Now that we’ve covered where to fly a drone in New York and San Francisco, we figured it was time to give LA some love. Here’s our guide on how to fly a drone in Los Angeles and where to capture some epic shots, legally.
FYI, did you know we have awesome drones to rent in NYC?
Photo by Steven Knezevich
Guidelines for any drone flight
There are a few guidelines that apply to any drone flight you’ll want to keep in mind:
- Never fly over people or roads
- Never fly higher than 400 feet from where you launched
- Be mindful of flying within 5 miles of an airport (or restricted military space)
- You can fly within 5 miles of an airport, but be mindful of height restrictions. The further away you are from an airport, the higher you can fly. For example, at 1.5 miles you can fly up to 35 feet, at 5 miles you can fly up to 400 feet. This DJI resource is helpful for better understanding no fly zones.
- Drones are banned at all National Parks
Our trusty Mapbox will again be helping us visualize the spots where you can’t fly.
The abundance of red throughout this map is attributed to LA’s many airports, just like we saw in New York. But that won’t be hindering your ability to get amazing shots, and as you can see, basically the entire area surrounding downtown is free to fly to your heart’s content. Though that doesn’t mean we recommend whipping through skyscrapers! Rather look for open spots away from roads and people.
Not only that, but one of the best perks when droning around the LA area is the beautiful landscape that surrounds the city proper. So if you don’t feel comfortable flying around the city, feel free to take a drive out into the country and capture your footage there. You’re free to fly in any California State park.
Take a look at our list below for some of the best places to fly your drone in Los Angeles!
MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park by Steven Knezevich
MacArthur Park rests just outside of downtown, giving you great views of the city skyline. Just remember to try and go in the morning or weekdays, in order to avoid any big crowds.
Hollywood Hills
If you take a look at the map above you’ll notice there are bits and pieces of the hills designated as no-fly zones, but if you play it smart you’ll be able to get some of the best bits from the area—Hollywood sign, the city, mountains, etc. Just be careful of where you fly and be conscious of what’s below your drone.
Rose Bowl – Lot H
If you’re looking for a more controlled area to fly your drone, then it’s worth checking out Lot H right in front of the Rose Bowl. Directly to the right of the entrance is a large playing field, in which you can toy around with your drone. The are is pretty vacant most of the time and the views around the bowl are gorgeous, to boot!
Huntington Beach
It is legal to fly over Huntington Beach, but we don’t recommend doing it when it’s very populated. Like we mentioned above, try and pick times when it’s not very busy. But the views are definitely worth it!
Santa Monica Pier
Shown in the video above, there is plenty of detail to capture when flying a drone around the Santa Monica pier, especially as dusk approaches. Obviously the pier is going to be pretty packed a lot of the time, so try not to go directly over it and just appreciate it from the sidelines!
