Ottawa County, MI Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners regulates alcohol only on land the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission owns and operates as parks; it is not a county-wide open-container law. 8(a) of the Rules and Regulations in Parks ordinance provides that no person, while on Commission Park Property, shall possess any alcoholic beverage of any kind except at specific locations and at specific times by making application per established Commission procedures, and being granted a permit by the Commission or its Agent. The rule is a default ban with a permit exception built in: alcohol is off-limits everywhere on Commission Park Property unless a visitor has applied and been granted a permit tying possession to a specific location and time, such as a reserved pavilion for an event.

7(a)(v), separately bars remaining on Commission Park Property with a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit or while under the influence of illegal drugs or controlled substances, regardless of any alcohol permit. Ottawa County has no separate open-container ordinance for streets, sidewalks, or other public property outside its park system; those rules, if any exist, come from the city or township that governs that land. 18(a)(i).