Norfolk, VA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

City Code Chapter 30, Article II governs when Norfolk's parks are open to the public. Sec. 30-4 states that, except for unusual and unforeseen emergencies, parks are open to the public every day of the year during hours the director designates for each individual park, and those opening and closing hours must be posted at the park for public information. Because the hours are set park-by-park rather than citywide, a visitor has to check the posted sign for the specific park, beach, or recreation area rather than assume a single citywide curfew.

Sec. 30-5 gives the director additional authority to close any section or part of any park to the public "at any time and for any interval of time," whether temporarily or on a recurring daily or other schedule, and whether the closure covers the whole area or just certain uses within it. That means the director can close a specific field, dock, or beach section after dark or during maintenance without closing the whole park. Sec. 30-3 makes any violation of Chapter 30, unless the chapter states another penalty, a Class 2 misdemeanor, so entering or remaining in a park after its posted closing time, or in a section the director has declared closed, exposes a visitor to prosecution under that general penalty section.

The department of parks and recreation, through its director, is the agency responsible for setting and posting each park's hours, and the Norfolk Police Department enforces the resulting after-hours and closed-area restrictions on the ground.