Bakersfield, CA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Section 12.56.050 lists acts prohibited within the limits of any city park, applying to everyone except authorized city employees performing their duties. Subsection M makes it unlawful for any person to "be in or upon any park between the hours of ten p.m. and five a.m.": a flat overnight curfew that applies citywide to every park, not just specific facilities, and carries no listed exception for events unless separately permitted. Subsection N reinforces the after-hours ban on habitation: no person may construct or maintain any building, structure, tent or other thing in a park that could be used for housing accommodations or camping, which applies at all hours, not just during curfew.

Because subsection O ties compliance to any use permit issued under §§ 12.56.070, 12.56.080, 12.56.090 and 12.56.170, an organized evening event with an approved special-events or use permit can lawfully continue past 10 p.m. within the terms of that permit, but unpermitted presence in a park after closing is a standalone violation regardless of activity. Enforcement runs through park rangers under § 12.56.045 and city police, and § 12.56.055 separately authorizes city employees to expel anyone from a park or park facility who disrupts others' use or poses a safety threat, with no limit on how many times a person can be expelled. Compliance with the whole chapter, including the curfew, is a condition of simply entering or remaining in a park under § 12.56.250.