Best Places to Fly
Your Drone in Minneapolis

You can bring your drone along to the 862-acre Bald Eagle-Otter Lake Regional Park. It’s a stunning location on the outskirts of Minneapolis in White Bear Urban Township. Head over to the Tamarack Nature Center to explore miles of hiking trails. These picturesque tracks are teeming with wildlife and scenic views. The two lakes, fishing pier, and open green spaces add further to the park’s appeal for drone operators who want to fly for fun or film.

UPDATE: Ramsey County has released a 2022 Parks and Recreation Ordinance that states that drone flight is not allowed in any Ramsey County park and can be operated only in designated areas. 

The Sodbuster RC Flying Club has an AMA field located along Manning Ave. near Lake Elmo. As usual, you will need to be an AMA member to fly your drone here. This is a good flight spot if you’re looking for a community of similar-minded hobbyists.

The Blackdog Park might not seem impressively large, but you can launch your drone here and fly to the much larger forested area of the Blackdog Reserve and Blackdog Lake. The area is typically not crowded unless there is a football or baseball game ongoing. Take note that the park is very close to a power station, so avoid flying in its general direction.

Alimagnet Park, tucked away in a quiet neighborhood of Burnsville, is a laid-back park that is very popular with families. The dense foliage can be great practice grounds for advanced drone flight skills, but we suggest flying with a visual observer to more easily watch out for bystanders. Remember to respect other park visitors as drones can very easily disrupt the serenity of the place.

If you don’t mind driving around, the Scenic Byway Road SW of Minneapolis offers a lot of great spots for drone photography. It’s perfectly possible to drive your car to any point along the road, get off and launch your drone, and capture breathtaking images of your surroundings. The best thing about this method is that it’s a lot easier to avoid flying over crowded areas when you’re out in the open road.

There’s an AMA field in Minnesota’s Brooklyn Park, managed by the Grassfield RC Club. The wide-open space serves as an excellent place to have fun and develop flying skills. The dedicated RC airfield has a paved primary runway plus two smaller strips. There’s also a sheltered area where members can congregate and take cover when it rains. The surrounding landscape includes Minnesota farmland, which appeals to camera drone pilots.

A short drive from Minneapolis, Greenwood Shores Park is a narrow strip of land nestled between Lake Ann and Lake Lucy. This makes it uniquely suited for drone flight, particularly if you intend to avoid flying over crowds.