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21 US destinations where it's legal to drink outside

Sophie-Claire Hoeller

2015-07-05T18:45:00Z

It's legal to drink outside on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. — It's legal to drink outside on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Flickr/specialagent

Many cultures are built on drinking outside — Italians love drinking on church steps, the French like to picnic in the park with wine, and Germans enjoy a good road beer on their way to the bar.

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But most of America is missing out on this prime social outdoor drinking with its pesky container laws.

We've found 21 places in the US where it's legal to drink outdoors.

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Las Vegas, Nevada: Seeing as what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, it's only natural that it would encourage debauchery by allowing people to imbibe anywhere. The only exceptions to public drinking are within 1,000 feet of a church, synagogue, school, hospital, or homeless shelter.

Vegas drinking on the Strip

New Orleans, Louisiana: Home of Mardi Gras and daiquiri shops. Obviously, open containers are not an issue here.

Mardi Gras 2012

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Sonoma, California: With over 400 wineries, it's really in the wine country's best interest to allow public drinking. Wouldn't want to cheapen fancy wine with brown bags, would we?

Sonoma drinking wine

Hood River, Oregon: World famous for its wind and kite surfing, this is truly an outdoor paradise, as the town has no open container laws.

Hood River, Oregon, Mt. Hood

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Fredericksburg, Texas: It's only fitting for this German enclave, named after Prince Frederick of Prussia, to preserve its German heritage by allowing open containers of beer or wine (not liquor) in most of its public areas. In fact, many places in town sell wine and beer to-go.

Fredricksburg

Butte, Montana: This former mining town in the Rocky Mountains allows for open containers anywhere — the only exception being between the hours of 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. What you do during the other 18 hours is up to you.

montana wine

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Fort Worth, Texas: Grab a frosty Shiner Bock and drink it anywhere you please in Fort Worth, where there's no general ban on public consumption of alcohol.

Fort Worth

Indianapolis, Indiana: Hoosier hospitality means that you can drink on Indy's sidewalks, though not in city-owned parks. Make sure to ask for a to-go cup if you don't finish your drink at the bar, they just might have a carryout license.

Drinking at the Indy 500, Indianapolis

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Erie, Pennsylvania: In order to revitalize their downtown area, Erie has ditched open-container laws in favor of tourism dollars. And since its downtown spans 70 blocks, drinking is allowed almost everywhere.

Erie, PA

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Austin, Texas: Keeping Austin weird indeed, the city takes the opposite stance, forbidding open containers in its downtown and a few other select areas, but allowing them in the town's less central neighborhoods.

Austin, TX Outdoor event

Treasure Island, Florida: This little patch of paradise on the Gulf of Mexico pretty much allows for public drinking anywhere — the exceptions being the main beach on weekends and public holidays.

Treasure Island, FL, kites

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Savannah, Georgia: Southern hospitality is most tangible in Savannah's Historic District, which allows for public drinking, as long as said drink is in a plastic container and less than 16 ounces.

Savannah, GA, drinks

Memphis, Tennessee: Beale Street, aka the home of the blues, is a shining beacon liberated from both the rest of the city's open-container ban and Tennessee's statewide one.

Beale Street, Memphis

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Roswell, Georgia: This Atlanta 'burb now has a brand new "carry district," which basically means that you can order a drink at a bar and bring it outside with you. (As long as it's in paper or plastic cups and less than 16 ounces.) Mainly contained in Roswell's Canton Street district, it's ideal for the town's famous block party, Alive After Five.

Wildebeast1/flickr

Kansas City, Missouri: The town's nine-block Power & Light District, a shopping and entertainment district, is exempt from Kansas City's general law prohibiting open containers.

Kansas City entertainment district

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Louisville, Kentucky: Another revitalization effort leading to the loosening of liquor laws can be found on Louisville's Fourth Street, which gets closed off at night and turns into Fourth Street Live!, sort of an open-air bar (you'll get carded) that allows for outdoor imbibing.

4th Street Live, Louisville

Huntsville, Alabama: Huntsville has not one but two arts and entertainment districts that specialize in to-go cups of alcohol — and this only around a decade after legalizing Sunday wine and beer sales.

Downtown Huntsville Alabama

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Montgomery, Alabama: Entertainment districts meant for public drinking seem to be a trend in Alabama, but Montgomery led the charge, creating one around the hip The Alley development (which now stretches down to the riverfront) even before the open-container law was overturned. That said, it recently shortened the booze-fueled hours to between 9 a.m. and midnight.

The Alley bar, Montgomery Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham literally just passed a law that allows people to bring their drinks around with them as they stroll between the Uptown District, the Sheraton, and the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. They plan on clearly demarcating the areas that allow for drinking and those that do not.

Birmingham Alabama

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Mobile, Alabama: Grabbing one for the road is also a new development in Mobile, which, while generally lax about open containers previously, specifically created entertainment districts allowing the sale of to-go booze.

Mobile, Alabama

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