El Segundo's December Now Bends Around One Cul-de-Sac on Acacia Avenue

On opening night, Santa walks down the 1200 block of East Acacia Avenue and points his giant candy cane at one house at a time. Each family waits for that signal before switching on its lights. Becca Wisniakowski described the routine to the Daily Breeze in 2024. She said neighbors agree not to light up before opening night, which "is always the second Saturday in December," and that a crowd walks behind Santa as he goes.

In 2026, the second Saturday in December falls on Dec. 12. That is also the first night of the city's free Park & Ride shuttle to Candy Cane Lane. This year the shuttle runs every night through Dec. 23, which is longer than it has ever run. That schedule shows how much a 26-house tradition has grown. It also gives El Segundo residents a simple way to plan the rest of the season.

Seventy-seven years, still one block

Candy Cane Lane dates to 1949. The Daily Breeze reports that neighbors on the 1200 block of East Acacia started it on their own, which makes this December the 77th season. It is still a small event. The display covers the roughly 26 houses on one cul-de-sac. The Daily Breeze's 2024 Q&A also notes that Santa's spot at the top of the street has its own postal address.

The crowds are not small. In 2023, LAist reported about 8,000 visitors on opening night and 3,000 to 4,000 on a typical night after that. That was also the year the Amazon Prime Video film Candy Cane Lane came out. LAist reported that residents run a Santa donation tent. One co-chair said the money covers some shared costs, and the rest goes to causes including St. Jude's.

On a normal night, 3,000 visitors on a dead-end street is roughly a hundred people per house. Once crowds reach that size, the city gets involved.

The shuttle schedule shows the city taking on more

Residents still run the event. Behind them, the city's role has grown every year. The Daily Breeze, citing a city press release, reported that El Segundo spent $63,000 supporting Candy Cane Lane in 2024. The El Segundo Police Department, the El Segundo Volunteer Program, and the Recreation, Parks and Library Department all worked each evening on safety and cleanup.

The shuttle is the clearest sign of that growth.

In 2025, the Daily Breeze said the city's changes were a response to heavy foot and car traffic, trash left on the street, misused restrooms and aggressive drivers. On its 2026 calendar listing, the city puts it more simply. The shuttle is there "to help ease traffic and parking congestion around Candy Cane Lane." It runs 4:30 to 10 p.m. with three stops.

• Recreation Park: 401 Sheldon St., at the Guaymas parking lot entrance
• Library Park: 111 W. Mariposa Ave., at the Richmond Street corner
• Sycamore Park: the stop closest to the lights, at 808 California St.

Weeknight visits were harder to plan when the shuttle ran only on weekends. Now a Tuesday shuttle trip works just like a Saturday one.

What's set for 2026, and what's still last year's

The city has posted the 2026 shuttle dates. It has not yet posted this year's lights-on hours, street closures or Santa's arrival time. Last year's rules show what to expect, but they are 2025 details:

1. Lights on from 5 to 10 p.m. every night, Dec. 13–23, with residents asked to turn lights off at 10 p.m. so visitors would head home.
2. Barricades from 5 to 10 p.m. on the 1100 and 1200 blocks of East Acacia Avenue and the 900 block of California Street. The block around Candy Cane Lane was closed to non-resident traffic.
3. Santa arriving at 7 p.m. on opening night.
4. Food sales limited to prepackaged items that meet L.A. County health guidelines, and only on weekends.
5. Restrooms at Recreation Park and portable restrooms at Sycamore Park.

If you live east of Sepulveda, especially near Acacia or California Street, the barricades matter more than the lights. Last year, closures started at 5 p.m. every night for 11 nights. Check the city's announcement once it's posted before planning to have guests over or getting a delivery on one of those evenings.

The rest of the season arranges itself around the 12th

Once Candy Cane Lane opens, much of the evening crowd around town heads to Acacia. Most of the other holiday events fall earlier, before the shuttle starts.

Nov. 16 to Dec. 18: Spark of Love Toy Drive. The city lists collection at Fire Station #1, 314 Main St., starting at 8 a.m. on Nov. 16 and ending at 3 p.m. on Dec. 18. The station is on Main Street, so you can drop off toys during any downtown errand.

Thursday, Dec. 3: Joy Around the World and Tree Lighting. The city's Festival of Holidays and Tree Lighting runs 3 to 7 p.m. at City Hall, 350 Main St. The 2026 program hasn't been posted. In 2025, the city's announcement listed live music, cultural dance, Santa and a gift giveaway, children's train rides, multicultural food trucks and crafts.

Dec. 3, overlapping the festival's last hours: Martinis & Mistletoe. The El Segundo Chamber of Commerce is holding its holiday mixer from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Citizens Business Bank, 275 Main St. The Chamber notes that it follows the tree lighting.

Saturday, Dec. 5: Breakfast with Santa. The event runs 9 to 11 a.m. at the George E. Gordon Clubhouse, 300 E. Pine Ave. It's a week before Santa's walk down Acacia.

Saturday, Dec. 12: Candy Cane Lane opening night, under the second-Saturday tradition, and the first night of the shuttle.

Sunday, Dec. 13: El Segundo Holiday Parade. The Chamber lists its 2026 parade for 1 to 3 p.m. the day after opening night. The Chamber hasn't posted this year's route or theme. In 2025, the parade ran along Main Street from Imperial Avenue to El Segundo Boulevard with a "Santa's Workshop" theme.

That makes Dec. 12–13 the busiest weekend of the season. The lights open Saturday night and the parade takes over Sunday afternoon. With the shuttle running every night, residents who want smaller crowds can visit the lights on a weeknight, like Wednesday the 16th, and keep the weekend for the parade.

Using the Library Park stop to plan dinner

The Library Park stop is at the corner of Mariposa and Richmond, at the downtown end of the loop. Getting on there means you can walk to dinner first, ride to Sycamore Park, and ride back without moving your car. According to SFGATE's Oct. 20, 2026 look at El Segundo's dining scene, there are more downtown options for that dinner this year.

EZPZ, a pizza and organic soft serve shop, opened downtown in June at 321 Main St. SFGATE describes its thin-crust slices as slow-fermented and lists the Notorious F.I.G., topped with fig jam, applewood bacon and arugula. SFGATE also notes that EZPZ is steps from The Original Rinaldi's, Slice & Pint, Wendy's Place and Creamy Boys, the New Zealand soft serve shop. Soft serve in December is a choice, but a short wait for the shuttle goes faster with a cup.

The El Segundo Chamber calls Unico Tokyo Pasta, the second location of the Japanese pasta restaurant, downtown's newest restaurant. SFGATE lists other recent arrivals, including an outpost of the South Bay wine bar Barsha and the Mexican restaurant Cocina Victorias.

Two other new spots are nowhere near the shuttle loop but work well for a night out after the lights. HomeState, the breakfast taco restaurant, opened at The Point just weeks before SFGATE's Oct. 20 story. On Pacific Coast Highway, Blum founders Julia Blyum and Dasha Simpson opened Vinoteca, a natural wine bar inside their shop, with small plates by chef Neal Hirtzel.

Thinking about selling, buying or simply hosting family near Acacia this December? Nicol Real Estate lives and works in El Segundo, and we're happy to talk through how the Candy Cane Lane closures affect a showing, an open house or a move scheduled for December. Call us before the city posts its 2026 closure schedule, and we'll help you plan December around it.