The City of West Hollywood's Halloween Carnaval runs five hours on Saturday, October 31, from 6 to 11 p.m. If you live within a few blocks of Santa Monica Boulevard, the event affects you for much longer than that. West Hollywood Park closes at 12:00 a.m. Saturday and reopens at 7 a.m. Sunday, which is 31 hours. Santa Monica Boulevard closes to cars at 10 a.m. and stays closed until 6 a.m. Sunday, which is 20 hours. One city lot has been closed since Monday.
So plan Saturday by the clock. Know what closes and when, get your errands done before it does, and remember that much of the private nightlife sits on Sunset, outside the barricades.
The closures started Monday, and Saturday's run on a set schedule
The Crescent Heights Lot closed Monday, October 26, and the City's current event page lists it as closed through Wednesday, November 4. If you use that lot, you've already been finding parking elsewhere this week, and you'll keep doing so until the middle of next week.
The rest happens on Saturday, in stages. Every Saturday closure on this list ends between 6 and 7 a.m. Sunday, November 1. Here is the order things close, from the City's Halloween page:
| When it closes | What closes |
|---|---|
| 12:00 a.m. Saturday | West Hollywood Park, its small and large dog parks, and its basketball courts. N. San Vicente between Santa Monica and Melrose, including adjacent alleys |
| All day Saturday | West Hollywood Park Five-Story Parking Structure |
| 5:00 a.m. Saturday | Library Garage |
| 7:00 a.m. Saturday | N. San Vicente between Santa Monica and Cynthia. Robertson between Santa Monica and Melrose. La Peer Drive and Almont Drive at Santa Monica, with local access from Melrose |
| 10:00 a.m. Saturday | Santa Monica Blvd from Croft/Holloway to La Cienega, and from La Cienega to N. Doheny, including alleys between Robertson and Palm. La Cienega between Holloway and Melrose. Sunset's eastbound and westbound turn lanes onto southbound La Cienega |
| 12:00 p.m. Saturday | Santa Monica Blvd between La Cienega and Doheny must be fully closed to vehicles |
Barricades also go up on side streets next to Santa Monica before 10 a.m., so the 10 a.m. time is when the main boulevard closes, not when your block does. If you live on a side street just off the boulevard, move your car or finish your Saturday errands in the morning.
One detail to check before you leave home. The City's October 5 release gave Willoughby as the southern end of the La Cienega closure, while the current event page says Melrose. If you live in that stretch, check the City page again on Saturday morning.
Your dog's Saturday routine needs a new plan by Friday night
The park closure starts at midnight, earlier than anything else on the list. The small and large dog parks at West Hollywood Park close at 12:00 a.m. Saturday and stay closed until 7 a.m. Sunday, along with the basketball courts. So the closure covers Saturday morning, all day, and the evening, and the Sunday 6 a.m. walk too.
The same goes for the West Hollywood Library. Its garage closes at 5 a.m. Saturday and reopens at 7 a.m. Sunday, so any Saturday visit to the library or the park area means walking in or taking the shuttle.
The City also strongly discourages bringing kids and pets to the Carnaval because of the crowds. Plummer Park already hosted the family events this month: a free Youth Halloween Carnival and a "Fang-tastic" Pet Zone with a pet costume showcase on October 17. For households with young kids or dogs, Saturday night in the Rainbow District is the crowded adult event, and the City's own guidance says so.
Parking rules relax for 25 hours, and the shuttle replaces two routes
From 11 a.m. Saturday until noon Sunday, the City lifts residential permit parking citywide. That's 25 hours, and it starts an hour after Santa Monica Boulevard closes, which is about when visitors start looking for a place to leave their cars. The City's notice covers residential permit parking. If you're unsure whether a particular curb is legal on Saturday, read the posted signs and check the City's event page before you park.
The City's free shuttles change too. The PickUp and Cityline drop their regular schedules on October 31 and run together as the free WeHo Halloween Ride. It travels Santa Monica Boulevard from N. La Brea Avenue to N. Kings Road from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., and select vehicles run to and from the Hollywood/Highland Metro B Line station from 6 p.m. to midnight. The full route and schedule are posted at wehopickup.com, and the City has a route map on its event page.
The hours matter. The shuttle runs four hours after the Carnaval ends, but the B Line connection stops at midnight. If you're heading home to Hollywood or connecting to Metro, plan to be on a vehicle before midnight. If you're staying within West Hollywood between La Brea and Kings Road, the 3 a.m. end time covers you.
Metro buses 4, 10, 30/330, 105, 212/312, 217, and 218 serve West Hollywood, and the City points riders to metro.net for detours caused by the closures.
What the Carnaval itself looks like this year
The Carnaval covers a one-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard, part of Historic Route 66, from N. Doheny Drive to N. La Cienega Boulevard. Admission is free. A stage at Santa Monica and N. San Vicente will host a live DJ set, and the street will have food trucks and local business activations. The City hasn't named the DJ.
If you're walking down, the rules are short:
- No alcohol or public drinking
- No backpacks, camera cases, or tote bags. Clear plastic bags are allowed
- No weapons, fireworks, or drones
The City's Security Ambassadors will be working the event, and their hotline takes calls or texts 24/7 at (323) 848-6500 for non-emergency needs. The West Hollywood Sheriff's Station is at (310) 855-8850, and 911 is for emergencies. To get the City's Halloween updates by text, send "halloween" to (323) 848-5000.
Sunset is where the parties go past 11 p.m.
The Carnaval ends at 11, and many of the ticketed Halloween events start before that and run until 2 a.m. Most of the ones with 2026 dates are on the Sunset Strip, in the 8300 and 8400 blocks of Sunset Boulevard, north of the street closures. The City encouraged this kind of event: it offered to waive special event permit fees, encroachment permit fees, and basic L.A. County Fire Department site plan review fees for businesses hosting Halloween events from October 23 through November 1.
Starting today, here's what's on:
Thursday, October 29
Hotel Ziggy, 8462 Sunset Blvd, hosts GOTHTOPIA tonight. Admission is $10. The event listing gives 8 to 11:30 p.m., and the description says 8 p.m. to midnight.
Friday, October 30
- The White Rabbit Sky Lounge at The Valorian, 8440 Sunset Blvd, hosts The Hustle: 70's Disco Halloween from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
- Riot House at Andaz West Hollywood, 8401 Sunset Blvd, hosts a Trick or Treat Salsa Night from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to The Los Angeles Beat's Halloween roundup.
- The Artist Tree West Hollywood Lounge, 8625 Santa Monica Blvd, holds "Séance on Santa Monica Blvd," a Halloween drag show with a costume contest, from 6 to 9 p.m. Entry is free with a costume or with purchase of a participating sponsor's product.
Saturday, October 31
- Halloween at White Rabbit Sky Lounge at The Valorian runs from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and costumes are encouraged.
- Riot House at Andaz holds Love In This Club: Heroes vs. Villains Halloween from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
- La Bohème, 8400 Santa Monica Blvd, stages a Rocky Horror Halloween with burlesque dinner shows at 7 and 9 p.m. A free DJ party follows at 11. The dinner shows require reservations.
- Micky's, 8857 Santa Monica Blvd, sells a $50 Halloween Pass good from noon Saturday until 4 a.m. Sunday. It includes entry all day and night, after-hours access, front-of-line entry, and in-and-out privileges.
The Trick or Drink Sunset Strip Halloween Bar Crawl runs Friday and Saturday, with check-in at Saddle Ranch Chop House, 8371 W Sunset Blvd. Stops include Andaz, Hotel Ziggy, Katana, The Naughty Pig, White Rabbit Sky Lounge, and Wokcano. Registration runs from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, and tickets start at $25.67.
Location matters on Saturday. La Bohème and Micky's are on Santa Monica Boulevard inside the closed stretch, so you'll be walking in through Carnaval crowds. The Sunset venues are north of the barricades. Just keep in mind that the turn lanes from Sunset onto southbound La Cienega are closed, so driving south from the Strip takes a detour.
Sunday morning, in order
Santa Monica Boulevard, La Cienega, Robertson, and the side-street closures are scheduled to reopen by 6 a.m. Sunday. N. San Vicente between Santa Monica and Melrose reopens no later than 7 a.m. West Hollywood Park, the dog parks, the Five-Story structure, and the Library Garage all reopen at 7 a.m. Permit-parking restrictions come back at noon. If you parked somewhere on Saturday under the relaxed rules, move your car before noon. The Crescent Heights Lot stays closed until November 4.
If Halloween weekend has you thinking about which West Hollywood blocks are quietest on nights like this, or about what living close to the boulevard means for a home you're considering, I'm glad to talk it through with you. Reach out to Matt Roth and let's connect.
