managed campgrounds for the Forest Service, Park Service, Park and Rec District, and WA State Parks, I can tell you that speeding in campgrounds is a problem.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by jlynn721

If you weren’t speeding, give it no thought. Move on and let the campers who are “want-a-be” cops make fools of themselves.

As someone who has worked in and managed campgrounds for the Forest Service, Park Service, Park and Rec District, and WA State Parks, I can tell you that speeding in campgrounds is a problem.

It's not just confined to campgrounds. Wherever there is a road and a speed limit sign there are those who don't think the limit applies to them. That just appears to be the society we live in today.

[MCTroy]

As a seasonal site camper AND on a dead end street I can tell you how frustrating siteseers are. Our gravel road ends with a fence. People will drive all the way up to the fence and just look at it! Then try to maneuver turning around between the campers, boats and cars parked there. Meanwhile they stir up the dust, drive over the grass and we have to listen to their noisy vehicles. Yes, there is a sign that says registered campers only but it is ignored.
If you want to tour a campground call the manager ahead. We aren't there for your amusement.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by D W

Reminds me of the buoy's at the boat launches that say "NO WAKE ZONE - MAX SPEED 8 MPH". Why 8 MPH, I don't know. On most boat speedometers the interpolation between 0 and 10 MPH is the width of the needle. ???

On boats less than 40ft (usually the ones of concern), 8-15mph is the maximum wake speed. Either get down to true no wake (5-6 mph or less) or get on full plane above 20.

Fred W

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by pgandw

On boats less than 40ft (usually the ones of concern), 8-15mph is the maximum wake speed. Either get down to true no wake (5-6 mph or less) or get on full plane above 20.

Fred W

The 8mph is there on the sign for the benefit of those who think "getting on a full plane" is safe just because you aren't creating a wake.

I used to have a displacement hull, twin engine, cruiser (35 ft) that had a "no wake speed" of roughly 3mph. At 10 mph I used to have people in kayaks wait until I passed and then would "surf" on my wake which was easily 3-4 feet high.

We rarely cruised above 6 knots as fuel consumption huge. Boat went away when fuel prices exceeded $1/gallon. Pulling up to the fuel dock and not being able to leave without forking over ~$200 kind of took the fun out of a weekend of cruising. It would be downright painful today, getting a fuel tab of over $1000 at todays prices.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The 8mph is there on the sign for the benefit of those who think "getting on a full plane" is safe just because you aren't creating a wake.

In my neck of the woods, almost all the powerboats are less than 30ft, and most less than 22ft long, designed for fishing and/or water sports. There are plenty of fishing kayaks and bass boats, and even the occasional paddle boarder, and it's downright dangerous to give them a 3-4ft wake to contend with.

But our "No Wake" buoys don't have any speed marking on them.

My 19ft Carolina Skiff has a cathedral hull similar to the old Boston Whalers, and on full plane, the wake is about 1ft. In my canoe, I would much rather contend with the wake from a boat on full plane than the wake from a boat dragging its stern at 6-8 mph. In general, I do slow way down to no wake for sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and especially people on water toys.

Fred W
loving life in Eastern NC

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by pgandw

In my neck of the woods, almost all the powerboats are less than 30ft, and most less than 22ft long, designed for fishing and/or water sports. There are plenty of fishing kayaks and bass boats, and even the occasional paddle boarder, and it's downright dangerous to give them a 3-4ft wake to contend with.

But our "No Wake" buoys don't have any speed marking on them.

My 19ft Carolina Skiff has a cathedral hull similar to the old Boston Whalers, and on full plane, the wake is about 1ft. In my canoe, I would much rather contend with the wake from a boat on full plane than the wake from a boat dragging its stern at 6-8 mph. In general, I do slow way down to no wake for sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and especially people on water toys.

Fred W
loving life in Eastern NC

I think the main point in the "No Wake--8mph" buoys are to protect the nearby activities, and property.

I don't disagree with the fact a boat on full plane will leave a lot less wake than a slower, stern-dragging, boats. Around here the "no wake zones" are near swimming areas, and congested areas where speeding boats are hazardous.

Just like in campgrounds, there are good reasons for limiting speed.


FWIW, my boating was not on lakes but rather on salt water and Kayakers I encountered were not the usual lake type kayaks and paddleboards. When I passed them they were already getting ready to "take the wave", looking forward to the surfing.

[sherman12]

From the OP's story that is exactly one of the many reasons why my DW and I try to avoid campgrounds that have a large seasonal campers base. We have found that the seasonals tend to look down on transient, or as some chain CGs call Rovers as a threat to their idealistic lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong neither of us has any problem with those folks who prefer having their camper set up from May to October at one spot. In many ways, it would appear to be the more economical alternative when taking into account the cost of fuel today and the movement of small homey mom-and-pop CGs selling out to the nationals like KOAs. But we like to find new adventures every time we take our rig out, even when visiting some of our favorite "go-to" CGs we include almost every season, it seems we always find something we haven't seen, done, or visited in all of our previous visits.