ok so this happened a few weeks ago and i still think about it. went to the south rim with my wife, had my mavic 3 with me and i knew flying IN the canyon was a no go, its national park airspace etc. but i was on the rim just outside the main visitor center area, thought i was on a little strip of land that wasnt technically park property based on what i read online.

ranger comes over pretty quick, real calm about it to be fair, asked to see my drone and my registration and basically told me i was still in the restricted zone even where i was standing. i honestly thought i had done my homework but i guess i didnt read it carefully enough. he didnt fine me or anything, just told me to pack it up. felt pretty embarrassed tbh especially with other tourists watching. just a heads up to everyone that the restricted area at the canyon extends further than you think, dont trust random blog posts, go straight to the FAA B4UFLY app before you assume anything

yeah the buffer zones around national parks catch a lot of people off guard. the boundary on a map looks fine but the actual restricted airspace bleeds out further in a lot of cases. glad the ranger was chill about it, some of them are way more aggressive from what ive heard

this is why i always check airmap AND b4ufly before i even pack the drone, had a similar thing almost happen at zion a couple years back. also worth noting that even on state land right next to federal parks sometimes the rangers act like they have jurisdiction and its this whole thing. not saying they were wrong in your case just that its a grey area sometimes and its easier to just not bother near any park boundary honestly