Six cities, six sets of rules. If you live in the north metro and park on the street, the hours you have to be off it in winter depend on which side of a city line your house is on. This is each city's rule as its own website states it, checked on November 13, 2026.
The rules, city by city
| City | No street parking overnight | Also banned after snow | When the city plows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine | 2 a.m. to 7 a.m., November 1 to April 1 | After more than 2 inches, until the street is plowed curb to curb | Not stated on the parking page |
| Coon Rapids | 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., November 1 through April 1 | When 3 inches or more is expected, until the street is plowed curb to curb | A full plow of residential streets at 3 inches or more, about 10 times a year |
| Lino Lakes | 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., November 1 to April 1 | After 2 inches or more, until the street is plowed | At 2 inches or more; from 3 a.m. after overnight snow; 7 to 9 hours for 104 lane miles |
| Circle Pines | 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., until April 1 | When it snows 2 inches or more | At 3 inches or more; typically from 4 a.m., most streets cleared by noon |
| Lexington | 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., November 1 to April 1, without a permit | After 2 inches or more, until the street is plowed | Main roads first, then quieter streets and cul-de-sacs |
| Ham Lake | Midnight to 6 a.m., October 1 to April 30 | Not stated on the public works page | At 2 inches of accumulation with snow still falling |
Where a cell says "not stated", the page we read did not give that detail. It does not mean there is no rule. The city's own page is the authority, and each one is linked below.
Three things worth noticing
Blaine runs an hour later than its neighbors. Blaine's ban ends at 7 a.m.; Coon Rapids, Lino Lakes, Circle Pines and Lexington all end at 6 a.m. If you park on the street near a city line, the stricter one is the safe one to follow.
Ham Lake's ban is the longest. It starts at midnight rather than 2 a.m., and runs from October 1 to April 30, a month longer at each end than most of the others.
The snowfall rule applies in the daytime too. In Blaine, Lino Lakes, Circle Pines and Lexington, a car on the street after about 2 inches of snow is in violation at any hour until the plow has been through. Coon Rapids sets the same kind of rule at 3 inches. That is the rule that catches people, because it has nothing to do with the clock.
Permits
Blaine issues emergency overnight parking permits through its police department. Lexington issues parking permits through City Hall. If you have guests or a full driveway, ask before the night you need it.
Do not put driveway snow in the street
Minnesota law makes it a misdemeanor to obstruct a highway or deposit snow or ice on it (Minn. Stat. 160.2715), and Ham Lake and Circle Pines both remind residents of it on their snow pages. It applies to you and to anybody you hire. Snow shoveled or pushed across the street also gets plowed straight back into somebody's driveway, usually yours.
What this has to do with your driveway
The parking ban exists so the city plow can clear the street curb to curb. When it does, it leaves a ridge of packed snow across the end of every driveway on the street. The city does not come back for it: Ham Lake's policy says in so many words that city personnel do not provide driveway cleaning.
That is where our work and the city's meet. We clear driveways after every snowfall over 1 inch, which is lower than the 2 or 3 inches at which these cities send their plows out, so a snowfall the city never rolls for is still one we clear. On storms over 2 inches we time our route around the city crews and come back for the ridge they leave. And because we blow snow onto your own lawn rather than push it, none of it ends up in the street.
Sources
- Blaine: Parking Restrictions
- Coon Rapids: Snow Removal
- Lino Lakes: Winter Parking Restrictions and Streets & Plowing
- Circle Pines: Snow Plowing
- Lexington: Public Works FAQs
- Ham Lake: Public Works Department
Cities change these rules. If a date or an hour here disagrees with the city's page, the city's page is right.
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