Flying in Sedona AZ -

[SoCal_Mavic]

Headed out to AZ for the weekend and was hoping to get the Mavic up for a bit. I found some information about the area but would like some input before heading out. I understand it's against the law to fly in National Parks. Does the same law apply to the National Forest or State parks? Not looking for a work around just want to fly responsibly and be respectful to the area and the folks that live there.

 

[HFMan]

National Forest- no restrictions unless the area you want to fly is under a TFR (like a wildfire, etc).

State Parks- up to the state. Some often disallow operating (i.e. takeoff/land) within the park, but they really cannot prevent flyovers if launching outside the park. To be frank, the same might be said about National Parks, but I wouldn't want to test that theory.

 

[NinjaBlade]

Film, Photography & Sound Recording Permits
Filming, photography and sound recording permits are considered in the order they are received. All applications must be completed in detail and returned with the permit application and non-refundable application fee. A minimum of 2-4 weeks (depending on project type and volume of requests) is required to process an application and issue a permit.
Film, Photography & Sound Recording Permits - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[CashCache]

I'm headed up to Sedona this weekend and wanted to fly my drone. While doing some research (googling) I found this thread. I wanted to add to it with what I found so far.

First of all, Sedona is anti-drone - period. They have a lot of National Forest that is perfectly legal to fly in, but once you dig in and start looking for areas to get great shots, you will soon realize that everything is off limits for one reason or another. 100% of the hiking trails are No Drone Zones. Sedona also has 10 (huge) Wilderness areas that are also No Drone Zones within the Coconino National Forest. So, I'm still going to Sedona this weekend, but I'm leaving my Mavic at home - pretty bummed, but I'm glad I did the research.

For anyone wanting to fly in Arizona (or any other state) and worried about Wilderness Areas that are off limits to pretty much everything with a motor, check out this site. It lists all Federal Wilderness Areas in the US. The best part is you can download the shape files and overlay them in Google Earth.

Specific to Sedona, here is the No Zone Drone Map.

I hope this helps someone else...

-Scott