Columbia County, FL Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Chapter 78 of the Columbia County Code splits authority over park hours between the Board of County Commissioners and county staff. Section 78-5 lets the board, by resolution, set the regular hours of operation for all parks and recreational facilities in unincorporated Columbia County, including the hours during which specific areas are closed for particular activities; the section notes this power does not limit the separate authority given to the parks and recreation director. Section 78-3(c) additionally authorizes the county parks and recreation director to set regular operating hours directly and to close any park or recreational facility outright during an emergency or any situation presenting a threat to life, health, or safety.

Because the actual clock times are adopted by resolution rather than printed in the code itself, the operating hours for a specific facility, such as Rum Island Park or the Alligator Lake Park Recreation Area, are set administratively and can change; visitors should check posted signage or the parks and recreation office for the current schedule at a given location. Once hours are set, they carry the same enforcement teeth as the rest of Chapter 78, Article I: section 78-7 makes any violation of the article, including remaining in a park after posted closing hours, a misdemeanor of the second degree punishable as provided in section 1-10 of the Columbia County Code.

The article also separately bars overnight camping outside designated primitive camping areas and bars open fires except in county-provided grills, rules that work alongside the closing-hours authority to keep parks unoccupied after hours absent a specific county allowance.