Tahoma Parking Issues

Rubithon was held last weekend. I happened to visit the staging area that Friday for another OHV project I’m working on, and I witnessed some very improper parking. Let’s call it what it was, ILLEGAL!

Parking off pavement may or may not be legal, depending on how it is done. I believe you can pull over enough to get off the pavement as long as you are not on any vegetation. We’re talking pulling off the trail one vehicle width; only enough to get off the trail. Don’t quote me on this as I’m not a law enforcement officer.

The parking in these pictures (and I could have taken more pictures) are all illegal. It is either a straightforward illegal parking ticket or a much more expensive resource damage ticket. Again, not a LEO.

We as OHV users need to do better. Images like this will be used by the anti-OHV crowd to put us in a bad light and get our trails and staging areas shut down. Yes, they might pull these images off and use them against us. For the record, I am not giving anyone permission to use these images, for any reason.

There was/is an effort underway to enlarge the parking at the Tahoma Rubicon staging area. That project is on hold as the Lake Taheo Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) has had people retire and others move to other forests. There is a lack of personnel and thus some projects have slowed to a stop.

A small parking lot is no reason to park illegally. If you can’t find room at the staging area, drive back out to the residential area and park along the street.

There has been a trend over the last 20+ years to trailer rigs to the trail. Back in the day, everyone drove to the trail. And then drove home! I get not wanting to drive a trail rig a couple of hundred miles, but those living closer should drive. There has been a trend of bringing non-street legal rigs to the trail. And I’m not talking just side-by-sides, but they are growing in number as well.

Everyone comes to the Rubicon Trail for a challenge. Why not take on the challenge of building a rig that can be driven 100+ miles, do the trail without breaking, and then be driven home? Where’s the challenge of building a buggy with an LS, one-ton axles and 42″ tires?

The parking area was paved a number of years ago. At the time, the FS agreed not to stripe the parking area and to allow the users to park as they wished. For the most part, it has worked. Occasionally, someone parks weird and messes up the flow for everyone else.

I believe that the outer ring of the staging area should be a no parking zone. It should be left open as a guaranteed through route for those looking to park and for emergency vehicles. The area directly in front of the kiosk could be a staging area for rigs coming off or entering the trail. Drivers must remain with their vehicles, if parked there.

We can do better. We must do better. Don’t be that guy. Don’t let your buddy be that guy.

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Rubicon Ronin