A picnic area is a location designated for recreational outdoor eating. It is not a place where food is sold or dispensed; rather the picnickers must bring in their own food. Picnic areas often include facilities such as shelters, picnic tables, lawns, barbecue grills, fire pits, or other features which ease preparation and consumption of food.

The diners bring their food to an outdoor eating area. A place where customers obtain food from an on-site seller has a different food-service use.

Shelters or cooking fixtures can assist picnickers without supplying their meals. Picnic tables alone do not establish the usage when they belong to an eatery serving its customers.