Ames, IA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Ames Municipal Code Sec. 19.11 sets a fixed nightly curfew for the city's park system: parks are open to the public only from 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Outside that window, the ordinance restricts presence in any city park to Parks & Recreation Department employees and emergency personnel (fire, police, and utility workers), unless the Parks and Recreation Commission has granted advance approval for after-hours activity. The Commission, created under Sec. 19.1, sets rules for park use and can authorize exceptions such as scheduled evening events.

The curfew applies across the park system, including Ada Hayden Heritage Park, Brookside Park, and Munn Woods. A violation of Sec. 19.11 is grouped with the other park-conduct offenses in Sections 19.8 through 19.20 (weapons, vehicle use, plant damage, swimming, and bait dumping) for penalty purposes: Sec. 19.21(a) makes a violation a municipal infraction punishable by a $30 fine for a first offense, $100 for the first repeat violation, and $200 for each subsequent repeat violation. Ames Police and Parks and Recreation staff enforce the after-hours restriction; officers may cite anyone found in a park after 10:30 p.m. who is not on the exempt list.

The rule works alongside other park-specific bans, such as the prohibition on gas-powered boat motors at Ada Hayden Heritage Park under Sec. 19.19 and the ban on dogs at Homewood Golf Course under Sec. 19.13, all enforced through the same municipal infraction process.