So after talking to some members here, and a few park rangers, I thought I would give a little of my experiences dealing with parks.
First, I will never condone or promote anything that could possibly be illegal in anyway, and my advice may not carry over so you're on your own past this point.
Some of you may know that I have put on a Hammock Camping event in the Santee State Park, Santee SC. I am in the works for this years event, and I have been asked by a few other members here how I got the magic pass to do it.
Normally, if I am by myself I follow the tried and true method of "Ask forgiveness rather than permission" rule.
In the rule books of a lot of, if not all, state parks there is a "no hammocks" rule. This is usually followed by "...and other objects attached to the tree". This came about because people would NAIL things like clothes lines and party lights etc, into the trees causing scaring. Also, most people would either leave the nails in the tree (ugly) or pull the nails and toss them (dangerous) rather than pack them out. So, this rule came about since at the time, hammocks were of the Pawley's island variety and just hooked into hooks that were screwed into trees and other structures.
Well, enter the age of reason that we live in now and we, the Hammock Campers of the world, have found better, more eco friendly ways of enjoying the beloved outdoors with our hammocks! And, just like the sign out front of most state parks, the rule and thinking behind it hasn't been changed since the 1960's...That's where butt kissing skills come in.
First thing, go in person to the park. DO NOT call. The reason is you will usually get someone that knows the cliff notes version of the rules and regs, and if they get a question like "can we use a hammock" they think net and spreader bar hammocks and refer to the rule banishing them. They aren't usually motivated to help beyond quoting what they have in front of them or listen to your side. If you call at all, its to find out when the head guy in charge will be there, I call him the Park Manager (could be a different title...)
Second, when you go, go prepared. When I went I took basically my whole rig and some extras. Take the simplest, fastest and nicest thing you have to demo. You are asking an audience of a person that usually has other things to do then to learn something new that contradicts the rules as they are written. Something you need to impress upon the Park Manager is the differences between the backyard hammocks and real camping hammocks, and the fact that the people who use them are essentially forced to use some form of tree protecting attachment. Also, any time you can put the idea of more revenue to the park with no ill affects, you will catch their attention. Parks need all the help they can get these days!
Last (and this should be paramount and first, but it should be a given) be polite. You are representing every Hammock Camper that will come after you. Be helpful and educational, offer to show and demo the hammock system and invite them to take a test drive. If you can get them in and show them how low impact this is, you usually are in. Heck, you might even get a Hammock Convert!
If all that fails, don't be discouraged! There is always tomorrow, and if repeated polite attempts to extol the virtues of our setups, there is always another rung on the ladder. You may have to start all over with someone higher up, but if we show a positive, polite and helpful attitude people are more likely to listen.
SO! Think about these things next time you want to go for a hang somewhere that isn't just "out there". Your actions today will affect the hangers of tomorrow, so while we practice things like "Leave No Trace" every time we camp, we have to keep in mind we are the red-headed step children of camping & hiking and have to be the best we can out there.
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Originally Posted by REV
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