Hammond, IN Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

20, titled "Closing Time," states that no person shall enter, remain in or within any park located in the city before sunrise or after sunset each day, with three carved-out exceptions. Division (A) exempts designated scheduled sporting or Park Department-sanctioned events. Division (B) exempts fishing while possessing a valid fishing license, but only at six named locations: Forsythe Park, Oxbow Park, Wolf Lake, Harrison Park Pond, Dowling Park Pond and Lost Marsh Fishing Pier, meaning licensed anglers cannot rely on the exception at other city parks or ponds outside that list.

Division (C) exempts events sanctioned by the Hammond Park Board. The rule was originally adopted by Ord. 3784 on November 8, 1971, and amended by Ord. 8761 on June 12, 2006, and it governs all parks under the jurisdiction of the Board of Park Commissioners as defined elsewhere in Chapter 99, including Wolf Lake, a major recreational draw for the city. 99, the general penalty provision, rather than the chapter's own numeric fine, which distinguishes it from the noise chapter's escalating fine schedule. Because the closing time is tied to sunrise and sunset rather than fixed clock hours, the effective curfew window shifts seasonally, running later into the evening in summer and earlier in winter. 01's POLICE OFFICER definition, who patrol parks and can act on violations of the disorderly conduct and closing-time provisions together.