Santa Rosa, CA Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

City Code Section 13-24.030 sets the default curfew for every City-owned park and outdoor recreational facility: open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. when Pacific Standard Time is in effect, stretching to 9 p.m. once Pacific Daylight Time begins each spring, then closed to the public until 6 a.m. the following morning. The Director of Recreation and Parks can override the schedule two ways: by posting additional extended hours at a specific park, or by issuing a permit that authorizes a group or individual to use a facility for a program during otherwise closed hours. The Director can also declare a park closed early for "unusual or unforeseen conditions deemed emergencies," such as flooding, storm damage, or a public-safety incident.

Not every City-owned property runs on the 6/6-9 schedule. Courthouse Square, defined in Section 13-24.075 as the public plaza on Courthouse Square Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets, closes earlier, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., with an exception only for immediate access to the businesses that front it. Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, under Section 13-24.076, closes even earlier, at 7 p.m., reopening at 8 a.m., unless the Burbank Home and Gardens Board or the Recreation and Parks Department authorizes different hours in writing. Pioneer Memorial Park (the Rural Cemetery) follows the same 6 p.m./9 p.m. to 6 a.m. pattern as regular parks under Section 13-24.078.

The curfew is enforced as a straight code violation, not merely a request to leave: anyone found using a City park, playground, or outdoor recreational facility outside the posted hours, without a program permit, is in violation of Section 13-24.030 regardless of whether they are asked to leave.