Chino Hills, CA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Park open
- 30 min before sunrise
- Park close
- 30 min after sunset
- Default penalty
- Infraction (§12.40.280)
- 1st fine
- Up to $100 (§1.36.020(B))
- 3rd fine
- Up to $500
- 4th offense/year
- Becomes a misdemeanor
Summary
Chino Hills city parks open thirty minutes before sunrise and close thirty minutes after sunset under Municipal Code Section 12.40.040. Anyone who remains past closing without a Council-adopted exception for that specific park commits a violation, and the City must post signs stating each park's actual hours before it enforces the curfew.
Hours of park use shall begin thirty (30) minutes before sunrise and end thirty (30) minutes after sunset, unless otherwise designated in administrative policy on park hours duly adopted by the City Council. No person shall remain in any park between thirty (30) minutes after sunset and thirty (30) minutes before sunrise, unless the duly adopted administrative policy on park hours sets forth different hours for a park, then no one shall remain in any park outside the hours set forth in such policy. This restriction does not apply to City personnel and personnel from organizations in the service of the City such as animal control, law enforcement, or fire personnel in the performance of their duties.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
040 sets the default park schedule at thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty minutes after sunset, but lets the City Council adopt an administrative policy setting different hours for an individual park; where that happens, the posted policy hours control instead of the sunrise-sunset default. No person may remain in a park outside whichever hours apply, though the restriction carves out City personnel and personnel from organizations serving the City, such as animal control, law enforcement, or fire district staff, while they are performing their duties.
Before the City can enforce the curfew at a given park, it must post signs there showing the hours the park is open, so a visitor always has notice of the applicable schedule. Separately, the City Manager or a designee can close off specific posted areas within any park, even during open hours, in the interest of public health, safety, comfort, welfare, or habitat protection, a tool used for things like nesting closures or storm-damaged trail segments. 40, Park and Recreational Facilities, which was rewritten in full by Ordinance No. 351 in February 2020.
Violations & Fines
Section 12.40.280 makes every park-chapter violation, including staying past curfew, an infraction unless another section specifically makes it a misdemeanor. Section 1.36.020(B) sets the fine ladder at up to $100 for a first conviction in a year, $200 for a second, and $500 for a third; a fourth infraction of the same provision within that year becomes a prosecutable misdemeanor under Section 1.36.020(C).
Frequently Asked Questions
What time do Chino Hills parks close?
Is staying in a Chino Hills park after hours a crime?
Can the City close only part of a park even during open hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chino Hills
California rules heatmap·Compare Chino Hills to another location·View the California curfew laws overview
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Park Curfew in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle park curfew.