Accessible Picnic Units at US Forest Service Facilities
Information reproduced from the USDA Accessibility Guidebook for Outdoor Recreation and Trails.
Picnic Unit in Cibola National Park
A picnic unit is a part of a picnic area that contains one or more constructed features used for picnics by an individual or a group. The photo on the right is representative. Each picnic unit may be used separately from other parties using the recreation site. All site furnishings and constructed features that are provided in a picnic unit must meet the applicable Forest Service Outdoor Recreation Accessibility Guidelines (FSORAG) requirements. The minimum size of a picnic unit is determined by the required clear space around each feature and the type and number of provided constructed features.
All pedestrian routes that are provided in a picnic area must meet outdoor recreation access route (ORAR) standards. Use an ORAR route to connect all features within each picnic unit. Usually, the slope, surface, and size requirements for the overlapping or adjacent clear spaces of the unit’s constructed features within a picnic unit eliminate the need for separate ORARs within the unit. When features are spread apart to limit the amount of change to the natural setting, provide an ORAR to connect the features.
If a picnic area only has one or two picnic units, connect all units with an ORAR to the area’s common use features, such as toilets, showers, water hydrants, garbage receptacles, parking spaces, and beach access routes. If a recreation site has more than two picnic units, use an ORAR to connect at least 20 percent of the units (but never less than two) to the common use features at the site. The graphic below is representative of a picnic area with an ORAR connecting to the toilet rooms.
Picnic Area with ORAR to Toilet Rooms
When an existing picnic area is altered or reconstructed and a condition for an exception prohibits full compliance with a specific technical requirement on part of an ORAR, that part of the ORAR only has to meet the technical requirement to the extent practicable. When something is changed within an existing picnic facility, but the circulation path is not altered, the path does not have to be brought up to ORAR standards in FSORAG. Even though it is not required, these changes almost always provide an opportunity to bring the paths up to ORAR standards and follow the Forest Service policy of universal design.
SUMMARY: All site furnishings and constructed features that are provided in a picnic unit must meet the applicable FSORAG. Use an ORAR route to connect all features within each picnic unit. The minimum size of a picnic unit is determined by the required clear space around each feature and the type and number of provided constructed features.
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