Lake County, CA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 15-48 of the Lake County Code makes it unlawful for any person to possess or consume alcoholic beverages in or upon a County park or public recreational area, with one narrow exception: alcohol may be allowed under a facility use permit issued for a qualifying special event such as a wedding, reunion, barbecue, concert or similar gathering open to or benefiting the public. Permitted alcohol must be served in a non-glass container, confined to a specific designated area that the permittee is required to post and monitor, and subject to whatever additional conditions the Public Services Director imposes to protect health, safety and welfare.

"County park" means any County park under County jurisdiction, and "public recreational area" means property within the unincorporated area owned by the County or the Lake County Redevelopment Agency and open to the public for recreation; Highland Springs Park is expressly exempted from the article because of its size and multiple uses. " A separate, older provision in the same chapter, Section 15-42, independently bans consuming alcohol at Old Courthouse Square, the County-owned block bounded by Main, Second, Forbes and Third Streets. Both prohibitions were adopted out of Board of Supervisors findings that public alcohol consumption on County property threatens public health, safety and welfare, and neither displaces state alcohol or open-container law, which continues to apply on top of these local rules.