Houghton’s winter night parking ban starts Sunday, Nov. 1: the hours, the $35 fine and how Hancock and county roads differ

HOUGHTON — Copper Country drivers who leave their cars on the street overnight have until Saturday night to find another spot.

The City of Houghton’s winter night parking ban takes effect Sunday, Nov. 1, and runs through April 30. Parking is prohibited on all city streets from 2 to 7 a.m. so plow trucks can clear snow, according to the Houghton Police Department.

The fine is $35, plus towing and storage fees and any unpaid parking tickets, the Keweenaw Report said in a reminder the city issued this week.

Downtown is different. On Shelden Avenue, the US-41 main street through downtown, overnight parking from 2 to 7 a.m. is banned all year, not just in winter. Downtown side streets and parking decks offer two hours of free parking plus permit parking. Questions about long-term permits go to the police office at 906-482-2121.

Across the bridge. Hancock’s ordinance runs on the same dates, Nov. 1 through April 30, but its overnight window starts half an hour later, from 2:30 to 7 a.m., on any city street or highway. The city says it will be “strictly enforced.”

Outside the cities. On county roads and state trunklines outside incorporated cities and villages, the Houghton County Road Commission bans parking on the roadway or shoulder from 2 to 8 a.m., Nov. 1 through April 15, under a traffic control order dating to 1992.

For students and renters without a driveway, the practical step is to line up an off-street spot or a permit before the first real snowfall. The ban starts the same morning clocks fall back an hour for the end of daylight saving time, so drivers moving a car late Saturday night should go by the new time.

Sources:
City of Houghton, Police and Parking Enforcement (night parking dates and hours, Shelden Avenue rule, downtown parking, permit phone), https://www.cityofhoughton.com/police-parking-enforcement/
The Keweenaw Report, “Night parking ban to start Nov. 1,” Oct. 28, 2026 ($35 fine, towing and storage), https://keweenawreport.com/2026/10/28/night-parking-ban-to-start-nov-1/
City of Hancock, “Winter Parking Ban - November 1, 2026 - April 30, 2027” (Ordinance No. 146, Sec. 8.25a), https://cityofhancock.com/news-view.php?target=1538
Houghton County Road Commission, “Winter Parking Prohibition” notice, Sept. 21, 2026 (county roads, 2 to 8 a.m., Nov. 1 to April 15), https://houghtoncountyroads.org/news-view.php?target=17
Photo: Andrew Jameson, “Shelden Avenue Historic District Houghton MI A.jpg,” Oct. 11, 2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shelden_Avenue_Historic_District_Houghton_MI_A.jpg

Houghton

Tags: Houghton · Hancock · Houghton County · Winter Parking Ban · Snow Removal · Roads