okay so this happened like two weeks ago and im still a little annoyed about it. was out at a pretty well known park in utah, not going to say which one, and i had done my research beforehand, checked the airspace on aloft, nothing was flagged as restricted in the specific area i was in

ranger comes over and says i need a permit to fly in any national park regardless of airspace status. which i honestly didnt know, i thought if the airspace was clear you were good. apparently the NPS has their own rules on top of FAA stuff and they almost universally dont allow drones without special permits that are super hard to get. had to pack it up, ranger was actually pretty cool about it but still

just putting this out there because i feel like a lot of people dont know this and the airspace apps dont really make it obvious

yeah this is one of the most common mistakes people make and i totally get it because the apps make it look like youre fine. the FAA airspace being clear has nothing to do with whether the land management agency allows it. NPS, BLM, state parks, they all have their own policies and most of them are no fly unless you have a filming permit which is basically impossible to get as a hobbyist

i always check the actual park website now before any trip, not just airspace apps. its annoying extra step but better than what happened to you

ive heard some people just fly anyway and claim ignorance but thats a terrible idea, fines can be pretty serious and you make it worse for everyone else. glad the ranger didnt write you up