When I was brainstorming ideas for an upcoming family party, I thought about having a huge BBQ dinner. However, I do not have a big backyard, so I wondered if it was possible to bring the party to the local park. As a result, I did some research to get all of the details on this matter.
Can you bring your own grill to the park? For most parks across the country, you are allowed to bring your own grill to make food. However, there are some limitations to this allowance.
To be more specific, you can bring your own grill to the park as long as it is less than 5 gallons in size, it operates on charcoal or gas, and it is kept on a hard surface such as concrete. These are simple safety precautions that will ensure the best experience for everyone involved in the activity.
Large backyard BBQ parties are always fun for everyone who is involved, whether you are inviting friends, family, or a little bit of both. The only problem with this is that not everyone has a backyard to match.
On the other hand, you might have something planned at the park and just want to bring the food to the party instead of the other way around. Regardless of your reasoning, bringing a portable grill to the park with you can seem like a convenient option. Keep reading to find out all about if and how you can achieve this.
Can You Bring Your Own Grill To a Park?
When it comes to having a large get together with the people that you love, it can be hard to find just one place for everyone to meet. The first place that you might think of when you are planning one of these events is the local park.
Parks are very beneficial due to the fact that they are public areas that are free to use for everyone. There is tons of space and fresh air to enjoy, and what better way is there to spend that kind of day than grilling up some food and eating it together?
While it is true that public parks offer built-in grills in the shaded recreational areas, you might be wary of putting them to use. This is for good reason, because there are a lot of things that can make these grills unsanitary and therefore unsafe.
They are constantly out in the open and can be used by anyone, and although it is recommended that guests clean up after themselves, everyone does not always follow these rules. In addition to careless community members, there is no telling how many birds and small animals have crawled onto the grates and even nested inside of them.
The list of negatives can go on, but you probably get the point by now. All in all, the park grills are there, but you probably don’t want to use them. So, what is the next step from here?
After weighing out all of your options, you have probably already thought of the most simple solution: bringing your own grill. If you have a smaller portable grill that you can load up into the car and carry over to the picnic area, you have your problem solve right there.
Since this is not something that is usually talked about or publicly disclosed by the park associations, we will be breaking down whether or not you are allowed to bring your own BBQ grill to the local park.
The short answer to this question is yes, you are free to bring your own grill. However, it does come with some specific regulations that will make the experience safer and more enjoyable for everyone who is involved.
If you fail to follow the rules that have been set in place, you run the risk of being kicked out of the park or, even worse, producing a dangerous fire hazard.
Take a look at the list down below to get a quick outline of these helpful guidelines. After you go through them, you should check the credentials of your grill to a make sure that you can bring yours. Before you do that, though, keep reading through the rest of this section to get all of the details on the topic.
Here is what is allowed for a grill that you are bringing to the park:
- Grills that are less than 5-gallons
- Charcoal and gas grills
- Kept on a hard surface (ie concrete)
When you are bringing a grill to a park, the size and overall capacity will be a huge deciding factor of whether or not you are breaking the rules. Grills that are 5 gallons or less are able to be used in these public areas. So, if you have a large grill that exceeds this limit, you will need to make other arrangements.
Both charcoal and gas grills are allowed in the parks as long as they follow the previously mentioned guidelines, but no other types of grills.
When you get to the park with your grill, you will need to be careful about where you place it as well. You will not be permitted to position it on any kind of soft surface such as grass or sand.
These areas can be potentially dangerous for a lot of reasons. First of all, if the grill is not standing up on a solid foundation, it has the potential to be wobbly or knock over while grilling.
This would be a hazard to anyone who is standing around it when it flips over, along with every single other person in the park. If the grill topples over and the fire gets ahold of the grass, you already know what would happen from there.
So, in short, you are able to bring your own BBQ grill to the park, as long as it is small enough to be truly portable and you place it on the concrete only, instead of an unstable surface.
Tips For Grilling in Public
Now that it has been confirmed that you are, in fact, allowed to bring a BBQ grill to the park as long as you follow through with some basic safety regulations, we will be going over some additional tips that you can follow while grilling in public.
While it is true that you can bring all of your grilling supplies and have a BBQ party right in the middle of the park, there are going to be some differences between what you do in public and what you do at home in this circumstance.
All of the tips that are going to be outlined in this section will ensure that you will be able to have the most convenient and comfortable experience possible during your park BBQ party.
Here are some tips that you can follow for grilling in public:
- Limit your packing list
- Cook everything on skewers when you can, and slice your meat thin for faster cooking
- Take the time to prepare your food in advance (so all you have to do is cook it at the park)
- Pack all food items in plastic bags
- Avoid cross contamination with separate coolers
- Have a potluck-style meal with side dishes from friends and family
The first thing that you should keep in mind when you are planning to grill in public is to limit your packing list as much as possible. Since you will not be doing this at home, it will require you to travel with all of your supplies to another location, and repeat the process when it is time to go home.
To make it easier on yourself as well as the other people who you will be with, it is best to pack light in the first place. While you are coming up with everything that you will need for the day of grilling, make sure that you are being selective with what is actually necessary.
The food that you prepare should be cooked on skewers as much as possible. This is one of the easiest ways to cook food on a BBQ, and it will stay together easily while you are packing.
In addition to cooking on skewers, you should cut your meat in thin slices in general. This will help you to cook everything faster than normal, so that you can have time to enjoy the people around you while you are there instead of standing over the grill.
Take the time to prepare your food as much as you possibly can before you pack it up to go to the park, so that all you will have to do is throw it onto the grill and cook it.
When you are packing the food, it is extremely convenient to pack everything up into resealable plastic bags. Upon arrival to your grilling station, you can be sure that your prepared food is intact and ready to go, without worrying about any spills or explosions in the cooler on the way there.
Packing the prepared food into the coolers is another crucial step in this process. When you are planning your BBQ party menu, it is doubtful that you will only be serving meat dishes.
Instead, you will most likely have meats, vegetables, and other fresh things like fruit and cold beverages for your guests. To avoid any cross contamination, use at least two separate coolers to store your items.
One should be for the bags that contain meat or anything that is raw and should not be eaten without being cooked first. The other cooler should be reserved for the fresh fruits and vegetables that should never come in contact with meat juices.
No matter how careful you are in your packing methods, you will never be able to avoid the risk of these germs and bacterias spreading. While it might not happen every time, you want to enjoy your BBQ party with the peace of mind that all of the food you are serving is safe to eat.
Finally, you can implement a potluck-type structure to your BBQ party. When you are the only one putting together the food in this circumstance, you will most likely be packing up your trunk until its full and carrying everything out to the picnic area as you have organized it.
This can make everything long and drawn out, and will put all of the pressure on one person. To get away from the stress that comes with this situation, you can choose to delegate tasks to your friends and family in the first place.
Instead, you can have different people bringing different parts of the meal so that the task is not all on you. After you do this, you might find that you are only in charge of bringing one component of the entire meal instead of everything that goes on the plate.
What To Bring To a Park BBQ Party
When you are planning out a BBQ party at the park where you will be bringing your own grill, it will require more supplies than just the grill itself.
Here is what you should bring to a BBQ party in the park:
- Portable grill
- Gas tank/charcoal
- Lighter fluid and lighter (if needed)
- Spatula and tongs
- Serving spoons and knives
- Grilling gloves
- Cooler(s) with ice
- Beverages
- Dishes and utensils
- Napkins
- Table cloth
- Garbage bag
- Disinfectant wipes
- Grill cleaning brush and water
The first, and most obvious, thing that you will need to bring to your backyard BBQ in the park is your portable grill. This is what you will be using to cook all of your food, so it will need to be the correct size for the park’s regulations and also small enough to transport around to different areas.
Depending on the type of grill that you are bringing, you will need a gas tank or charcoal to be able to use it. If applicable to your situation, you might also need lighter fluid and a lighter.
The main grilling equipment that you will need for the average BBQ includes a spatula, tongs, serving spoons, and knives. This will help you cook the average grilled dishes, especially if you have taken the time to prepare them in advance.
Grilling gloves are always important for the person who will be cooking the food, in order to protect the hands from any kind of burns.
You will also need coolers with ice in them to hold your ingredients along with cold drinks and fresh snacks. Although a BBQ party is usually centered around the food dishes that will be prepared, you can’t forget the beverages or your guests will be thirsty and the event will be cut short.
Check your park’s regulations to see if you are able to bring alcoholic beverages with you in the area. Either way, it always helps to have some ice cold water bottles as well as flavored drinks such as soda and juice to please all audiences.
For eating, you will need dishes, utensils, and napkins, along with a table cloth to cover the area that you will be sitting. In order to keep the park clean when you are done using the area, you should have a garbage bag for all of the used plates and utensils, along with disinfectant wipes for any surfaces.
Lastly, bring a grilling brush and some extra water for cleaning, because you wouldn’t want to wait until the last minute and have to complete this task after you have already gotten home.
The Best Recipes For Park Grilling
After reading all about grilling at the park with your own BBQ, your head might be flowing with ideas for your next family outing. When it comes to bringing everyone together without spending much money, this is a golden idea, especially if you already have all of the supplies that are needed to pull this off correctly.
To tie up this entire conversation, we will touch on some of the best recipes that you can make while you are grilling at the park. That way, you will be able to have some great ideas on hand to take all of the stress out of planning your outing.
The list down below will outline the names of these top-tier recipes that you can research and try for yourself.
The Best Recipes For Park Grilling:
- Grilled shrimp with garlic and herbs
- Grilled portobello mushrooms
- Grilled skirt steak (on skewers)
- Blackened chicken breast tenders
- Marinaded chicken
- Hamburgers and hotdogs
- Grilled jamaican jerk chicken
- Grilled citrus marinaded Salmon
- Grilled salmon with fresh summer veggies
- Shrimp and steak street tacos
As you can see, there are plenty of dishes that you can make when you are planning to have a BBQ party in the park.
With a portable grill, some fresh ingredients, and a great group of friends and family, you will have a recipe for the best day ever right around the corner.
Check out our Recent Posts
Z Grills Review
If you’re looking for a grill that will last, Z Grills is the way to go. Z grills are made of the best quality materials...
Read More
Pit Boss Pellet Grill Review
Pit Boss is one of many when it comes to manufacturers of wood pellet grills and smokers. If you have spent any amount of time...
Read More
10 Fun Benefits of Taking an Online Cooking Class
There’s never been a better time to take an online cooking class. With the continued popularity of online learning, there are more and more exciting...
Read More