Filming National Parks From Outside

[RC5728]

As I understand it, it's completely legal to film national parks with drones as long as you're standing outside of the park. I talked to a chief park ranger who confirmed this.

With that in mind, what are some national parks that are smaller and theoretically would be good for doing this?

 

[tcope]

Take a look...

List of national parks of the United States - Wikipedia

Be prepared to be hassled. Most likely you'd be flying outside VLOS which means that the NPS could then report you to the FAA for investigation.

 

[jasoraso]

The town of Springdale is adjacent to the West entrance for Zion canyon national Park. I can picture in my mind the Northwest side of that town, some little hills you could climb that would give you good LOS into Zion Canyon.

You actually could get some good footage without crossing the park boundary, and that is what I would probably do.

The downside of having the town right there is that there are lots of people around, on both sides of the park boundary, and the first thing you come to upon crossing the boundary is the visitor center, parking lot, and campground.

You could stay North/West or South/West of those areas though, so you wouldn't be over people.

However, you don't need to cross the boundary to get some impressive shots, the canyon walls are 1,500 feet above you anyways, so staying further back let's you frame more of the canyon in the shot.

A few years ago a helicopter pilot pulled a stunt of landing in the town of Springdale, picking up a friend, then flying into the park. When he flew back out of the park and dropped his friend off in the town, the rangers got a good look at his tail number. The cops were waiting to arrest him at the St George airport 15 minutes later when he landed. I think one of the charges was something to do with the airspace, so even though the blanket NPS restriction kind if indicates you can fly from outside the park, and cross the boundary, there may be other specific restrictions that would apply (as well as restrictions against harassing wildlife etc that the rangers could hit you with).

 

[nesstimo]

I live in Michigan and have flown RC craft including seaplanes and early model Quadcopters from the Great Lakes most of my life. I recently became aware of the National Park law and have realized that it includes Sleeping Bear National lakeshore as well as the Manitou Islands in Northern Lake Michigan. I have flown here many times in the past however with the new laws it may prove to be an issue. The beauty of the lakeshore, however is that the national park only encompasses an area to extend 1/4 mile offshore and therefore, with boat access, it may be easy to remain within the law and still easily fly in these areas .

 

[RC5728]

The town of Springdale is adjacent to the West entrance for Zion canyon national Park. I can picture in my mind the North side of that town, some little hills you could climb that would give you good LOS into Zion Canyon.

You actually could some good footage without crossing the park boundary, and that is what I would probably do.

The downside of having the town right there is that there are lots of people around, on both sides of the park boundary, and the first thing you come to upon crossing the boundary is the visitor center, parking lot, and campground.

You could stay North or South of those areas though, so you wouldn't be over people.

However, you don't need to cross the boundary to get done impressive shots, the canyon walls are 1,500 feet above you anyways, so staying further back let's you frame more of the canyon in the shot.

A few years ago a helicopter pilot pulled a stunt of landing in the town of Springdale, picking up a friend, then flying into the park. When he flew back out of the park and dropped his friend off in the town, the rangers got a good look at his tail number. The cops were waiting to arrest him at the St George airport 15 minutes later when he landed. I think one of the charges was something to do with the airspace, so even though the blanket NPS restriction kind if indicates you can fly from outside the park, and cross the boundary, there may be other specific restrictions that would apply (as well as restrictions against harassing wildlife etc that the rangers could hit you with).

Thanks jasoraso, that's exactly the type of info I was looking for.

 

[RC5728]

Anyone know of any other parks that would work for this?

 

[cobra46]

You can get some good legal footage of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge if you launch from a boat.

 

[RC5728]

Anyone know of a good spot to film Glacier National Park in Montana from the outside?

Lots of amazing scenery there.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Anyone know of any other parks that would work for this?

Statue of Liberty.

 

[RC5728]

It's interesting because it opens up a LOT of possibilities that most people apparently haven't considered.

How about the Grand Canyon? What's a good spot to film that from the outside the park boundaries?

 

[SRJ_Mavic_PRO]

All the airspace for the Grand Canyon is restricted space by the FAA.....

 

[RC5728]

All the airspace for the Grand Canyon is restricted space by the FAA.....

Source?

I'm not seeing anything from the FAA specifically that says you can't fly a drone there.

 

[kona]

As I understand it, it's completely legal to film national parks with drones as long as you're standing outside of the park. I talked to a chief park ranger who confirmed this.

With that in mind, what are some national parks that are smaller and theoretically would be good for doing this?

My understanding too -- as long as take off and landing is outside the park, and as long as you maintain line of sight, it is legal.

 

[SteelFlyer]

Source?

I'm not seeing anything from the FAA specifically that says you can't fly a drone there.

Grand Canyon is indeed a special case. Because of all of the commercial tour operators, airspace over the park is very regulated. If you look a the VFR sectional chart you will see the restrictions.

 

[RC5728]

Grand Canyon is indeed a special case. Because of all of the commercial tour operators, airspace over the park is very regulated. If you look a the VFR sectional chart you will see the restrictions.

Does it cover the Horseshoe Bend area (outside of the main canyon)?

 

[SteelFlyer]

It appears that Horseshoe Bend itself is just out of the covered area. It is, however in the area around the Page airport where Class E starts at 700' which should be no problem if you stick to the 400' limit. It is also bordering the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area and you should check with the land manager to verify drone rules there (some allow it, some don't). Finally, you should check the sectional yourself as to where exactly you'll be because it is very close. Also I would be careful not to get tempted to fly around Glen Canyon Dam. Though it would make great video, I'm fairly certain that would fall in the prohibited areas around "critical infrastructure".

 

[SteelFlyer]

Oh, and just to the south is the Navajo Reservation. Not sure their stance on drones but I would guess it's a no-go. So in short, there might be a small open window in which to fly but very tricky. Absolutely spectacular country though and would make for great views.

 

[Linus Anakin]

Will it soon become a case of - all that gear and nowhere to go?

 

[RC5728]

Will it soon become a case of - all that gear and nowhere to go?

Yes it's ridiculous how many places are starting to ban drones.

At this rate, in 5-10 years they won't be allowed anywhere.

That's kind of how I came up with the idea for this thread.

 

[SteelFlyer]

There are plenty of places to fly. The problem is that all of the cool places with scenic vistas are the ones getting eliminated. Corn field in the middle of Iowa - no problem.