Woodland, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Where it applies
- City parks only
- Banned equipment
- grills, stoves, burners
- Lawful option 1
- City-designated cooking area
- Lawful option 2
- permitted/City-sponsored food event
- First fine
- $100 infraction
- Second fine
- $200 misdemeanor
Summary
In the City of Woodland, California, Municipal Code Section 9.28.290 bars setting up a grill, stove or burner or maintaining any cooking spot in a City park, except within an area the City has designated for cooking or during a scheduled, City-sponsored or permitted event whose purpose includes preparing food. A first violation is a $100 infraction.
§ 9.28.290. Prohibited activities in City parks. ... B. Cooking. ... No person shall establish or maintain in any City park a temporary or permanent place for cooking or set up any grill, stove, or burner; provided, however, that any person may set up and use cooking equipment if he or she does so within an area of a City park designated by the City for cooking and food preparation or if he or she is participating in either a scheduled, City-sponsored event or an approved, permitted event, which event has, as part of its stated purpose, the preparation of food for human consumption. C. Violations. 1. First Violation. Any person who either violates any provision of this section or any provision of Section 9.28.110, 9.28.120, 9.28.150, 9.28.170, 9.28.180, or 9.36.020 within the confines of any City park shall be guilty of an infraction and fined $100 for the first violation. 2. Second Violation. In the event any person commits a second violation of this section or of any provision enumerated in subsection (C)(1), regardless of whether the first and second offenses involve violation of the same section, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined $200.
Full Breakdown
Section 9.28.290 addresses cooking specifically among several prohibited park activities. Subsection B states that "no person shall establish or maintain in any City park a temporary or permanent place for cooking or set up any grill, stove, or burner," language that reaches charcoal grills, propane burners and smokers alike. The section then carves out two ways to cook lawfully in a park: setting up within an area the City has designated for cooking and food preparation, or doing so as part of either a scheduled City-sponsored event or an approved, permitted event whose stated purpose includes preparing food for human consumption.
The same section separately bans leaving personal property unattended in a City park for six or more consecutive hours under subsection A. Subsection C sets penalties shared with several other Chapter 9.28 park offenses, Sections 9.28.110, 9.28.120, 9.28.150, 9.28.170 and 9.28.180, and Section 9.36.020: a first violation is an infraction fined $100, and a second violation, whether or not it involves the same underlying section, becomes a misdemeanor fined $200. The rule applies only within the confines of a City park; it does not reach backyard grills or cooking on private property elsewhere in Woodland. The section derives from Prior Code Section 15-56 and Ordinance 1713 of October 3, 2023.
Violations & Fines
Setting up an unauthorized grill, stove or burner in a Woodland City park under Section 9.28.290 is an infraction fined $100 for a first offense. A second violation of this section, or of any of the related park-rule sections it lists (9.28.110, 9.28.120, 9.28.150, 9.28.170, 9.28.180 or 9.36.020), is a misdemeanor fined $200, regardless of whether the same underlying rule was broken both times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bring a portable grill to a Woodland city park?
What is the fine for grilling in a banned park area?
Does this rule apply to backyard smokers or grills?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Woodland
California rules heatmap·Compare Woodland to another location·View the California outdoor cooking overview
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