Calvert County, MD Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Chapter 82 of the Calvert County Code, the county's parks ordinance adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in 2019, lists cooking equipment among the activities barred on park property without sign-off. Section 82-2-101A(1) already bars open fires except in fixtures supplied by the Department, and § 82-2-101A(30) goes further, making it unlawful for any person on park property to use gas grills, pull-behind grills, smokers, or deep fryers unless permitted as part of a special event or with express written authorization from the Director.

The chapter defines a special event in § 82-1-102 as preplanned entertainment, sporting, cultural or business activity presented to a live audience and open to the public, so a family cookout brought to a picnic pavilion at a park such as Kings Landing or Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary needs the Director's written go-ahead rather than a special-event permit if it is not tied to an organized event. The rule applies countywide to Department-managed park property outside the incorporated towns of Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, which run their own parks.

Enforcement is by Department officials and law enforcement officers on patrol. Under § 82-1-104, a citation for violating any Chapter 82 provision, including the grill restriction, carries a $50 civil penalty for each day of violation, collectible as a civil debt if unpaid within 30 days, and the Director may also bar the violator from Department rentals or programs. Anyone who refuses to leave when ordered, or returns before being cleared, can instead face a misdemeanor charge with up to a $1,000 fine, six months in jail, or both.