Delaware County, PA Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Section 141-3P, part of the countywide conduct rules readopted February 1, 2023 by Ord. No. 2023-2, prohibits engaging in the use of drones, gas- or battery-powered model aviation devices, model motor vehicles, or model boats, whether radio controlled or not, anywhere in a Delaware County park. The ban lifts only in two circumstances: an area the County Parks and Recreation Department has specifically designated for that use, or with a permit the department has authorized. There is no general park-wide drone permit posted in the code; a flyer must contact the Parks and Recreation Department directly to find out whether a given park has a designated flying area or to apply for permit authorization, the same office that handles reservation permits under §141-2.

The provision sits next to other remote-device-adjacent rules in the same section: §141-3Q separately restricts sledding, skating and ice activity to designated areas, and §141-3S lets the department restrict bicycles and nonmotorized vehicles in specific park areas, showing the county's general approach of confining higher-risk recreational equipment to department-approved zones rather than banning it countywide. Because Chapter 141 governs only county-owned parks such as Rose Tree, Glen Providence, Upland, Smedley and Ridley Creek, it does not reach drone use on private land or on municipal parkland, which falls to each borough or township's own park rules or to FAA airspace regulation instead.