Saliem TalashToronto, Ontario
No. 17Writing · Toronto5 min read

Picnics, BBQs and permits in Toronto parks

The 25-person line, the barbecue and coal rules, the fire pits you can book all year, the 55 parks where you can bring a drink, and what turns a picnic into a special event, from the City of Toronto.

By Saliem TalashPrepared with AI assistance

Fig. 1 — The skyline over autumn trees, Toronto.Photograph: Karen Tharrington / Pexels

Most park outings in Toronto need no paperwork at all. You pick a spot, spread a blanket and that is the end of it. But a few things change the picture: the size of the group, bringing your own barbecue, a fire, a drink, a speaker or a tent. Each one has a rule, and some need a booking with the City.

I'm Saliem Talash, I build practical tools for small businesses in Toronto and edit ZELR, and this is the guide I wanted the first time I tried to plan a birthday in a park. Everything here comes from the City of Toronto's own pages as they read on October 1, 2026. Rules and fees change, so check the pages below before you plan anything large.

The 25-person line

The City's booking page is plain about it: bookings are required for park gatherings that involve more than 25 people, or that want to bring your own BBQ. If your gathering has fewer than 25 people, you do not need a booking.

A booking also does something useful even when it is not required: it reserves a specific spot. The City's park etiquette page adds that "Permit groups take precedent over recreational use." In practice, if you turn up to an unbooked picnic shelter on a summer Saturday and a group arrives with a permit for it, the spot is theirs.

What a booking can cover, according to the City:

  • designated picnic areas
  • picnic shelters
  • designated fire pits
  • outdoor ovens
  • personal barbecues

When to book

The regular season for picnics is May to September. For 2026, the City opened bookings for picnics and BBQs on February 13, so popular shelters for summer weekends go early in the year.

Fire pits are different. The City says select fire pits are available to book throughout the year, which makes them the one booking that suits an October evening.

How to book. There are two ways. Some picnic and fire pit locations can be booked online; every picnic and fire pit location can be booked by phone with the City. You pay the fee to confirm the booking, and an insurance fee may also be required.

What it costs. The City's page lists the fees, HST extra, and notes that fees may change with council approval. When I checked, a picnic site or shelter was listed at $112.57 for up to 200 people, and a designated fire pit at $34.33 for up to 25 people. Check the page for the current figures and the insurance amounts before you budget.

Barbecues: what you can bring

Two rules cover most situations.

  1. Permanent barbecues in parks take charcoal or briquettes only. The City says so on both its booking page and its etiquette page.
  2. Portable barbecues: "Small, portable propane barbeques are permitted at picnic areas, excluding the Toronto Island." Note the exception: no portable barbecue on the Island.

Remember the booking rule above: a group that wants to bring its own barbecue needs a booking, whatever its size.

Coals. This is the rule people break without meaning to. The City warns that dumping coals at the base of a tree or into a garbage bin can start a fire, and says there are special bins for coals. Find the coal bin before you light up, not after.

Fires and fire pits

If you book a fire pit, the City's etiquette rules are short and sensible:

  • Bring your own firewood, and leave trees and branches where you found them.
  • Keep the fire small and never leave it unattended.
  • Before you leave, make sure it is out by pouring water over the whole fire.

If the park you want has no designated fire pit, the City says an additional form, inspection and fee are needed.

Drinks: the 55 parks

Toronto now has an Alcohol in Parks program. The City's page says people aged 19 and older can bring and drink their own alcoholic beverages in 55 City parks, which are listed on that page. The guidelines include:

  • drink only in the parks on the list, and only during park hours, 5:30 a.m. to midnight;
  • not within two metres of playgrounds, wading pools, splash pads, outdoor pools, natural or outdoor ice rinks, or skateboard and BMX parks;
  • take bottles and cans to a recycling bin or home with you.

Outside those parks, the City's Municipal Code (section 608-8, Parks: Liquor) still prohibits open alcohol in a park without a permit. Selling or serving alcohol at a park event is a different matter again: it needs a City Special Event permit and a licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

When a picnic becomes a special event

This is the part most people do not expect. The City's special events page says an event counts as a special event, regardless of how many people are coming, if it involves things like:

  • sound amplification, such as speakers or a megaphone;
  • putting up tents or stages;
  • selling or serving food to the public;
  • serving or selling alcohol;
  • amusement rides and games, such as a bouncy castle;
  • a generator, fireworks or fundraising.

Special event permits come with their own conditions. The City's page says the event must be open to the public, non-profit and non-promotional, that insurance is required, and that new requests are considered up to eight weeks before the event date. That rules out most private parties, so plan the party around the simple booking instead.

A portable speaker at a sensible volume is not the same as amplified sound for an event. The etiquette page simply asks people to keep music from portable speakers "to a reasonable volume."

The small rules worth knowing

From the City's park etiquette page:

  • Tents take up a lot of space in parks and on beaches; the City suggests an umbrella or a shady tree instead.
  • Camping overnight is not allowed.
  • Personal fireworks are not permitted in parks or on beaches, including ravines and trails.
  • Drones: all city parks are "no drone zones" for recreational use.
  • Clean up: leave the area cleaner than you found it, and sort garbage, recycling and organics into the right bins.

A quick check before you go

  1. More than 25 people, or bringing a barbecue? Book.
  2. Want a specific shelter or fire pit? Book, and book early for summer.
  3. Charcoal in permanent grills only; small propane grills at picnic areas, not on the Island.
  4. Drinking? Only in the 55 listed parks, during park hours.
  5. Speakers for a crowd, a tent, a bouncy castle or food for the public? That is a special event.
  6. Coals in the coal bin, fires out with water, garbage sorted.

I keep short, practical guides like this on my own site, and longer explainers on ZELR. The City of Toronto's pages below are the authority on every rule and fee.

Sources

Drafted with AI assistance.