How to Make your Campsite Wheelchair Accessible
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Wheelchair access extends beyond the picnic table design, beyond the campfire ring, and beyond the charcoal grill.
The Final Guidelines for Federal Outdoor Recreation Sites, issued by the United States Access Board on September 26, 2013, clearly specifies that the dimensions for park site amenities, such as picnic tables, grills, and campfire rings, are to offer compliant wheelchair access. But that is only part of making your campsite accessible. You also need to have space around these site elements that provide enough room for a person in a wheelchair to maneuver and comfortably use the picnic table or other amenities you have installed.
Picnic Table Areas
ADA guidelines require wheelchair clearance at a picnic table to provide a space that is 30 inches wide by 27 inches high by 19 inches deep, plus a toe clearance space of 9 inches high by 5 inches deep. That is the space someone in a wheelchair needs at the table.
However, you also need to provide a clear space that is at least 48 inches wide around the table too. This is to provide room for the wheelchair to operate around the table. For example, if you wanted to install two picnic tables side by side, they would have to be at least 48 inches apart between the adjacent seats. You should also have 48 inches of space around the ends of the tables and the outside seats. There are some exceptions that allow you to reduce the clear space to no less than 36 inches.
This surface around the picnic table, or other site amenities, must be firm and stable. It doesn’t necessarily have to be concrete. The ADA rule suggests, “the type of surface should be appropriate to the setting and level of development.” The surface should also be fairly level, with allowances for drainage slope of 2-3%. These surface specifications apply to other site elements, such as charcoal grills and campfire rings.
Grills & Camp Fire Rings
If you install a wheelchair accessible campfire ring or charcoal grill at a picnic site, you must also include the 48 inches of clear, hard ground space around all usable sides of that fire ring or grill. This 48 inches of space can be the same space you provide at one side of a picnic table if the two components are installed near each other. That is, you need at least 48 inches of space between a grill and a picnic table, not 96 inches.
Similar space dimensions and surface specifications apply to installations of fireplaces, trash receptacles, and tent pads.
To learn more about wheelchair accessibility, click here. You will find access to the full ADA Guidelines Final Draft document, which includes needed dimensions and diagrams to assist you with your site design.
If you want to learn more about wheelchair accessible camping products, click here.