How to upset the locals regarding trail-head parking

[peakbagger]

This is a borderline "rant" on how some folks just don't know or don't care how to read the WMG or use common courtesy. There are many lesser trail heads in NH that begin on private property and do not have designated parking. In many of these spots there are places where one or two cars may fit on the side of the road. Unfortunately over the years, the landowners adjoining these trails have to put up with poor hiker behavior by a small minority and generally the WMG has suggestions on parking to minimize impacts to the folk who live there.

Sunday while driving on the North Road in Shelburne NH I saw a good example of ignoring the recommendations of the latest WMG at the Peabody Brook Trail head. The WMG recommends parking off the road on the south side of the road. Prior editions recommended parking at the intersection of Hogan Road and North road about a mile away but that was generally ignored by the hiking public. There is room for a couple of vehicles at the trail-head, but in general North road is not a wide road and vehicles parking on the pavement are definitely impeding traffic. About 300 feet west of the actual trail-head there is a fenced in field and plenty of room to park along the south side the road. Unfortunately a very large group decided that the recommendations didn't apply to them. They were parked on both sides of the road within the paved travel way and couple of them were pulled all the way off the road onto the front lawn of one of the houses. I didn't take a lot of time looking at license plates as the group was just coming out of the woods and swarming all over the road with no real regard to anyone driving by, but a lot of the plates were not local.

To a hiker it probably doesn't look like much of an offense, but day in and day out to non hiking residents, this starts to get old quick. In the past before the adjoining properties changed hands, the adjoining landowners had gotten to the point where they had requested that this trail be discontinued due to parking and hiker issues. AMC had to spend some time calming things down and the revision to the prior guides suggesting parking up the road, was done as a last effort to keep the trail open. I knew one of the prior owners, and their family really didn't appreciate having their driveway completely blocked by hikers cars on occasion, bags of trash and occasional beer cans left on their driveway, folks urinating in the bushes in sight of their house, loose dogs harassing their tied up dog or folks changing in their front yard. I quite frankly would have supported them to close the trail until suitable parking could be secured or the trail relocated.

I expect the folks on North road on Sunday would never read VFTT, so I will just leave this a general reminder that when visiting the lesser used trail-heads, to please try to follow the recommendations in the WMG for parking and remember that you may be starting out on private property and as such should take landowners into account when starting or finishing a hike.

 

[audrey]

We were there a couple of weeks ago and our two cars were the only ones parked (we were directly across the road) at the trailhead. I know it shouldn't be the landowner's burden, but it would probably help to erect some small No Hiker Parking signs at the edge of their property. City folk can be incredibly ignorant.

 

[RoySwkr]

It's nice to not offend others, so if you know where the locals want you to park you should attempt to. As Audrey says, the locals can help by posting signs. An official-style "No Parking On Pavement" sign is not expensive (maybe you can get the town to buy it and may reach even city slickers.

On the other hand, the web has made it easy to distribute bad as well as good information. At one small peak in the Lakes Region I parked where a website said, but said hi to the owners who were home and said I should park somewhere else.

And what do you do if the lawn is actually part of the road right-of-way, so legal parking will annoy residents (like many cities ?

 

[DSettahr]

City folk can be incredibly ignorant.

I really don't think ignorance is more or less prevalent in "city folk" than it is in "country folk."

I'm sure a lot of is is due to a cultural difference- in most cities, you can usually park anywhere on the street.

I'm not trying to excuse their behavior... but I bet quite a few forum members here would probably quickly make fools out of themselves if they attempted to travel around NYC by car.

 

[hikerbrian]

City folk can be incredibly ignorant.

Now why'd you have to go and ruin a perfectly reasonable post with a statement like that?! Let's not get into a discussion about the relative levels of ignorance in "cityfolk," "flatlanders," city slickers," etc, vs. those who live in backwoods NH (i.e. where I grew up...). That conversation will digress rapidly.

Anyway, this is an important issue and a nontrivial one, and abuses and violations are not confined to one demographic, believe me. I'm really bothered by people who are not considerate of others (i.e. urinating on someone's lawn, etc.), but where to park is sometimes a grey area. With the new popularity of red-lining, this problem is going to increase in scope. It would be good for the powers that be to take a proactive approach.

 

[Breeze]

I agree that the offending parkers are not likely to be reading here at VFFT forums.

I will never-the-less offer up that there are MULTIPLE North Road, Shelburne NH residents/property owners who are NH State Police attached to to Twin Mt. barracks , or NH F&G for Coos County/WMNF, or with the Coos County Sheriff's Dept.


North Road residents are certainly not powerless in this matter, it is neighbor -to-neighbor out there on that lovely back-water byway with both river and Mtn hiking and AT access.... where some people have chosen to call home... and where some quiet one- ringy-dingy-landline or across the driveway conversation between neighbors out there can have a big impact on those who don't recognize boundary issues.

Breeze

 

[Peakbagr]

This is a problem everywhere. People block driveways and woods roads, leave gates open on private property, decorate T/Hs with coffee cups, litter and unburied waste, and in general feel the rules don't apply to them as someone mentioned.

 

[Red Oak]

This is a problem everywhere. People block driveways and woods roads, leave gates open on private property, decorate T/Hs with coffee cups, litter and unburied waste, and in general feel the rules don't apply to them as someone mentioned.

In regards to trash on the trails and trailheads,summer time is a good time to stuff your extra pocket with trash while you hike.How often do you see a pesky corner of a kitkat or choc. bar on the ground?I usually collect trash and then throw it away when I get home[I do not touch anything that looks waste related,obviously].Bottles are easy to collect and then throw in a recycle bin[hopefully most have one?].It seems like we all drop trash sometimes by accident.
I think breeze got this one right.Up north your neighbors watch your back,simple and very important.Growing up in New hampshire,I remember that attitude was the norm.Now with a ballooned population in southern nh,we are just a Boston commuter location with neighbors keeping to themselves for the most part.What peakbagger[threadstarter] could be getting at in this thread is a terrible attitude some tourists have up north during the summer imho. Summertime tourists are looking to kick back and sometimes that brings out moments of bad thinking like bad parking jobs.Winter seems to bring out the north countries real character in tourists and locals with a much friendlier demeanor all round[this is not up to debate ],much more preferable.
Audrey I respect your right to have that opinion in regards to "city folk".However are we all not city folk with electricity and internet connections?

 

[peakbagger]

I was not advocating that the local state troopers need to set up a stake out on the Peabody Brook trail, I used that as an example. There really shouldnt be any need for the locals to enforce, as hikers should be applying common courtesy when they are hiking on or near private property. Unfortunately the attitude is out there that in rural areas, the rules are different.

Given the volume of cars and the people all coming out of the woods at the same time, this was most likely an organized group that should have been extra careful in minimizing their impact at the trailhead.

 

[Peakbagr]

The Internet, smartphones, FB, and yes,places like VFTT contribute to this. Instant access to information, hiking trip reports, trip photos have made the mountains just another thing to do or alternative to a gym for many. A good thing for attracting new people to the mountains, but not so good if they don't know how to treat the mountains, trail, and the people who live nearby with respect.

 

[hiking lady]

I can relate to this being a land owner- I've had to at times block off my property with no-trespassing signs, due to ATV's/4WD trucks causing significant damage to some muddy areas behind my house that is used as a snowmobile trail in the winter. The snowmobile club finally erected gates and added locks to ward these folks off during the non-snowmobiling season, which hasn't stopped them completely but minimized it a great deal.

The internet was the problem for us as well, when speaking to these people who were four wheeling behind our house, they stated they found it on the internet...

I am always leary of even passing through people's property to get to a trail and I can't honestly blame them, for getting mad and denying access. Another area where I think this becomes tricky is up near Crescent Mtn in Randolph. I always try and park far up away from houses off the side to avoid blocking roads.

I think when people move to the country and then find traffic in front of their house, their suddenly not feeling like they're in the country anymore.

 

[mtnpa]

I really don't think ignorance is more or less prevalent in "city folk" than it is in "country folk."

A person's character has little to do with where one is born/bred/raised but much to do with lessons learned from parents and role models.

 

[Stash]

I always found it rather odd that folks participating in an athletic activity like hiking will often seek the closest parking spot at the trail head (or side of the road) to avoid that long walk to the trail where they're going for a long walk. I see it at my local gym too. The place with all those treadmills folks run great distances on...

 

[sdways01]

I always found it rather odd that folks participating in an athletic activity like hiking will often seek the closest parking spot at the trail head (or side of the road) to avoid that long walk to the trail where they're going for a long walk. I see it at my local gym too. The place with all those treadmills folks run great distances on...

That also applies to any difficult (or not so difficult) uphill section of trail that has a bypass around it to make it easier. I can see some issues when you have short legs, but you went out to hike a mountain, it's going to have hard spots.

 

[JCarter]

I'm not familiar with the particular trailhead in question, but as a "non-local" I frequently encounter the problem of figuring out where to park.

If the trailhead has a kiosk (I know, many smaller ones are lucky to have a discernable blaze , perhaps the simple act of adding a small sign/map that has a diagram of acceptable parking areas, and any restrictions (like car must be completely off pavement, or outside the white line, etc) might help reduce the incidence of problem parking. I'll willingly move my car if there is some kind of indication. Guidebooks and internet postings are great, but stuff changes, and books don't get updated often enough.

1 sheet of paper in a plastic sleeve.

It won't fix all incidents, but it would probably help.

 

[Gremlin]

This post is a good reminder to everyone.

 

[TDawg]

I came out of the woods yesterday at the Peabody Brook TH to my bike stashed in the woods, rode it back to Austin Brook TH. First time through there.

I can't think of a scenario where I would park on the neighbors lawn if the limited parking available (maybe 2 cars) was taken.