West Hollywood is bracing for a massive Saturday night as the city's annual Halloween Carnaval returns to Santa Monica Boulevard, closing roughly a mile of the thoroughfare and drawing an expected crowd of tens of thousands of costumed revelers. The free event runs from 6 to 11 p.m. on October 31, stretching along Santa Monica Boulevard between North Doheny Drive and North La Cienega Boulevard, with a live DJ stage anchoring the intersection at North San Vicente Boulevard.
The celebration, which the city says began in 1987, will feature food trucks alongside the thousands of wildly dressed attendees it has become known for drawing, according to the City of West Hollywood. West Hollywood is also encouraging attendees to post costume photos using the hashtag #WeHoHalloween, and the city says Halloween celebrations will extend into bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels and entertainment venues throughout town, as MyNewsLA.com reported.
Street Closures Begin Hours Before the Party Starts
Traffic changes start well before the DJ set kicks off. Santa Monica Boulevard begins closing in sections between Croft Avenue/Holloway Drive and North Doheny Drive starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the roadway is fully closed to vehicles between La Cienega Boulevard and Doheny Drive by noon, per the city's event page. Nearby side streets may start closing as early as 7 a.m. Saturday for barricade installation, according to the city.
North San Vicente Boulevard sees two separate closure windows: between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue from 12:00 a.m. Saturday until no later than 7 a.m. Sunday, and between Santa Monica Boulevard and Cynthia Street from 7 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday. Robertson Boulevard will be closed between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue over that same 7 a.m.-to-6 a.m. window, and La Cienega Boulevard will shut down between Holloway Drive and Melrose Avenue from 10 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Sunday. Turn lanes connecting Sunset Boulevard to southbound La Cienega Boulevard will also be closed during that stretch.
La Peer Drive and Almont Drive will be closed at Santa Monica Boulevard from 7 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, though local access from Melrose Avenue will remain available, the city notes. West Hollywood Park and its five-story parking structure will be closed all day Saturday, with the park closing at midnight and the structure reopening at 7 a.m. Sunday. The Library Garage closes at 5 a.m. Saturday and reopens at 7 a.m. Sunday. Citywide residential permit parking restrictions will be suspended from 11 a.m. Saturday through noon Sunday, officials say.
Free Shuttle Service Replaces Regular Transit Lines
Getting around without a car will look different Saturday night. The PickUp and Cityline will suspend their regular schedules and instead run a combined, free WeHo Halloween Ride special service route along Santa Monica Boulevard between North La Brea Avenue and North Kings Road from 6 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, according to a city announcement. Select vehicles will also connect riders to the Hollywood/Highland Metro B Line station between 6 p.m. and midnight.
Metro bus routes 4, 10, 30/330, 105, 212/312, 217 and 218 also serve the area, and the city is urging riders to check for route changes tied to the closures before heading out. The scale of this year's transit demand follows a pattern set in 2024, when the PickUp and CityLine shuttles provided transportation for 2,661 riders during the Carnaval, according to a report covered by WeHo Times. That same report put the final cost of the 2024 event at $1,782,851, and noted that Santa Monica Boulevard reopened to traffic before 5 a.m. the following morning.
What's Allowed — and What Isn't — on the Carnaval Route
City guidance bars alcohol and public drinking along the Carnaval route, and backpacks, camera cases and tote bags are also prohibited, though clear plastic bags are permitted. Weapons, fireworks and drones will not be allowed at the event, per the city's safety rules. West Hollywood and the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station are also advising attendees to leave children and pets at home given the dense crowds expected.
Anyone with safety or security concerns can reach the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station 24/7 at (310) 855-8850, while emergencies should be reported by calling 911, according to the city. The Carnaval had previously been paused between 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and since its return, the city has continued waiving Special Event Permit fees for local businesses — a policy that supported 12 Halloween-themed events hosted by West Hollywood businesses in 2024, per WeHo Times.
