Waukesha, WI Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Municipal Code § 11.05, the City's loitering ordinance, carries a specific Restrictions in Parks clause: no person shall be in any public park or premises under the control of the Park and Recreation Department between 10 p.m. and sunrise of the next day unless participating in a program sponsored by the Park and Recreation department or in those parks equipped with lighting facilities for approved Park and Recreation activities if such persons are using such facilities. The rule applies citywide to every park and every piece of ground the Park and Recreation Department controls, not just a handful of flagship parks, and it runs every night of the year rather than seasonally.

The two carve-outs are narrow: a person can be in a park after 10 p.m. only if enrolled in a program the Park and Recreation Department itself sponsors, or if using the facilities of a lit park for an activity the department has approved, such as a scheduled night game on a lighted field. Anyone else present after hours, whether walking through, sitting on a bench, or parked in a park lot, is in violation regardless of intent. Because § 11.05 does not set its own dollar penalty for this subsection, enforcement runs through the chapter's general penalty at § 11.35, which points to Municipal Code § 25.05: forfeitures of $10 to $2,500 for a first offense and $100 to $5,000 for each later offense, plus court costs, with the Waukesha Police Department issuing citations to anyone found on park grounds during closed hours.