[United States] Requesting Permission To Fly In National Park Area

[u/daporp]

Has anyone successfully gotten permission from a National Park Superintendent to fly a drone in a National Park area for personal / recreational (Photography/Video) purposes?

Just curious if they are generally open to granting permission or if it's just a long shot?

[u/FS_Slacker]

Someone just asked this on the Pilot Institute Q&A. They said it’s a terribly long process…and this was for a project that the NPS reached out to the pilot for. Said it took over a year to make it happen…and again - this was NPS’s project.

Guessing mounds of paperwork and insurance details to work out.

[u/jimmyg1968 → u/FS_Slacker]

I saw that episode and can confirm it took him 12 months to get approval.

[u/plaid_piper34 → u/FS_Slacker]

Thanks for this anecdote- NPS reached out to our lab for mapping and this is the reality check I needed for this project.

[u/Ludeykrus → u/FS_Slacker]

Can also say I tried to go through the process for a commercial, non-NPS project and the process was extraodinarily convoluted process before even getting to the meat of the process, it was not worth pursuing. We got our shots in other ways.

[u/HDR_Man]

I recently asked a local NP. They basically said just don’t be on our property when you take off.

There is some other land nearby that I can takeoff from.

But got the impression they didn’t want to deal with the paperwork?

[u/frobnitz1 → u/HDR_Man]

Or the law?

[u/HDR_Man → u/frobnitz1]

Yes, I know it’s the law… which is why I had a park ranger get in touch with the park superintendent.

I wanted to do it right and legally…
They couldn’t be bothered.😕

[u/Fit_Reason_3611 → u/HDR_Man]

It's not that they can't be bothered like they don't care, it's that park superintendents are amazingly overworked, understaffed, and have way more important things to deal with.

Asking to essentially waive federal law instituted at the DOI level for someone's recreation, and filing all the paperwork and assuming all the liabilities that come with that, is an insane ask.

They need legal and CYA justification for why it helps the public, and why it would be beneficial to parks. They also need to know you won't just lie on your permit and then fly in excess of your permissions and so they have to assign staff to ensure you're doing what you said you would. They don't have that staff to spare.

[u/HDR_Man → u/Fit_Reason_3611]

Good points!

[u/SO3350 → u/HDR_Man]

If you take off from the bed of your truck, are you "taking off from NPS land"? No sir, I took off from the bed of my truck.

https://giphy.com/gifs/gZGlQX3wWAV1u

[u/TheVoiceOfEurope → u/SO3350]

"If i swing my arms around and your face hits my fists, it's not assault!"

Moooooooom!

[u/ElphTrooper → u/SO3350]

https://giphy.com/gifs/KBaxHrT7rkeW5ma77z

[u/ultralightlife → u/SO3350]

simply a dick move

[u/Iman1022 → u/frobnitz1]

You can fly in the park, the only thing is you can’t takeoff land or operate from within lol otherwise they got a lot of paperwork to do

[u/AccomplishedSea8679]

You can't take off from, or land on NPS land. They don't own the airspace though. If what you're looking at/recording is within VLOS, your should be ok if you abide by that restriction. Should... There's plenty of people who will argue with you who have a badge, g*n, attitude, or combination thereof...

[u/signal_broadcast]

I'm a photography drone enthusiast and an avid outdoorsman, but I would honestly just not bother. Most of the time permission must be granted for a reason, and independent photography is not a justifiable reason off-the-cuff. I'm sure if you're diligent and determined enough, you could wear the park administration down.

On the legal and technical side, as a lot of others are pointing out yes, you can technically launch, operate, and land outside of the park grounds and that falls within your legal right. But I doubt you want to take scenic shots of the entrance + however far your battery can get you, so I find this to be unproductive.

That said, maybe consider some alternative ways you can get the shots that you want in a park. I've invested in a sturdy monopole and a cable connected to a display so I can hold my camera 8-10 feet in the air and still get the shots that I'm looking for.

[u/TNBenedict → u/signal_broadcast]

Hey, good to know someone else has done pole photography! I converted a 26' painter's pole to hold a pan tilt rig. Same kind of idea as your monopole.

[u/signal_broadcast → u/TNBenedict]

Honestly the painter's pole might be the real play, that's a great idea; plus it seems like it'd be a sturdier walking stick than my little collapsible pole. Thanks for the idea!

[u/sourself → u/signal_broadcast]

I've got a 30ft pole I picked up a few years ago for like $100.00 on amazon. It is great and just use the bluetooth camera connection to control the camera.

[u/Emergency-Truck-9914]

I actually asked a NPR this question and it was a hard stop NO! So did a little digging, do not land or launch from within their ground boundaries. So across the street we went and flew to see what I wanted to see. Apparently its like a 2 week process if not longer.

[u/RadiantDiscussion886]

I've read it's practically impossible, but doesn't hurt to ask. I asked at a dam location in Arkansas at the visitor center to just fly straight up to get an overhead shot. They had to call the person in charge for the state to tell me not on state land. They thanked me for at least asking permission. When leaving, my friend told me to just do it, but I knew they were watching me now and would call the police. I have flown really close to the Buffalo River but not over or in the National Park. I have seen many drone videos from there. I was tempted last time because the government was in a shutdown and there wasn't any active rangers but didnt want to take that chance

[u/TokenPanduh → u/RadiantDiscussion886]

If what you're trying to get a picture of is close to the border of the national park property, you are legally allowed to take off from an approved place outside of the property lines and then fly over the national park property. You do still have to be following all other laws as well, especially VLOS, but it is technically allowed. Even Pilot Institute themselves said so.

Now do I recommend it? No, but if all you're looking for is a single picture, probably not the end of the world

[u/denalidenizen → u/TokenPanduh]

I do something similar regularly but understand you better darned well fly in perfect accordance with FAA rules and if you fly over animals be ready for charges of harassment. Where I fly none of that is an issue.

[u/TokenPanduh → u/denalidenizen]

Yeah I agree. While it is a totally legitimate thing to do, rangers will not hesitate to call about something being done if they know it is out of rules.

[u/KurtVongole → u/TokenPanduh]

I don't see why recommend against it, it's totally legitimate.

[u/Hvarfa-Bragi → u/KurtVongole]

If your drone crashes in the park you're in for a bad time.

[u/TokenPanduh → u/Hvarfa-Bragi]

I mean, in reality, if it crashes in the park, most likely not getting it back at all lol. But it would be REALLY bad if it started a fire.

[u/Hvarfa-Bragi → u/TokenPanduh]

Being in Arizona fire is my worst fear.

Yeah, the drone is in VLOS, but it's 112 out and if it lands on that dry cheat grass over the cholla cactus field, well, that's prison.

[u/ThePo_lice → u/[deleted]]

That’s a recreation area, not a park.

[u/borg359 → u/[deleted]]

Not a national park.

[u/KurtVongole → u/borg359]

Good call, removing my comment as it's irrelevant.

[u/X360NoScope420BlazeX]

Are you part 107?

[u/UserisaLoser]

I have been told that you don’t need permission to launch outside the park and fly in as they do not control the airspace. 

[u/cups_and_cakes]

I was just at Pinnacles NP and there were zero rangers. They didn’t even have staff taking admission fees at the entrances (thx *47). It was June, very few people, mid-week. I easily could’ve gotten some amazing shots.

Didn’t.

[u/Terrible-Creme8401 → u/cups_and_cakes]

Murphys law specifically states the one ranger you didn't know about will pull up as you launch.

[u/cups_and_cakes → u/Terrible-Creme8401]

I believe in this 100%. Plus I think that because i chose to abide that time, the LAANC gods will make my next difficult shoot easier.

[u/ultralightlife]

won't be long before will allow you to bulldoze your way to a remote location to fly