Off Airport

[fishdoc]

I recently moved from Alaska to Washington State and understand the flying freedoms may be somewhat limited compared to what I was used to in Alaska regarding off airport operations.
Can someone shed some light on what is acceptable, what is frowned upon and what may get you in hot water with the law?
I read Copalis is the only beach in the state where we can LEGALLY land.
I would appreciate any input.

[Jr.CubBuilder]

You might want to query over on supercub.org I know there are some people over there that use some of the river bars etc here in Washington. There are some state airports that are grass and fairly nice, you can find them on the dot/aviation site. There are a lot of little ag strips etc around on the east side of the Cascades, if they aren't X'd out they should be legal but that doesn't mean they are safe or in good condition. Landing on roads is not legal.

[voorheesh]

I get to fly a seaplane down here in Calif. and we takeoff and land on public lakes and rivers with no special permission required. If the local rules don't prohibit planes, we fly. The FAA does not regulate water or landing strips but property owners and state and local rules do. (The FAA only regulates airports that they spend $ on, otherwise you can T.O. or land anywhere it is safe to do so as far as feds are concerned.) In the seaplane world, it is really important not to bother other people, so you try and make your operations as unintrusive as possible and that way you don't get complaints. We limit takeoffs and landings to 3 in one location and then go somewhere else. If you keep that in mind you might be surprised how many landing spots are available that no one will care. If you want to land on private property, it is probably a good idea to get permission from the property owner. Keep in mind that the non flying public might think your having a problem if they see you land off airport in the lower 48 and call 911 for help. Don't know how it goes up in Washington but hope this helps.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

You really need to check with the state aviation department.

In New Jersey it is illegal to land anywhere that is not licenced by the state. And the police know it

In PA you can land with the property owners permission, twice a year. Mor ethan that and the spot has to be licensed. In PA you I don't believe you can land on state owned water unless it is marked as a seaplane base.