Gary, IN Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Section 30-1(c) of the Gary Municipal Code, part of the Chapter 30 list of prohibited park activities adopted by Ordinance No. 4705 in 1972, makes it unlawful to build or maintain a campfire, barbecue stand, or barbecue pit in any public park or playground anywhere in the city except in the specific spots the department of public parks has designated and set apart for cooking or fires. The provision does not name particular parks or grills; it instead defers to on-site designation, meaning the lawful cooking areas are whichever spots the parks department has marked out at a given park, such as Marquette Park or the Gleason Parks.

The same section regulates a cluster of other outdoor park conduct that residents planning a cookout should know: subsection (d) bars possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages in any public park or playground except inside park pavilions during functions the department of public works has authorized, and subsection (b) limits motorized vehicles and animals to designated driveways, parkways, boulevards and bridle paths. Violations of § 30-1, including unauthorized campfires or barbecue pits, are prosecuted under the Code's general penalty at § 1-7, which sets fines up to $2,500.00 for a first offense and up to $7,500.00 for a second or subsequent offense, with each day an unlawful fire or pit remains in place potentially counted as a continuing, separate violation.

Enforcement falls to the department of public parks and the Gary Police Department, which has general authority to remove nuisances from city parks under § 2-1035.