Benton County, WA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

BCC 7.28.020 is titled "Firearms, Explosives, Other Weapons and Alcoholic Beverages Prohibited," and its alcohol clause is a flat, unqualified ban rather than a permit or hours restriction. Subsection (b) states: "Alcoholic Beverages: No person shall consume or possess any alcoholic beverages in any County park." The ordinance draws no distinction between beer, wine or liquor, and it does not carve out an exception for permitted private events, wedding rentals, or Park Board-approved gatherings, unlike the written-consent process the same chapter provides for assemblies and vending under 7.28.010.

The alcohol clause sits alongside the county's weapons rules in the same section: subsection (a) bars anyone other than law enforcement from discharging firearms, explosives, or other weapons, including slingshots, BB guns, pellet guns, air guns, and bows, in a county park except in a designated recreational area, and it separately routes fireworks discharge in a park through a Fire Marshal permit under Chapter 7.30 BCC. Grouping alcohol with weapons and fireworks in one section signals the county treats public drinking in its parks as a public-safety matter, not a nuisance issue.

Enforcement differs from the rest of Chapter 7.28: while most 7.28.010 park-conduct violations, from curfew to unapproved vending, are civil infractions capped at a $1,000 fine, 7.28.020 closes with a criminal classification instead, exposing violators to a misdemeanor charge rather than a fine-only infraction.