El Dorado County, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- County Code Section 9.46.720
- Rule
- Smoking allowed only in designated, posted areas
- Applies to
- All County parks, trails, playgrounds, recreation centers
- Enforcement
- Parks Division staff or any peace officer
- Repeat violations
- Each day of violation is a separate offense
- Park hours
- 6 a.m. to one hour after sunset
Summary
El Dorado County bans smoking throughout the parks, trails and open space it manages except in areas the Parks Division has specifically designated for it. Section 9.46.720 of the County Parks Ordinance applies countywide to every County-operated park, playground and recreation center, and Parks Division staff or any peace officer can eject a smoker who lights up outside a marked zone.
Sec. 9.46.720. - Smoking. Smoking is permitted in designated areas only. (Code 1997, § 9.46.720; Ord. No. 4586, 8-14-2001)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 13 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
46, the County Parks Ordinance adopted under Ordinance No. 020, sweeps broadly: "park" covers "any park, playground, bicycle or multi-use trail, recreation center or any other lands or facilities owned, operated, maintained, administered or managed by the County and devoted to active or passive recreation," plus all facilities, improvements and adjacent water within them. That means the smoking limit follows every County trailhead, ballfield and picnic area, not just a fenced park boundary. 060, so the smoking restriction runs for those same hours. 040 rests with "any Department employee or designee or any peace officer," who can eject from the park, or revoke the park-use permission of, anyone smoking outside a posted designated area.
090 makes "each calendar day upon which a violation of this chapter occurs" a separate offense, a smoker who returns to the same spot the next day faces a new violation rather than a continuation of the first. 080 on compliance with the smoking rule and revoke a permit for noncompliance.
Violations & Fines
Smoking outside a posted designated area is enforced the same way as other park-conduct violations under Chapter 9.46: a Department employee or peace officer can order the smoker to stop, eject them from the park, and revoke any permit or reservation tied to their visit. Because Section 9.46.090 treats each day of noncompliance as a distinct offense, repeat smoking at the same park can generate a new violation on every visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke anywhere in an El Dorado County park?
Who enforces the smoking rule in County parks?
Does the smoking restriction apply to County trails, not just fenced parks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Dorado County
California rules heatmap·Compare El Dorado County to another location·View the California public conduct overview
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