took a trip out to a state park last weekend with the intention of getting some aerial shots of a lake out there, really scenic spot, and when i got there there was a sign saying no drones. i flew anyway for like 10 minutes because i honestly wasnt sure if that sign had any legal weight to it or if it was just one of those courtesy suggestion type things parks put up. nothing happened but it got me thinking about this more seriously. like is that actually enforceable? federal parks i know are a whole different story but state parks seem way more inconsistent, some have signs some dont, some rangers care some dont seem to. anyone actually know how this works legally speaking

it really does vary a lot by state, which is annoying. some states have passed their own laws giving state park authorities the ability to ban drones outright and in those cases yeah the sign has actual legal teeth. other states the parks kind of operate on their own internal rules that technically arent state law so its more of a policy violation than a criminal one. that said i wouldnt push it because even if the sign isnt technically backed by statute, a ranger can still kick you out and report you and it can spiral. i'd just look up your specific state's parks agency drone policy before going out, most of them have it buried somewhere on their website

honestly flying anyway after seeing the sign was probably not the move lol. i get that the rules are confusing and inconsistent but that's kind of the situation we're all in right now and doing stuff like that is what gives the hobby a bad reputation and makes them crack down harder. not trying to lecture just something to think about. the patchwork of state vs federal vs local rules is genuinely a mess though, i'll give you that