Provincial Parks

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Danny9

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Hey guys just wondering if anyone could tell me the rules on flying in a provincial park in Ontario! I know national parks are of limits to drone's just not sure on provincial Parks thanks guys!

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You will need to call and talk to the superintendent of a given park. AFAIK it's at hes / her discretion. If you try to fly without the permission, you could be fined and kicked out.
 
I have flown at Sandbanks, Algonquin, and Bon Echo without incident in the past year. There are no hardened laws against it, and I flew without asking for permission. I understand from others that it is at the discretion of the warden. I fly at times where there are minimal people around, and obviously not anywhere close to any animals in their natural habitat. In Algonquin....you can literally be several kilometers from another person. With all the negative attention around drones in Canada at the moment, I imagine they'll follow the National Parks and all out ban the technology very soon.
 
Don't think it worked the first time so I will post again I believe I read last night provincial parks are included in no fly zones. I live next door to Algonquin Park and not far away from Arrowhead which has miles of skating trails in the winter. I thought it would be cool to have the Drone follow me while skating which is why I was looking at the regs. I believe it is covered in the Transport Canada rules regarding uavs

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As posted above Transport Canada I will refer to the when I get home tonight. There are already guidelines in place for UAV whether recreational or commercial

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At the moment, Provincial Parks leave discretion to the warden (if you can track one down to ask). National Parks prohibit drones to protect wildlife and not to disturb from the serenity that people seek when visiting these parks.

I would bet the Provincial Parks will be following suit very soon.

The TC guidelines for recreational use do not mention anything about provincial or national parks.

While it's not banned, get out there and enjoy the beauty of these parks. Use common sense, and be respectful of others and wildlife. You'll be just fine! Cheers!
 
Right the Transport Canada site is empty of such regs

Here's what I found
Algonquin Provincial Park • Management Plan Operations Policies
"Private aircraft"use in the Park is not permitted.
see page 49 of Policy ( http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/pdf/management_plan.pdf) Drones are defined by TC as aircraft so it ties in.

I'm going to check with the Park Super at Arrowhead tomorrow as we are planning on a skating party soon
Here's a good informative site on Parks
Flying Drones in Provincial Parks - Peak Aerials
 
ResOps said:
Right the Transport Canada site is empty of such regs

Here's what I found
Algonquin Provincial Park • Management Plan Operations Policies
"Private aircraft"use in the Park is not permitted.
see page 49 of Policy ( http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/pdf/management_plan.pdf) Drones are defined by TC as aircraft so it ties in.

I'm going to check with the Park Super at Arrowhead tomorrow as we are planning on a skating party soon
Here's a good informative site on Parks
Flying Drones in Provincial Parks - Peak Aerials
Click to expand...


I'm interested to see what the park super says. Please report back! =) Based on all my camping trips into these parks, there are far more negative behaviours going on in there on any given night than someone taking landscape photos with a drone. Actually, BonEcho really liked the aerials I shot of the rock cliff while I was there. Someone in the management office there liked what they saw! Maybe giving back a little will help them see the good.
 
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YYZ said:
I'm interested to see what the park super says. Please report back! =) Based on all my camping trips into these parks, there are far more negative behaviours going on in there on any given night than someone taking landscape photos with a drone. Actually, BonEcho really liked the aerials I shot of the rock cliff while I was there. Someone in the management office there liked what they saw! Maybe giving back a little will help them see the good.
Click to expand...

Will Do. One thing they will want is to know you have insurance- if they don't ask that tomorrow I am willing to bet it will be required when we show up. Liabilitty insurance on small drones is included in the new regulations due out this spring.
I agree there is more negative activity in the parks at present but with drones in the spotlight(most of the encounters seen on the news area bad) they will be the target of more scrutiny then the 'drunken noise makers'.
I'll post up results tonight.
Great video of the Park. Those sort of things help promote the image- kudos
 
Here's the official word from Ontario Parks Head Office hot off the press this afternoon

Hello Russ,
Thank you for your email regarding the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) in provincial parks.

There are two considerations when answering your inquiry:
1. Operating (i.e. landing/takeoff) a UAV within a provincial park; and
2. Operating (i.e. landing/takeoff) a UAV outside a provincial park and flying a UAV over a provincial park.
A UAV is considered to be an “aircraft” under the Canadian Aviation Regulations.
In most cases, individuals are not permitted to operate (i.e. land) an “aircraft” in a provincial park under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA) with the exception of where an Aircraft Landing Authorization has been issued by the Park Superintendent in a provincial park listed under Section 33 of the PPCRA, Ontario Regulation 347/07.

A UAV can be flown over a provincial park, but not landed in a provincial park, provided that the operator complies with the PPCRA and associated regulations, Transport Canada Acts and regulations, and privacy laws. Some of these regulations may include but are not limited to:
• Disturb other persons, make excessive noise, chase or harass wildlife, damage crown property or vegetation under the PPCRA;
• Fail to comply with size restrictions or special operators certificates under Transport Canada Acts;
• Capturing or posting unauthorized images under privacy laws.

Thank you again for your email. Have a great day.

Sincerely,
Ontario Parks


Shades of grey with respect to flying over parks. With a 20 minute flight limit and VLOS required doing any real park photography in the winter is going to be fairly restrictive - especially trying to film the skate trails from a take-off outside the park.

Anyways the list of parks where takeoff and landing inside a park is located here-
Law Document English View

I hope you find this info useful
cheers
 
Nice feedback! The regulation around landing/takeoff from park property is similar to municipal bylaws here in Toronto. We can take off and land from the sidewalk next to the park...just can't be standing on park property. A lot easier in the city than near a Provincial Park for sure.

These Provincial Parks are so big, it would be tough to fly in/out from off property and capture anything decent in most cases.

It will be interesting to see whether they start enforcing these regulations. They do not advertise this anywhere that will capture the audience of weekend campers who bring in their drones. Until it's clearly posted, a warning is all they're likely to dish out.

Thanks for reaching out for some good info!
 
If it's less than 32? Kg and flown for hobby it's considered to be not an UAV but a model aircraft. Not an aircraft. You may ask for a permission to fly that.

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