How Much Space Do You Need for a Trampoline? The Published Clearances, Side and Overhead

What each maker publishes

These are the only real numbers available, and they differ enough to matter.

As published by each maker on the product pages and manuals cited below.

Springfree is the most useful brand to plan from, because it publishes a required space for every model rather than a clearance you have to add yourself. Its numbers also show the real ratio: an 8 x 8 ft mat needs an 18 x 18 ft site, so the mat is less than a fifth of the ground the trampoline occupies.

Frame size, mat size and the gap between them

Three different numbers hide behind one label, and people plan with the wrong one.

The label. A "12 ft trampoline" is usually the frame rail diameter, give or take.

The real footprint. Larger than the label once the enclosure, the legs and the pad are counted: Jumpflex publishes 13.5 ft overall on the FLEX 12, and ACON's 15 ft round measures 15.75 ft across with the net fitted.

The usable mat. Smaller than the label: 10.5 ft on the FLEX 12, 12.1 ft on the HERO 14, 12 ft 4 in on the Vuly Thunder XL. If your reason for buying is jumping room, this is the number that matters, and it is the one makers publish least often (what size trampoline).

So a yard that measures 20 ft across takes a 12 ft trampoline comfortably and a 15 ft one only if the clearance can be shaved to the maker's minimum on all four sides, which is not a good trade.

The overhead clearance nobody measures

Enclosure heights run from 7 ft 7 in on the smallest Springfree to 10.8 ft on the ACON 16 HD, and a child jumping adds several feet above the net. Vuly is the only maker in our registry that publishes a figure for the whole envelope, and it is the number worth knowing: a minimum of 27 ft of overhead clearance, stated in the US owner's manual.

In practice that rules out the spot under the big tree, which is also the spot most people choose for the shade. CPSC says to place a trampoline away from structures, trees and other play areas; branches, gutters, washing lines and service drops all sit in the arc. Check it by standing where the frame will go and looking straight up.

How to measure your yard for a trampoline

1. Find the flat area, not the lawn. Walk it with a string line and a line level. A frame on a grade loads its downhill legs on every bounce (trampoline on a slope).
2. Mark the frame circle. A stake in the middle and a string half the frame diameter, swung round, gives you the real outline. Use the overall diameter if the maker publishes one, not the label.
3. Add the clearance ring. Lengthen the string by the maker's figure, 3.3 to 5 ft, and swing it again. Everything inside that second circle has to be clear: fence, wall, shed, tree trunk, hose reel, patio edge.
4. Look up. Branches, wires, eaves and roof overhangs.
5. Check the route in. A 15 ft frame arrives in boxes that weigh 335 to 515 lb and has to get through the gate.
6. Plan the anchors. Mark where each leg lands and make sure none of them sits on a buried service, a tree root or a soakaway (how to anchor a trampoline).

Narrow, sloped and awkward yards

Long and narrow. This is what ovals and rectangles are for. Springfree publishes 18 x 23 ft for the Large Oval, and a 15 x 9 ft rectangle fits a strip no 15 ft round will go into (round vs rectangle).

Small but square. A 12 ft round in an 18-20 ft clear circle is the standard answer, and the smallest full-enclosure Springfree needs 18 x 18 ft (best 12 ft trampolines).

Sloped. Level a pad; do not shim legs. The clearance ring has to be level too, because that is where a child lands.

No space at all. An in-ground kit removes the fall-from-height problem but not the clearance requirement, and it adds a pit, a retaining wall and drainage (in-ground trampoline cost and installation). A mini or indoor frame is the honest alternative (best indoor trampolines for kids).

Frames for the space you actually have

Three shapes, three different yard problems. Each one publishes the space it needs, which is the reason it is here.

Mistakes to avoid

• Planning from the label rather than the published overall diameter.
• Counting the clearance on three sides because the fourth is a fence.
• Forgetting the overhead line, then pruning a tree in July.
• Siting the frame on the only part of the yard that holds water.
• Using the mat size as the yard requirement; on a Springfree the site is more than four times the mat.
• Buying the largest frame the ground will hold with no margin, which leaves nowhere to walk round it.