Washington County, UT Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Special recreation, special use, or cooperative agreement
- Governing section
- Washington County Code § 5-4-5(E),(G),(H)
- Facility
- Kolob Reservoir Facility (leased from Water District)
- Penalty
- Class B misdemeanor plus 48-hour facility ban
- Enforcement
- Licensed law enforcement, facility-wide jurisdiction
Summary
Washington County requires a special recreation permit, special use permit, or cooperative agreement before anyone holds a scheduled event at the Kolob Reservoir Facility, the County's leased campground and day-use area on Kolob Reservoir. Entertainment, exhibitions, concerts, and any fee-based or commercial activity likewise need a special event permit or written County approval before they can go forward there.
E. Events Prohibited Without Permit: No person shall engage, conduct, or participate in a scheduled event within the facility without a special recreation permit, a special use permit, or a cooperative agreement. ... G. Entertainment and Similar Activities: No entertainment, exhibition, meeting, concert or tournament, whether public or private, and whether for profit or not, shall be conducted at the facility without a special event permit or other written approval of the County. H. Commercial Activity, Vending: No person or group may utilize the facility for profit or financial gain without a special event permit or other written approval of the County. This includes, but is not limited to, selling, entertainment, concerts, and other activities that charge a fee.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-17: Code current through: Ord. 2026-1329-O, passed 8-18-2026).
Full Breakdown
Washington County's Kolob Reservoir Facility, a campground and day-use recreation area the County leases from the Washington County Water Conservancy District, is governed by Washington County Code of Ordinances chapter 5-4. Under section 5-4-5(E), no person may engage in, conduct, or participate in a scheduled event within the facility without first obtaining a special recreation permit, a special use permit, or entering a cooperative agreement with the County. Section 5-4-5(G) separately requires a special event permit or other written County approval for entertainment, exhibitions, meetings, concerts, or tournaments, whether the event is public or private and whether or not it charges admission.
Section 5-4-5(H) extends the same permit requirement to commercial activity or vending: no person or group may use the facility for profit or financial gain, including selling goods, staging entertainment or concerts, or charging any fee, without a special event permit or written approval. The camp host who oversees day-to-day operation of the campground under section 5-4-1 handles on-site compliance, and failure to follow camp host instructions under section 5-4-5(A) can itself result in cancellation of a permit or removal from the facility. Licensed law enforcement officers hold jurisdiction throughout the facility under section 5-4-8 to enforce the chapter alongside other state and local law.
Anyone planning a reunion, tournament, fundraiser, or vendor activity at Kolob Reservoir should apply for the applicable permit well ahead of the date, since the ordinance places the burden on the organizer to secure the permit, special use permit, or cooperative agreement before the event occurs, not after.
Violations & Fines
A person who holds an event, provides entertainment, or conducts commercial activity at the Kolob Reservoir Facility without the required permit violates chapter 5-4 and, under section 5-4-8, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. Violators face immediate expulsion from the facility and can be barred from returning for forty-eight hours; each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense, and any resulting facility damage can be billed to the permit holder or violator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to hold a family reunion at Kolob Reservoir?
Can a vendor sell food or merchandise at the facility?
What happens if someone holds an unpermitted concert there?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington County
Compare Washington County to another location·View the Utah special events & permits overview
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