Las Vegas, NV Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Where it applies
- City parks, recreational facilities, public plazas only
- Exception
- Barbecue facilities the City built for cooking
- Max fine
- $1,000 under the Chapter 1.24 general penalty
- Jail exposure
- Up to six months, LVMC 1.24.010
- Posting required
- Rule must be posted at park entrance first
- Governing chapter
- LVMC 13.36, adopted by Ord. 6226 (2012)
Summary
Open fires are banned in every City of Las Vegas park, recreational facility and public plaza except inside a barbecue facility the City has built for that purpose. LVMC 13.36.020(A)(5) lists the prohibition alongside bans on glass containers, golf swinging and unauthorized camping. Violators face the Chapter 1.24 general penalty: up to a $1,000 fine, six months in jail, or both.
(A)The following are prohibited within any City park, recreational facility or public plaza, including any parking area that serves the park, facility or plaza:(1)Glass beverage containers;(2)Remote control airplanes;(3)Remote control boats, except that battery-powered remote control boats may be used in any area that has been designated and posted to allow that activity;(4)Camping or lodging, except as otherwise permitted pursuant to Subsection (C);(5)Fires, except in barbecue facilities established in a park for that purpose;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
020(A), the City of Las Vegas prohibits ten specific activities inside any City park, recreational facility or public plaza, including the parking areas that serve them. Item five bars all open fires except inside a barbecue facility the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs has established in that park for cooking. The same subsection separately bans glass beverage containers, remote-control airplanes, unpermitted camping, firearms outside narrow exceptions, and golf practice, showing the fire ban sits inside a broader public-safety prohibition list rather than a stand-alone fire code.
060: the City must display the rule at each park's main entrance, its center, or both, before a citation can issue. 020 treats each day the violation continues as a separate offense. The prohibition traces to Ordinance No. 6226, adopted December 5, 2012, and was last amended by Ordinance No. 6816 in August 2022. Because the ban applies only to City-owned parks, recreational facilities and public plazas, it does not reach backyard grills, smokers or fire pits on private residential property, which fall under the Southern Nevada fire code rather than this parks chapter.
Violations & Fines
Lighting a fire outside a designated barbecue facility in a City of Las Vegas park is a misdemeanor once the prohibition sign is posted at the park entrance, punishable under LVMC 1.24.010 by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. LVMC 1.24.020 makes each day of a continuing violation a separate offense, and Metropolitan Police or Parks Department staff can remove violators under LVMC 13.36.120(F) for remaining in a park in violation of posted rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a portable grill or smoker in a Las Vegas city park?
Does this ban cover backyard smokers and fire pits?
What happens if I get caught with an illegal fire in a park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Las Vegas
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How other cities in Clark County handle smoker rules.