Cathedral City, CA Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Section 12.28.160, Recreational vehicle parking restrictions, was adopted by Ordinance 644 in 2007 and has three subsections. Subsection A bars any recreational vehicle (as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 18010), motorhome, boat or trailer of any kind from being parked or left standing on a public street, with one exception: loading, unloading or cleaning. Even then it cannot stay parked or left standing on the street longer than thirty-six consecutive hours. Subsection B blocks the shuffle: the vehicle shall not be re-parked or returned to any location within one-half mile of where it was first parked sooner than forty-eight hours after it was first moved. Subsection C caps the total at six days per month on a public street.

Trailers have a second, separate rule in Chapter 12.56. Section 12.56.070 prohibits parking any trailer or semi-trailer on any highway, street, alley, public way or public place except on designated truck routes, and then only if it is attached to a vehicle capable of moving it in a normal manner. Loading and unloading are excepted, a disabled trailer cannot be left along a public right-of-way for more than twenty-four hours, and a recreational trailer can be parked on a public street for up to twenty-four hours for cleaning, loading and unloading. Section 12.28.020 provides that a time limit does not relieve anyone from more restrictive city regulations, so the shorter twenty-four hour figure for recreational trailers sits alongside the thirty-six hour figure in § 12.28.160.

These sections govern public streets in Cathedral City. Under § 12.28.150 a police officer, Riverside County sheriff's deputy or California Highway Patrol member can impound an illegally parked vehicle where removal signs are posted, with costs charged to the owner and driver.