Bergen County, NJ Drone Rules: Park Drone Restrictions (2026)

Article III, Section (y), Model Airplanes/Drones/Radio Controlled Aircrafts, of the Bergen County Parks System Rules and Regulations requires a permit issued by the Bergen County Parks Department before anyone flies a model airplane, drone, or other radio-controlled aircraft in or on park premises. card while flying. Paragraph 5 adds site-specific limits once a permit is issued: flights are confined to areas the Parks Department has designated and marked, the aircraft cannot be used to harass or disturb wildlife, reckless flying is barred, the operator must keep the aircraft within visual sight at all times with no visual aids, and the drone cannot be fueled by flammable liquids.

Paragraph 3 requires every operator to obey all applicable federal and state aviation laws on top of the county's own rules, and paragraph 4 requires any accident causing an injury, however minor, to be reported immediately by the operator. Because the county treats drone flying as a permit-only activity rather than an open recreational use, a visitor who launches a drone from an unmarked picnic area or trail without first securing Parks Department authorization is in violation even if the flight itself is otherwise careful.