Clark County expands drone-approved parks from 8 to 28 after local pilots lobbied the commission

Clark County, Nevada just gave recreational drone pilots in the Las Vegas area something they rarely get: more places to fly. The county’s Department of Parks and Recreation updated its Drone/UAV Operation Policy on November 10, 2025, expanding the list of approved parks from roughly 8 locations to 28. That is a 3.5x increase, and it did not happen by accident.

Here is what you need to know:

• The development: Clark County Policy S.15 now lists 28 county parks where recreational drone operations are allowed, up from roughly 8 in the previous version.
• Why it happened: Members of the Vegas Drone Meetup and LVHDronePilots attended county commission meetings and lobbied for expanded access.
• The catch: Smaller drones designed for racing or maneuvers still require a special use permit from the Parks and Recreation Department.

The old policy left Las Vegas drone pilots with few options

Clark County’s previous drone policy, which had been in place since the original Policy S.15 was issued on July 2, 2019, allowed drone operations at only about eight parks: Desert Breeze Park, Mountain’s Edge Regional Park, Lone Mountain Park, Bennett Airfield, Silverbowl Park, Horseman’s Park, Clark County Shooting Complex, and James Regional Sports Park. For a county that covers over 8,000 square miles and is home to more than 2.3 million people, that was a short list.

The City of Las Vegas made things worse. A municipal ordinance bans all drone operations within any city park property, including parking lots. That pushed recreational pilots to the county parks as their only legal option in the valley.

The updated policy adds 20 new parks to the approved list

The November 2025 update to Policy S.15 now permits drone operations at the following 28 Clark County parks:

• Bennet Airfield
• Charlie Frias Park
• Cougar Creek Park
• Davis Park
• Desert Breeze Park
• Desert Bloom Park
• Desert Diamonds Baseball Complex
• Echo Trails Park
• Exploration Peak Park
• Hollywood Park
• James Regional Sports Park
• Lewis Family Park
• Lone Mountain Park (Regional and Discovery)
• Mountain Crest Park
• Mountain’s Edge Regional Park
• Nathaniel Jones Park
• Nellis Meadows Park
• Olympia Sport Park
• Old Spanish Trails
• Paul Meyer Park
• Prosperity Park
• Red Ridge Park
• Spring Valley Park
• Silverado Ranch Park
• Silverbowl Park (Both New and Old)
• Southwest Ridge Park

The policy was approved and signed by Patrick Almeido, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, on November 12, 2025. According to a post from Bob Dempsey in the Old Farts with Drones Facebook group, some of these parks are “very near zero grid,” meaning they sit in uncontrolled airspace where LAANC authorization is not needed. That is a significant benefit for recreational pilots who want to fly without the extra step of requesting airspace access.

Grassroots advocacy made this happen

This expansion did not come from a top-down policy review. It came from drone pilots showing up. According to the Facebook post by Bob Dempsey, a member of the Vegas Drone Meetup has been attending Clark County commission meetings and lobbying commissioners directly for more places to fly recreationally. The post credits a community member named Don for his work on the effort.

That approach, showing up in person, speaking at public meetings, and building relationships with local officials, is exactly how drone access gets expanded at the local level. The FAA controls the airspace, but municipalities and counties control where you can take off and land. Winning on the ground means winning at the commission meeting, not on social media.

FPV and racing pilots still need a permit

The updated policy carries forward one restriction from the original version:

“Smaller drones designed for racing and/or maneuvers will require a special use permit available through the Parks and Recreation Department.”

This likely affects FPV pilots flying quads like the DJI Avata series or custom-built racing drones. The LVHDronePilots website has previously noted that FPV drones may fall under this category.

All drone operations must still comply with federal, state, county, and city regulations, including Remote ID requirements and standard FAA recreational flying rules. Park hours apply as well. Most Clark County parks are open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

DroneXL’s Take

This is how it’s done. While we spend most of our time covering regulatory battles at the federal level, the reality for most recreational pilots is that their flying options are determined by local parks departments and county commissions. The Vegas Drone Meetup did what every local drone community should be doing: they showed up, they made their case, and they got results.

Going from 8 parks to 28 is a big deal. It means a pilot in Henderson or Summerlin now likely has an approved park within a reasonable drive. That was not the case before. And the fact that several of these parks sit near zero-grid airspace makes them even more attractive for quick recreational flights.

Compare this to what we’ve seen in Oregon, where the state spent three years just trying to develop rules, or Raleigh, where the city confused federal and local authority in its park guidelines. Clark County listened to its residents and expanded access. That is the model.

My prediction: other Las Vegas-area drone communities will use this as a template to push Henderson, North Las Vegas, and the City of Las Vegas itself to reconsider their own park drone bans over the next 12 months. Clark County just proved that local advocacy works.

Photo credit: DJI

Editorial Note: AI tools were used to assist with research and archive retrieval for this article. All reporting, analysis, and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.