Colorado State Parks

[cougarmeat]

The mention of hammock stands reminded me of a commercial campground I stayed in on Saltspring Island (B.C.). At least one of their sites had posts, about nine inches in diameter, stuck in the ground. I pushed on them to make sure they were really buried well and they held up fine. They also were tall enough so the support could achieve a good angle for the distance covered.

Bringing me to the point of my post (ouch) ... If hammock stands are coming, perhaps you can contact the person responsible for that and make sure they will have the right design. For example, I have been "down south" a few times. That means Mexico, Belize, etc. My experience there is most lodges/resorts don't know squat about hammocks and string up those "last forever" plastic woven ones with such a sag that they are only useful as a chair. To be fair, when I've visited people's home where they actually sleep in a hammock, the material is soft/nice and the angle is in that 30 degree window. But the ones on the resort veranda were horrible; the supports are way too close together for the hammock length.

I'm guessing those who don't use hammocks still have this image of a banana and, bless their heart, try to "help" us by hanging them to mimic that.

If posts will be installed in parks, let's politely do what we can to assure they will be installed in such a way that there is also room (remember those side guy lines) for a tarp and the supports are far enough apart and solidly in the ground to accommodate an 11 ft hammock.

In my case, on SaltSpring, the post distance was so far that I had to place the support quite near the top. That created a dynamic of force on the pole that deserved close inspection - more than if I were attaching mid pole.

[wildernessninja]

Thanks, Gilligan's world n everyone who provided info on this. I have to wonder if it's worth petitioning and trying to educate on how hammocking can be done without harming trees.

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[jeff-oh]

See my post above yours, but the Colorado Parks and Wildlife finally responded to one of my emails. She spells out exactly why hammocks are prohibited in ALL state parks except the one she mentions that has hammock stands coming in 2020.

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I did read her reply of her interpretation of the park rule that interprets the actual statute. The actual statute does not mention tree straps, ropes or chains. The language of the statute is what matters and what the courts have set a president. Yes, she would likely issue a citation charging a violation under the statute that the person using the hammock damaged the tree, but it could be fought and if successful have a court ruling that a particular proper hanging method does not damage trees and is thus not a violation of the statute.

I am not willing to spend the money to make the case.

[QiWiz]

I don't know if a Colorado Ranger would agree, but if you put vertical sticks (several per tree you use for hammock) under your hammock suspension straps, there will be much less impact on the tree bark, and your impacts will be lessened (ie., Leave No Trace). I had the experience of being able to leave up a clothesline and a hammock (with this modification in place) by a non-Colorado Ranger when their initial demand was that I take it all down to protect the trees. They liked my explanation and attention to LNT principles.