official sizes & distances

Horseshoes Pit Size: Official NHPA Measurements & Layout

Regulation horseshoes sets the two stakes exactly 40 feet apart under NHPA rules. Here is the pit layout to scale, with stake height, lean, and the pit box around each one.

40 ft, stake to stakepit boxpit Apit B
Regulation distance 40 ft between stakes (NHPA); 30 ft for some women's, junior, and senior play
Stake 1 in diameter, standing 14 to 15 in above the pit, leaning about 3 in toward the opposite stake
Pit box Roughly 31 to 36 in wide by 43 to 72 in long around each stake
Shoes Up to 7.25 in long, 7 in wide, about 2.5 lb each, 2 per player
Players 2 (singles) or 4 (doubles)

Forty feet is a long, satisfying throw for adults. For kids or a casual game, move the stakes in to 20 to 30 feet so ringers feel possible instead of heroic.

keep playing

Set it up, then play

Now that the court is marked, here is everything else for horseshoes, the full rules, the gear we recommend, and the master chart of every game's distance.