Paulding County, GA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Section 50-5 of the Code gives the director of the Paulding County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department authority to set the hours of operation for each park in the county system and to revise them whenever the director considers it necessary. Each park must post its specific hours at the park site, so posted signage, not a single countywide curfew hour, controls the exact closing time.

Once those posted hours pass, § 50-5(b) makes it unlawful for anyone other than a properly authorized recreation department employee to be in or on park property without permission from the parks and recreation department, the parks and recreation commission, or the board of commissioners. That prohibition does not apply to public thoroughfares that happen to run through a park, which remain part of the county's regular street and highway system under subsection (c).

Subsection (d) adds a separate, harder rule for gated or locked areas: no one but an authorized employee may enter any park, any portion of a park, or any area within a park that is gated and locked or otherwise closed off to the public, even if that lockup happens during hours when the rest of the park is technically open. The Code recognizes that individual sections, such as ball fields or maintenance areas, may be secured for safety reasons independent of the park's general hours. Because Chapter 50 sets no unique penalty for a § 50-5 violation, enforcement falls back on the Code's general penalty section, § 1-19, which authorizes fines starting at $100.00 and up to six months in jail.