Halloween Weekend in Los Angeles: The Final Guide, From Descanso Mornings to the WeHo Carnaval and Code Red

Darlings, it is finally here: a Saturday Halloween, the first since 2020, and Los Angeles intends to use every hour of it. This is the Nightlife Report final guide, built for planning on Friday and checking again on Saturday morning. Daytime is for gardens, zoos and the little ones; nighttime is for Santa Monica Boulevard; and the very late hours belong to Code Red. Every time below is Pacific.

Saturday morning and afternoon

Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Halloween Day at Descanso is included with regular admission, according to the gardens, and the Pumpkin Express train runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is the elegant choice: costumes among the oaks, and home before the traffic turns.

Boo at the L.A. Zoo, Saturday and Sunday. The zoo’s Halloween weekend offers trick-or-treating from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Saturday the Bob Baker Marionettes perform at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., according to the zoo’s event page. Costumes are encouraged.

DTLA Halloween Festival, Grand Hope Park, 5 to 8 p.m. The DTLA Alliance hosts a free festival for children ages 2 to 8 at 919 S. Grand Ave., according to its event page; children under 3 are free. It is the bridge between the daytime parties and the evening ones.

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Saturday night: West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval

The big one is free, 6 to 11 p.m. The City of West Hollywood’s Halloween Carnaval fills Santa Monica Boulevard between North Doheny Drive and North La Cienega Boulevard, with a DJ stage at San Vicente Boulevard, according to the city.

Know the rules before you go. The city says no alcohol is permitted on the route and backpacks are not allowed, though clear bags are fine. The event is not recommended for young children or pets.

Road closures. Santa Monica Boulevard closes in stages from 10 a.m. Saturday between Croft and Holloway and La Cienega, is fully closed by noon, and reopens by 6 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, according to the city. If you are passing through WeHo on Saturday for any reason at all, take Sunset or Beverly instead.

The free ride. The city’s free WeHo Halloween Ride runs from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. between La Brea Avenue and Kings Road, and a link to the Hollywood/Highland Metro station runs from 6 p.m. to midnight, the city says. Details are posted at wehopickup.com.

Late night: Code Red

When the Carnaval ends at 11, the night does not. Code Red’s HALLOWEEN! ft. Don Woezik starts at 11 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are in the box at the end of this article. Wear the costume you planned in August.

One more thing: the clocks

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Clocks fall back one hour, so the party technically gains an hour, and so does your sleep. Your phone will adjust itself; the oven clock and the car will not.

The Nightlife Report checklist

• Charge your phone and download your tickets before you leave.
• Pick a meeting point in case the group splits; phones get slow in a crowd that size.
• Use the free WeHo ride or a rideshare, and keep the car at home.
• Clear bag only for the Carnaval; no backpacks, no alcohol.
• Eat before 6 p.m.; every restaurant on the strip will be full.

Sources

1. City of West Hollywood: Halloween in West Hollywood
2. Visit West Hollywood: Halloween Carnaval
3. Descanso Gardens: Halloween Day at Descanso 2026
4. Los Angeles Zoo: Boo at the L.A. Zoo 2026
5. DTLA Alliance: Halloween Festival
6. timeanddate.com: Daylight saving time changes in Los Angeles

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