im planning a road trip this summer through a few national parks, grand canyon, zion, maybe bryce canyon. ive been reading about the drone rules and honestly its really confusing because some sites say blanket ban and others say you can apply for a permit. anyone actually done this recently and know whats actually true right now?

i have a dji air 3 and its under 250g... wait no its not, i always mix that up with the mini. anyway its registered and i have my part 107. just dont wanna show up and have a ranger confiscate my stuff or whatever

blanket ban is basically correct for NPS land, the permit process exists technically but from what i understand they almost never approve recreational stuff, its mostly for film crews with a whole production behind them. your part 107 doesnt really help you here because the ban isnt an FAA thing its an NPS policy thing. what most people do is drive just outside the park boundary and launch from there, BLM land around those parks is usually fine. youll get similar shots honestly and zero hassle

yeah dont even bother trying to get a permit for zion, i emailed them like 6 months before a trip and never heard back. the BLM land trick is real though, there's actually some spots just outside the grand canyon south rim that are crazy good and nobody bothers you. just check your maps carefully before you set up, the boundary isnt always obvious on the ground