Check the jurisdiction first
This guide covers property inside the City of Colorado Springs. A Colorado Springs mailing address does not establish the governing city. Confirm the address and residential zoning; unincorporated El Paso County and other municipalities need their own review. Private covenants, easements and HOA restrictions need a separate check.
Research by Can I Park My RV?Official municipal sources; access limits shown belowEditorial standard
Compare home storage, street loading, guests and hookups across 43 Colorado jurisdictions.
Where can I park an RV in Colorado Springs?
| Location or use | What to check |
|---|---|
| Side or rear yard | Use a driveway surface; check stored-vehicle count and any required screening. Compare Colorado Springs, CO’s home-storage surface and access conditions. |
| Front driveway | Conditional exception based on the listed access/space, terrain or landscaping conditions, plus the specified 10-foot clearance. |
| Street or public right of way | Expeditious passenger/property loading or unloading only; no verified fixed RV storage window. |
| Outdoor permanent dwelling | Prohibited in residential zones outside the mobile-home-park exception. Short occupancy requires a separate city answer. |
Where can an RV stay between trips?
Start with a side or rear driveway surface. City Code §9.6.504(E) establishes the permitted locations and the conditional front-yard alternative. The city’s code guidance describes an improved surface such as concrete, asphalt or gravel. A usable space on bare lawn should not be treated as an approved RV pad.
Compare Colorado Springs’s loading exception with permit and construction questions.
Before choosing a spot, draw the vehicle’s full footprint on a parcel sketch. Include access from the street and the turning movement needed to reach the space. A pad can look large enough in a photograph while being inaccessible to the actual vehicle. Record whether you are describing storage between trips or a brief stop to load supplies; those uses are evaluated differently. Our driveway and backyard RV parking checklist can help you collect the parcel and vehicle details before applying the City’s conditions.
When can I store an RV in the front driveway?
The front-driveway exception in §9.6.504(E)(4)–(5) concerns insufficient side/rear size or access, steep terrain, or existing landscaping that prevents access or storage. Preference or convenience alone is not one of those listed reasons.
The nearest point of the RV must be at least 10 feet from the specified edge of the sidewalk or pedestrianway nearest the front lot line; without one, use the curb nearest that line. Measure in a straight line. This is not a universal 10-foot setback from the house or a measurement to the vehicle’s wheels.
For an address-specific answer, prepare photographs showing the side and rear access and a sketch showing where your measurement begins and ends. If you cannot identify the correct boundary or reference edge, ask the city before interpreting a rough estimate as compliance.
The checker asks for the actual listed impediment and the measuring edge before using the front route. Exactly 10 feet meets the numeric minimum. A distance measured to the house, wheels or lot line stays unresolved until the code-specified measurement is established. A greater distance does not replace the required access or storage impediment.
How many stored vehicles need screening?
§9.6.504(E)(2) requires all but one vehicle stored in a side or rear yard to be enclosed by an opaque screen at least 6 feet high when more than one is stored there. The code permits combinations of opaque fencing, vegetation, natural features or structures. Count the stored vehicles, not only the RVs.
Count the stored vehicles before assessing whether a screen is required. Describe which vehicle is the unscreened exception and how the others are enclosed. Check screen gaps, access gates and views from surrounding areas before relying on a fence-height measurement by itself. This review does not determine whether a proposed fence or new driveway needs separate approval.
Count all covered stored vehicles in the side and rear yards, including this unit. The count is not just the number of RVs. One stored vehicle does not trigger this subsection's all-but-one screening requirement; the lawful driveway surface, vehicle condition and other parcel requirements still apply. For a larger count, check full opaque coverage and the six-foot minimum for every vehicle that must be screened.
Example: three covered vehicles stored in the side or rear yard. Under the all-but-one requirement, two need the qualifying opaque enclosure. Counting only one motorhome while ignoring the other covered stored vehicles can understate the screening requirement. Show all three positions and which unit is the unscreened exception on the parcel sketch.
Can I park my RV on a Colorado Springs street?
§10.25.102(A)(12) limits an RV on a street, highway, alley, roadway or other public place to the time necessary for expeditious loading or unloading of passengers or property. It does not state a fixed two-hour, 48-hour or 72-hour RV allowance.
Compare Colorado Springs watercraft, RV and empty-trailer classification. Check the actual vehicle category before using an RV-only exception.
Does the general 72-hour clock allow RV street storage?
The same section contains a general 72-hour rule for vehicles, but that does not override the more specific RV restriction. Moving a stored RV down the block does not establish a new right to store it in the public right of way.
Keep driveways, bicycle lanes and sidewalks clear and obey posted restrictions. Explain the activity accurately: putting supplies in the RV is loading; leaving it outdoors while you are away is storage. Maintenance or sleeping should not be entered as loading merely because the visit is short. No dedicated RV street-storage permit was verified in the reviewed sources.
The traffic RV definition in §10.1.202 includes watercraft as well as motorhomes, camping trailers and truck campers. An empty boat trailer needs its own classification; do not assume that every trailer is an RV for this specific exception.
Planning stops in more than one city? Compare Colorado Springs street clocks and return conditions and Colorado Springs loading locations and time limits. Each row links back to these full local conditions.
Can someone sleep or live in the RV?
In residential zones, §9.6.504(G) prohibits an RV from constituting a permanent dwelling unit except in mobile home parks. The separate permanent water, wastewater and electricity connection prohibition states no park exception. It also requires an outdoor RV to remain safe and functional.
The wording reviewed does not establish a blanket rule allowing every short guest stay, nor does it say every temporary overnight visit is automatically a permanent dwelling. Ask the city about the particular occupancy and connection arrangement. For a temporary guest stay, describe the dates, sleeping arrangement and utility connections to Code Enforcement and obtain an address-specific answer.
An RV also cannot become an accessory dwelling unit simply by removing its wheels: UDC §7.3.304(E) excludes recreational vehicles from that option. Do not use a storage result as approval for an additional home.
Which setups change the parking answer?
These are ordinary City of Colorado Springs residential setups. They explain the tested conditions; they do not approve a parcel.
| Example setup | What changes the answer |
|---|---|
| Front driveway preferred because it is easier | A preference alone fails the listed-impediment condition, even if the surface and clearance are adequate. |
| Front driveway, qualifying impediment and exactly 10 feet from the correct edge | The numeric clearance condition is met. Surface, condition, plate status, connections and parcel requirements remain separate. |
| 12 feet measured from the RV wheels to the house | The required public-edge clearance is unresolved. Measure from the nearest RV point to the specified sidewalk/pedestrianway edge, or curb when neither exists. |
| Two stored side/rear vehicles with only a five-foot screen | The all-but-one screening route fails its six-foot minimum. Opaque vegetation, fencing, natural features and structures can be combined when they fully meet the condition. |
| One stored RV on a lawful side-yard driveway | The all-but-one screen trigger does not apply at a count of one. Safe condition, plate status, connections and parcel checks still matter. |
| Street stop includes waiting after loading finishes | Extra waiting is outside the necessary-loading exception. A short duration or moving the RV does not create storage permission. |
| Visitor sleeping with a temporary connection | A storage answer cannot approve that occupied use or connection. Ask the City about the specific arrangement and dates. |
Check your Colorado Springs setup. Missing facts stay unresolved; failed conditions are listed alongside remaining questions. Keep a sketch and photographs ready for the City.
What should I have ready for the City?
Prepare the exact address, zoning district, vehicle type, full dimensions, license status and a parcel sketch. Show the proposed driveway surface, access route, front clearance and any screening. State how many vehicles will be stored and whether anyone will occupy the RV or whether utilities will be connected.
Ask which fact needs confirmation instead of requesting a general yes/no answer about all RV parking. For example: does this side-yard access qualify as insufficient for this motorhome, and is this the correct edge for the 10-foot measurement? Keep the response with your sketch so a later change in vehicle, pad or use can be reviewed against the same facts.
The private-property definition in §9.6.502 includes several recreational units, including travel trailers, motorhomes and pickup campers. The commercial-vehicle weight restriction in §9.6.504(B)(1) expressly excludes RVs; it should not be repurposed as a motorhome weight limit.
Who can confirm my Colorado Springs setup?
For private-property storage, contact Colorado Springs Code Enforcement at 719-444-7891. Give the address, vehicle dimensions, location sketch and intended use. Ask for the appropriate parking or traffic contact if the question concerns a public street.
Use the Colorado Springs parking checker to organize the starting conditions. The checker cannot approve a parcel, a variance or an unverified exception.
Official sources and review dates
The storage, illegal-parking and relevant definition sections were rechecked October 9, 2026 in the publisher's 2026 S-22 edition. City surface guidance and the ADU exclusion retain their earlier dates below. No exhaustive review of legislation awaiting codification or parcel approvals is claimed.
- City Code §9.6.504: private storage and RV standards
Rechecked October 9, 2026: full §9.6.504, 2026 S-22. Location, front exception and clearance, screening, outdoor condition and permanent dwelling/connections were read. Later uncodified legislation and parcel approvals require City confirmation.
- City Code §10.25.102: illegal parking
Rechecked October 9, 2026: full §10.25.102, 2026 S-22, including Ord. 25-42. RV stops use necessary expeditious loading; the general 72-hour vehicle provision is separate.
- City guidance: City Code, What You Need to Know
City surface guidance retrieved October 6, 2026 names concrete, asphalt and gravel. Access was unavailable October 9, so the guide uses that earlier surface guidance. The code's precise measuring edge controls over a shortened summary.
- City Code §9.6.502: definitions
Rechecked October 9, 2026: relevant §9.6.502 definitions, 2026 S-22. Unlicensed means no visible plate or plate expiry over 30 days; private RVs include watercraft and named recreational units.
- UDC §7.3.304: accessory dwelling units
Rechecked October 6, 2026: the RV exclusion in §7.3.304(E)(1)(d)(1), 2026 S-22. RVs cannot serve as ADUs even after wheels are removed; other accessory-use provisions are outside this review.
- CSPD telephone directory
Official indexed City guidance lists Code Enforcement at 719-444-7891; the page itself was inaccessible.
- Traffic Code §10.1.202: recreational-vehicle definition
Rechecked October 9, 2026: relevant §10.1.202 definitions, 2026 S-22. The street RV definition includes watercraft; empty boat-trailer classification remains a separate question.
The legal sections in this guide were read in the code publisher’s 2026 S-22 (current) edition. A review date records when we checked these sources. The notes above explain any use of older code editions or limits on access to the full source; an address-specific city determination may still be required. Read our research method.
Was this guide helpful?
Anonymous feedback · How we use it