Novato, CA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Section 10-30 of the Novato Municipal Code makes it unlawful for any person to enter or remain in or on any city park facility between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Two exceptions are printed: the director can direct otherwise, with that direction posted at the entrance to the facility, or the person can hold written permission from the director of parks and recreation. Chapter X defines parks to include playgrounds, greenbelts, open space, median strips and other areas dedicated to park or recreation use that the city owns, leases, operates or maintains (§ 10-2).

Vehicles follow the same clock. Under § 10-19, no person can park, abandon or otherwise leave a vehicle or other conveyance in city park facilities between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. without written permission of the director of parks and recreation, or as otherwise posted. The fenced dog park at O'Hair Park, Dogbone Meadow, has its own tighter rule: no person can enter or remain there between sunset and sunrise (§ 10-33).

Night events need the director's sign-off. A permit application states the starting and finishing times (§ 10-6), and the director can alter the time of a proposed activity as a permit condition (§ 10-7). Posted regulations carry the same weight: no person can engage in any activity contrary to regulations the director has posted, and no person can disobey a lawful order of a parks and recreation employee (§ 10-23). The city manager can adopt temporary rules for emergencies, posted at the entrance of each park, but they lapse unless the council confirms them at its next regularly scheduled meeting (§ 10-36).

Minors face a separate curfew under Chapter XIV, § 14-7.2, which covers parks and other public places and starts at 10:00 p.m. for minors under 16.