Fauquier County, VA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 16-6, the parks chapter's prohibited-conduct list, makes it unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association using a county park to possess or consume any alcoholic beverage in the park, or to be under the influence of alcohol there. The rule sits among two dozen other prohibited acts in the same section, including drug possession, disorderly conduct and littering, all enforced by the parks and recreation department and deputy sheriffs patrolling park grounds. Unlike the state's general public intoxication statute, this is a park-specific possession and consumption ban that reaches sober possession of an open container, not just intoxication.

Section 16-10 exempts department employees acting within their job duties from § 16-6, and the director may waive the section for civic, educational, law enforcement or safety agencies conducting training on park property. Enforcement runs through § 16-9(b), which lumps § 16-6 violations together with violations of the solicitor-permit, firearms and fireworks, and vehicle-use sections of the same chapter for a single penalty range, and the director can additionally pursue injunction or abatement relief against a repeat violator under § 16-9(c).