Quiet hours in Inyo County, CA — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Unincorporated Inyo County has no countywide residential quiet-hours ordinance for private property. Defined quiet hours exist only in county parks and campgrounds under Inyo County Code Chapter 12.16: 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, except Tecopa Hot Springs Park (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.). Nighttime noise elsewhere is addressed through nuisance enforcement and California Penal Code 415.
Inyo County (which governs unincorporated communities such as Lone Pine, Independence, Big Pine, Olancha, Tecopa, Shoshone and Keeler) does not impose blanket overnight quiet hours on private homes the way many cities do. The only codified quiet-hour times appear in the County Parks chapter (Inyo County Code Chapter 12.16), which sets quiet hours at all county parks and campgrounds from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. daily, and from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. at Tecopa Hot Springs Park. That same chapter (Section 12.16.110) prohibits disturbing the peace and quiet by any loud or unusual noise. For noise off park property, the County relies on general nuisance authority (Title 22 code enforcement) and on California Penal Code 415(2), which makes it a misdemeanor to maliciously and willfully disturb another person by loud and unreasonable noise. Because Inyo is a large rural county, enforcement is complaint-driven through the Code Compliance Officer and the Sheriff's Office. Residents who experience persistent nighttime noise typically file a complaint rather than cite a fixed decibel or hour limit.
In county parks and campgrounds, violating quiet hours or the loud-noise prohibition (Inyo County Code 12.16) can result in a citation and removal from the park. On private property, persistent disturbances are handled as a public nuisance under Title 22 (notice of violation, then citations or abatement) or charged under California Penal Code 415, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in county jail and/or a fine of up to $400 (it may also be charged as an infraction).
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