Are you allowed to pitch a tent in a public park in California? Not to stay the night, but just for a picnic?

Answer 1

depends which kind of "TENT" you're going to pitch! If you pitch the wrong kind of tent you might get arrested for indescent exposure!!!

Answer 2

Most likely. Most public parks (if by public parks you mean city parks) will not allow overnight camping, but if you wanted to have a canapy for example, that should be perfectly alright. If you pitch a traditional camping tent, you may have your actions questioned, but if you have a valid reason for having one, you'll probably be left alone (perhaps just checked on at dusk to make sure you really arn't camping). Now, there may be a city ordinance against this depending on the city, so really the best thing to do before hand is call the Parks & Recreation dept of your city government and ask.

If by "public parks" you're refering to state or national parks (such as Yosemite or Humboldt Redwoods State Park) then again it is probably alright for day use, but a Park Ranger may question your intentions. Really there probably won't be any punishment or fine imposed if you arn't allowed to pitch a tent (unless the rules of the specific park are visibly posted and forbid it) so the most you're risking is explaining yourself or as a worse case scenerio dismantling the tent.