West Hollywood's Halloween Carnaval is back for 2026. It runs Saturday, October 31, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., on the one-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard between N. Doheny Drive and N. La Cienega Boulevard. The DJ stage sits at the corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente, with food trucks along the route. The City expects tens of thousands of people in costume in the Rainbow District that night.
The five-hour window describes the party. For anyone who lives near the route, the effects start about 18 hours earlier and end about 8 hours later. The first closure begins at midnight on Friday night, permit parking lifts citywide before lunch, and the last barricades come down Sunday morning. This year Halloween falls on a weekend day, so most of those hours land on a day people normally spend at home and running errands.
The party lasts five hours. The closures last about thirty-one.
Here is the City's published schedule for October 31 and November 1, sorted by time.
| When it starts | What changes | When it ends |
|---|---|---|
| Mon., Oct. 26 | Crescent Heights Lot closes | Wed., Nov. 4 |
| 12:00 a.m. Sat. | N. San Vicente Blvd closes between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave, alleyways included. West Hollywood Park, both dog parks and the basketball courts close | 7 a.m. Sun. |
| All day Sat. | West Hollywood Park Five-Story Parking Structure closed | Reopens 7 a.m. Sun. |
| 5:00 a.m. Sat. | Library Garage closes | 7 a.m. Sun. |
| 7:00 a.m. Sat. | Closures on N. San Vicente from Santa Monica Blvd to Cynthia St, Robertson Blvd from Santa Monica to Melrose, and La Peer Dr and Almont Dr at Santa Monica Blvd | 6 a.m. Sun. |
| Before 10:00 a.m. Sat. | Barricades go up on side streets next to Santa Monica Blvd | |
| 10:00 a.m. Sat. | Santa Monica Blvd closes from Croft Ave/Holloway Dr to Doheny. La Cienega closes from Holloway to Melrose. Sunset Blvd turn lanes onto southbound La Cienega close | 6 a.m. Sun. |
| 11:00 a.m. Sat. | Residential permit parking lifted citywide | 12 p.m. Sun. |
| 12:00 p.m. Sat. | Santa Monica Blvd between La Cienega and Doheny must be fully clear of vehicles | |
| 6:00 p.m. Sat. | Carnaval begins | 11 p.m. Sat. |
The San Vicente closure and the park closure both begin at midnight and end at 7 a.m. Sunday, about 31 hours in total. The Crescent Heights Lot is closed for ten days, starting the Monday before Halloween.
Noon is the time that matters most for cars parked on the boulevard. The City says Santa Monica Boulevard between La Cienega and Doheny has to be completely free of traffic by midday so the event can be set up safely. On La Peer Drive and Almont Drive, the City says local traffic can still get in from Melrose Avenue. That makes Melrose the way home for anyone on those two streets on Saturday.
Your permit street is open to all parkers for a day
For residents across the city, the biggest change on the schedule may be the parking rule, not a street closure. Residential permit parking is lifted citywide from 11 a.m. Saturday, October 31, to noon Sunday, November 1. For those 25 hours, anyone can park on curbs that are normally limited to permit holders, and that includes streets far from Santa Monica Boulevard.
That lift starts at the same time two City garages next to the route are closed. The Five-Story Structure at West Hollywood Park is shut all day Saturday, and the Library Garage closes at 5 a.m. With the garages closed and residential curbs open, the side streets are where visitors' cars will end up.
In practice, cars that leave a permit block on Saturday afternoon may find the curb taken when they come back. That makes the start of the day the time for errands that need a car, before the 11 a.m. lift and the noon deadline on the boulevard.
The park, the dog runs and the courts close too
West Hollywood Park is also closed for the full 31 hours. That covers the small and large dog parks and the basketball courts, from 12 a.m. Saturday until 7 a.m. Sunday. Dog owners who usually go there on a Saturday morning will need another place to go.
The City's guidance for the event itself is plain. Young children and pets are "strongly discouraged" because of the crowds. Backpacks, camera cases and tote bags are banned, and clear plastic bags are allowed. Weapons, fireworks and drones are prohibited. The City's October 5 news release adds that alcohol and drinking in public are not allowed along the route.
Last year's Friday is the best preview of this year's Saturday
The schedule gives an end time of 11 p.m. Recent coverage shows the crowd doesn't always follow it. Halloween 2025 was on a Friday, and WEHO TIMES reported that tens of thousands of people filled Santa Monica Boulevard. The paper said the Friday-night timing drew "especially massive turnouts" that stayed "well past 11:00 p.m. after the music died on the boulevard." It described a DJ playing through speakers along the full route, with the boulevard working as one long outdoor dance floor.
The year before was quieter. WEHO TIMES' 2024 coverage put the crowd in the thousands and described a smaller production than in earlier years, with one stage, and partygoers moving on to bars and clubs after 11 p.m.
Neither report gives a crowd count. They do point the same way, though. WEHO TIMES linked the 2025 turnout to the Friday-night timing, and the night continues after the stage shuts down. A Saturday Halloween also comes with a full free day beforehand and Sunday morning to recover. The City's own timing reflects that. The boulevard reopens at 6 a.m. Sunday, the park at 7 a.m., and permit parking returns at noon.
Getting around on Saturday without a car
With the boulevard closed to cars, the City is running its own shuttle. PickUp and Cityline will drop their regular schedules on October 31. A combined, free WeHo Halloween Ride will run in their place.
- Route: Santa Monica Boulevard from N. La Brea Avenue to N. Kings Road, 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.
- Rail connection: some vehicles will also run to and from the Hollywood/Highland Metro B Line station, 6 p.m. to midnight.
- Schedule details: to be posted at wehopickup.com.
- Metro buses: lines 4, 10, 30/330, 105, 212/312, 217 and 218 serve the city. Detours caused by the closures will be listed at metro.net.
The shuttle runs until 3 a.m., four hours after the Carnaval ends. Its schedule allows for the same late crowds WEHO TIMES described last year.
For problems that aren't emergencies, the City's Security Ambassador Hotline takes calls and texts 24 hours a day at (323) 848-6500. The West Hollywood Sheriff's Station is at (310) 855-8850, and 911 is for emergencies.
The low-key version is on October 17, at Plummer Park
Two weeks before the boulevard closes, the east side of the city has a smaller daytime event. The free Youth Halloween Carnival runs at Plummer Park on Saturday, October 17, from 2 to 5 p.m. The City's calendar lists a train, games, face painting, arts and crafts, live entertainment and treats.
Pets aren't welcome at the October 31 event, but this one has a place for them. A free "Fang-tastic" Pet Zone will run next to the carnival from 2 to 5 p.m., with paw-print keepsakes, pet tarot readings and a pet costume showcase. A dog park ribbon-cutting is scheduled just before, from 1:45 to 2 p.m.
If you're heading out on the 31st
West Hollywood's venues hold their own Halloween events, and the City has encouraged it. Bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels, cannabis businesses and entertainment venues could apply to have special event and encroachment permit fees waived for small Halloween events held between Friday, October 23, and Sunday, November 1. In effect, the City has extended Halloween to ten days, spread across the city's venues.
Some events already posted for 2026:
- Micky's West Hollywood sells a Halloween Pass for October 31. It covers entry all day and after hours through 4 a.m. November 1, plus front-of-line and in-and-out access. Presale is $50, and it's 21 and over.
- Hotel Ziggy at 8462 Sunset Blvd hosts Haunted Hotel Halloween, produced by Affinity Nightlife, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on October 31. It's 21 and over, with DJs and costumes. Ticket terms vary between listings, so check with the promoter.
- Trick or Drink, a Sunset Strip bar crawl, runs October 24, 30 and 31. Check-in is at Saddle Ranch Chop House, and the stops include Andaz, Hotel Ziggy, Katana, The Naughty Pig, White Rabbit Sky Lounge and Wokcano. It's 21 and over.
- The Abbey has a Haus of Horrors night on October 31, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a $1,000 costume contest, according to a third-party event listing. Confirm the details on The Abbey's own channels.
The two Sunset Strip events are on Sunset, north of the Santa Monica Boulevard closures. For people who live closer to Sunset than to Santa Monica, Halloween night may mean those events more than the Carnaval.
The Carnaval started in 1987. In 2026 the boulevard closes to cars at noon on a Saturday, and permit parking returns at noon on Sunday.
For anyone preparing a West Hollywood home for showings or an estate sale this fall, the team at Barrentine Group can help set a schedule around closures like the ones on October 31.
