so i just got a mavic mini 3 a few weeks ago and im planning a trip to florida next month, mostly gonna be around the gulf coast area near destin. i want to get some shots of the water and stuff but i keep reading different things online about whether its legal or not. like some sites say florida preempted local drone laws so cities cant make their own rules but then i see signs at state parks saying no drones and im confused about whether that applies to me or not.

i registered my drone on the FAA site already and i know i need to stay under 400 feet and away from airports. but what about the beach itself? is that federal land or state land or what? my drone is under 250g so does that change anything? any florida people here who actually fly there regularly?

okay so florida is actually one of the states that did preempt local ordinances, meaning cities and counties cant just ban drones on their own. BUT state parks are a different story ? florida state parks have their own rules and most of them do require a permit or outright prohibit recreational drone use. so the signs youre seeing at parks are legit, thats not a city rule thats a state park management thing.

destin area beaches that are just regular public beach access, youre probably fine as long as youre not near the airports (destin executive is in the area so check the FAA sectional or just use B4UFLY). under 250g doesnt exempt you from airspace rules by the way, that just means you dont have to register ? but you already did so whatever. honestly just fly early morning before it gets crowded and use common sense and youll be fine. ive been flying around the panhandle for two years and never had an issue.

im in a similar boat, just got into drones this year and the rules are honestly so confusing. i thought under 250g meant you were basically free to fly anywhere and then i found out thats not really how it works at all lol. good luck on your trip tho, destin is gonna look amazing from the air if you can pull it off