The 300 Feet Regulation
by Jim Stickley, post date Oct. 1, 2007

Posted signs in the Red River Gorge let us know that we are not allowed to camp or build a fire within 300 feet of any road or developed trail. No problem, or so I thought. So I parked my car in a gravel parking lot, grabbed my gear, and hit the trail in search of a place to spend the night.

Along the trail, I found many well established campsites, right next to the path. These sites were fairly level, had rock-bordered fire rings, and an abundance of evidence of popularity. It was certainly tempting to set up camp in any one of these campsites, but all of these sites openly defied the posted 300' rule.

Going beyond a football field's distance from the beaten path, I only found cliffs, cliff baselines, steep grades, and many other poor locations to pitch a tent. So just where are we allowed to camp in the backwoods? I launched an Email volly with the Forest Service about this dilemma, and they came through with some of the answers.

"The current regulation is 300', and we are enforcing it", according to Mason Miller of the Forest Service. "Tickets have been written this summer for camping within 300’ of trails." The fine is the same in all counties: $50 plus $25 court cost.

Fine then, rather, okay then. What about unofficial trails, does the 300' rule apply? Miller answers, "Unofficial trails do not have USFS numbers and names. The 300’ rule does not apply to these trails...Some unofficial trails have common names like “Douglass Trail” or “Indian Stairway Trail”. These are still unofficial."

Miller continues, "As you are aware we are working through the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) process in the Red River Gorge. There has been a lot of discussion about this rule at the LAC meetings. The Forest Supervisor will address this issue when he receives recommendations from the LAC process."

The next public LAC meeting is on Thursday, December 6, at the Clark County Extension Office, 6-8:30 pm.