Hercules, CA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

01 of the Hercules Municipal Code sets a single closure window for the whole park system: all City parks and City open space areas close thirty minutes after sunset and stay closed until sunrise the following day. The Code does not carve out exceptions by park, so the same window applies from the shoreline parks along San Pablo Bay to the smallest neighborhood playground. Subsection (b) makes the closure enforceable as more than a posted-sign matter: anyone using a City park or open space during the closed period is guilty of a trespass under California Government Code Section 37359, the state statute cities rely on to close public grounds after hours.

02 sets the penalty ladder. A first violation is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $100. A second conviction within one year rises to a fine of not more than $200, and a third or later conviction within that same one-year window can draw a fine of not more than $500. The chapter is explicit that these fines are not exclusive, so a violator also remains exposed to other applicable civil penalties and administrative citations the City chooses to pursue. The current text traces to Ordinance 268 (1987), amended by Ordinance 413 (2006) and Ordinance 493 (2016), which is also the ordinance that added the Chapter 3 camping ban discussed separately.