Have any of you ever stayed in the parking lot of a ski resort? I talked to a person who spent 6 weeks living out of his class B motorhome at Mt. Shasta Ski Park last season and he said he wasn't the only one. I've read a few threads here about winter towing and cold weather camping and I'm up for taking the Pod to the slopes. If you've done this I'd love to hear what you have to say of the experience and what the resort people had to say about you staying there. Did you have to check in or did you just not leave? Let it snow!
When I was a kid we took our motorhome everywhere, including skiing. We camped in the parking lot and no one ever said a thing about it. I remember it was so nice to have a place to go to have a sandwich and warm up for a while, then get right back out to the slopes. The worst that can happen is they throw you out.....there's always Walmart!
My dad used to pull up and camp just about anywhere he felt like and I don't remember a single complaint. I remember spending a weekend in the parking lot of a private club (we were not members). There was an ice fishing derby going on. We spent our time cross country skiing, sledding, snowmobiling (towing us kids in tubes - I cringe at the danger now that I'm a mother), ice skating and ice fishing. Obviously my dad was pretty bold. He's even worse now that he's pushing 70.
The downsides to this type of camping: obviously no hook ups making constant generating necessary and you have to closely monitor water and tanks with a big group of people. Once you're out of water and tanks are full, then what? The worst part - no campfire. You can get a little stir crazy when 9 people are living in a box in a parking lot. But looking back, what a great addition our cold weather trips are to my collection of memories.
Looking to do this this winter. Start out easy at Snoqualmie Summit. They have a long term RV lot which is mostly people working at the area and leave the trailer/camper/MH there for the winter. A lot of people "push it" in the weekend lot at Summit Central (aka Ski Acres). I have a friend with a condo at the edge of that lot and he says he's seen rigs there for weeks at a time. Only think is you will get plowed in and that could require a LOT of shoveling ( or bribing the plow operator with a case of beer ). It's pretty standard for areas around the Pacific Northwest to have designated RV parking (Southwest if you're north of the border )
Tires are a big problem. The choices for 7.00x15 winter tires with enough load carrying capacity is slim to none. I'm not thrilled with the idea of going out and buying 16" rims but I don't think the 15" tire selection is going to get any better as auto manufacturers are trending toward larger diameter rims and lower profile tires.
My other concern is freezing water in the tanks, hot water heater, lines, etc. But my EF2800i should be here this week so that will help. FYI, my "neighbor" in the condo says the only thing that really ticks him off is when the RVers run their generator all night
just curious if anyone parks in the ski area parking lots in the summer. i imagine theres not alot of people around. anyway, i'm plannin on cruisin up and down the west coast, i.e sierras, and the cascades to the north.
It might get a little sketchy once you get the Sierras. Most of the ski areas there have done a huge marketing push to get summer users: mountain biking, golf, hiking, kayaking, etc. So places aren't all that deserted...And of course, Tahoe being Tahoe, it's packed solid in the summer, including all camping/RV sites. Even smaller areas, like Kirkwood, Bear Valley, Sierra Summit, and Sugar Bowl are impacted by the summer crowds. But don't despair! You just might luck out...And if you get to Santa Cruz and need a place with absolutely no hookups whatsoever, look us up.
I work with a couple of guys who ski and camp at Sierra Summit east of Fresno quite frequently. They have a section set aside for that near the lodge. I think it's just dry camping.
As far as summer camping there, I'm up in the Sierra Summit/Shaver/Huntington lakes areas quite often that time of year and the ski resort parking lot is usually pretty deserted. Not sure if they allow summer camping or not, but there should be room.
Dave
If you make it up to Washington and do the Mtn Ranier loop you'd have no problem parking in the Crystal Mtn lot off of Hwy 410. They run the lift to the summit (weekends only maybe?) and I'd highly recommend that for the view of Rainer. Most of the Washington ski areas are right along side a major highway so not really where you'd want to camp. Going over I-90 you could probably use one of the lots up by Alpental Some/most are actually Forest Service land and subject to their restrictions and permits. However there's lots of other great camping sites near by like Denny Creek, Lake Easton, et al. I'm pretty sure you can camp over night in the Mtn Baker Parking lot and if your trip extends that far North might be worth it if you want a great base camp for hiking/climbing. Getting your rig up the switch backs might be an adventure in it's self
I saw a trailer on the NW edge of the free parking lot at Keystone. I have not tried to trailer camp there as we drive from Denver and back when we ski. Call Keystone when anyone thinks they want to try it. Maybe they have no problem with a trailer sitting out there as long as you stay to the NW side of the parking lot. Avoid Friday, Saturday, three day holiday weekends and school holiday breaks.
Turtle, you might look at a post I made in another section of this site (search for postings: Sierrapapa) concerning following the snow. Additional to the comments I made on that post let me say I believe Utah does have "the greatest snow on earth" You can park at RV sites down in the Valley and have full hook ups, the weather is somewhat mild, at least milder than Jackson Hole - Teton Village area, and you can be up to the resorts in 40 minutes if you awake before the "traffic riff - raff" get on the road. I do not believe you can park overnight with a trailer at any of the big Ut resorts. I have gone sneaking into the areas late at night and slept in the back of my truck under the camper shell by parking in the hotel parking lots.
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). It's pretty standard for areas around the Pacific Northwest to have designated RV parking (Southwest if you're north of the border 
)
so that will help. FYI, my "neighbor" in the condo says the only thing that really ticks him off is when the RVers run their generator all night 
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