Lower Paxton, PA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 132-7(K)(4) of the Lower Paxton Township Code makes it unlawful for any person in any recreation, park or conservation area to carry, possess or drink any alcoholic beverages. The verbs matter: carrying and possessing are covered along with drinking, so an unopened container in a cooler is inside the prohibition, not only an open one. Subsection (K) sits beside other conduct bans in the same list, including disturbing the peace or using profane or obscene language, endangering the safety of any person, committing assault, battery or fighting, and acting in an unlawful, disorderly or disruptive manner.

The text names no pavilion exception or special permit for alcohol, and § 132-4(C)(1) makes all of Chapter 132 applicable to anyone holding a reservation permit for a pavilion, ball field or amphitheater. Parks are open daily from official sunrise to official sunset, with lighted courts and fields open until 10:00 p.m., and the code treats presence after closing as unlawful unless a permit covers the activity.

This is a park rule, not a township-wide open container ordinance. The only other alcohol chapter in the Code, Chapter 63, deals with BYOB clubs and their hours of operation and club permits. Streets and private property fall outside § 132-7(K)(4).

The Township Manager and agents he designates, primarily the Manager of Parks and Recreation, administer the chapter under § 132-8. Township Police or the park manager can end the conduct, expel the person from the area, or call the Township Police to arrest and detain the person or file a complaint with a District Magisterial Judge.