Bergen County, NJ Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Article III, Section (h), Cooking, of the Bergen County Parks System Rules and Regulations opens by prohibiting cooking by visitors generally, then carves out two lawful methods: portable grills set up in designated picnic areas, and campsite ground fires, except at Van Saun County Park, where visitors must use the permanent grills the county has installed there instead of building a ground fire. The same section then closes both of those exceptions for one specific park: grilling of any kind is not permitted at Overpeck County Park, so a picnicker there cannot use even a portable grill in a designated area.

The final sentence bans propane outright: cooking with propane or similar fuel is prohibited except for certain events that hold the necessary permits, meaning a standard propane camp stove or tabletop grill is off-limits at a routine picnic even where portable grills are otherwise allowed. Because the rule is written around 'portable' equipment and ground fires rather than permanent charcoal grills the county itself installs, a visitor who brings a propane tank to a Bergen County picnic area is violating Section (h) even if grilling itself is allowed at that location.

Anyone who needs propane-fueled cooking for a larger gathering has to apply for an event permit through the Department of Parks before the event, under the county's standard permit process.