Medina, OH Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Section 945.01(a) of the Codified Ordinances sets the same schedule citywide: parks, recreation lands and their parking areas under the Parks and Recreation Department open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 11:00 p.m. The Jump Playground at Memorial Park is the one carve-out, closing an hour earlier at 10:00 p.m. because it sits closer to surrounding homes. No person may enter or remain in a City park or on recreation land once the posted closing time passes, and that includes anyone still on the grounds when the gates are due to lock, not just people who arrive after hours.

The Parks and Recreation Director and the Chief of Police jointly hold the only waiver power in the section. Either can issue written permission in advance for an after-hours activity, but only for civic and service groups or associations, not for a lone individual wanting extra time. A softball league running a late tournament or a scouting group holding an evening event needs that sign-off before the 11:00 p.m. cutoff, in writing, not a verbal go-ahead from an officer on patrol.

Section 945.01(b) adds a companion rule for vehicles: nothing may be left in a City park or on recreation lands after closing, and any vehicle still there can be towed at the owner's expense. Combined with the curfew on people, this gives Police the tools to clear a park lot after 11:00 p.m. without waiting for a complaint. Violations of Chapter 945 fall under the general penalty at Section 945.99: a minor misdemeanor for any provision of the chapter that does not carry its own separate penalty.