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Pursuit/Car Week Guide/Parking & Traffic
Local Logistics · 2026

How to Beat Monterey Car Week Traffic & Parking

A hundred thousand people funnel into a handful of small coastal towns for ten days. Here is how a local gets around it: the routes that skip Highway 1, the right gate for Pebble, and where to park once and walk to the cars.

MONTEREY CAR WEEK · AUGUST 7–16, 2026 · BY NICK ENGVALL
Main Choke Point
Highway 1
Worst Days
Fri–Sun 8/14–16
Best Move
Park once, walk
Street Parking
$0
01

The One Rule: Stay Off Highway 1

Highway 1 through the Peninsula is a two-lane pinch, and during Car Week it is the single thing that turns a fifteen-minute hop into an hour. Everyone routing between Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel, and Pebble Beach gets dumped onto the same stretch, and it does not move. If you take one thing from this page, take this: plan every drive to avoid Highway 1, especially the Carmel and Pebble Beach segments on the peak weekend.

The fix is the back way in. The Peninsula has a handful of inland roads that locals use year round, and during Car Week they are your lifeline. The full set of scenic and shortcut routes is in the free local's guide, but the ones that matter for beating traffic are below.

02

The Routes That Skip the Gridlock

Where you are headed decides which inland road to take. Come in from the side or the back, not up Highway 1.

Pacific Grove & MontereyHighway 68 · Holman Highway
Take Highway 68 (Holman Highway) in from the Highway 1 / Highway 68 junction near the airport side. It drops you into Pacific Grove and Monterey without the coastal crawl and connects straight to the free action on Lighthouse Avenue.
Seaside & Sand CityHighway 218 · Canyon Del Rey
Drop down Canyon Del Rey (Highway 218) from the Highway 1 corridor to reach Seaside and Broadway. It is the quick way to Exotics on Broadway and Concours d'LeMons without sitting in the main line.
CarmelLaureles Grade · Carmel Valley Road
Instead of pushing down Highway 1 into Carmel, take Laureles Grade over to Carmel Valley Road and come in from the east. It is longer on the map and far faster in practice on a busy morning.
Pebble Beach & 17-Mile DriveCountry Club or Morse gate
Enter through the Pacific Grove (Country Club) gate or the Morse Drive gate off Highway 68 rather than the Highway 1 gate, which backs up worst. For the paid Concours, take the official park-and-ride shuttle when it is offered and skip driving in entirely.
Reality Check

These roads move better, but nothing on the Peninsula is empty during Car Week. Leave earlier than feels necessary, keep offline maps handy, and treat any drive on the peak weekend as a real commitment, not a quick errand.

03

Where to Park, Then Walk

The winning move all week is to park once on the edge of a town and walk in. The free shows are all street-level and close together, so a car is a liability once you are there.

A silver Porsche 356 Speedster with its hood open draws a crowd on the street at the downtown Monterey Car Week kickoff
Park once on the edge of town and walk in, and you end up on foot next to cars like this 356 Speedster instead of circling for a spot. Shot on Alvarado Street, Monterey.
Pacific GroveOff Lighthouse Ave
Park a few blocks off Lighthouse Avenue on the residential grid and walk down to the cars. The Little Car Show and the Friday cruise both run Lighthouse, so anywhere within a short walk works. Read the signs, since PG enforces time limits hard this week.
CarmelUphill, east of Ocean
Park uphill east of Ocean Avenue and walk down toward the water. The blocks above town clear out far faster than the crawl for a spot near the beach, and the walk down is the good part anyway.
Downtown MontereyPublic garages
Use the downtown parking garages rather than circling for street spots, especially for the Friday Kick-Off Cruise. Park once, grab dinner, and watch the cars roll in on foot.
SeasideSide streets off Broadway
For Exotics on Broadway and Concours d'LeMons at Seaside City Hall, use the residential side streets a block or two off Broadway and walk in. It is the least congested of the free-event towns.
04

Timing Beats Everything

The single biggest lever after route choice is when you go. Morning shows fill their surrounding streets by mid-morning, so arriving before 9am for anything on the peak weekend is the difference between a two-minute walk and a mile one. The early and midweek days, August 7 through 13, are genuinely calm, and if your schedule is flexible that is when to see the most with the least stress.

Leaving matters as much as arriving. Everyone tries to exit at once when a show wraps, so either duck out fifteen minutes early or hang back, get a coffee, and let the first wave clear before you touch your car. The full day-by-day breakdown of which events land on which days is in the Car Week schedule.

Rideshare & Data

Rideshare surges hard and gets slow to arrive near the big venues, and cell data crawls around Pebble and Carmel Valley when crowds are thick. Download offline maps before you drive out, screenshot your route, and if you are bar-hopping the shows, an e-bike or just good shoes will beat a car most of the week.

Get the free printable guide

Save it to your phone. The full guide has every route mapped out, the complete day-by-day schedule, the free spotting windows, and the local eat map. Download it before you drive out so it is with you even when your service isn't.
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05

Parking & Traffic FAQ

How do you avoid traffic during Monterey Car Week?

Stay off Highway 1, the Peninsula's main choke point. For Pacific Grove and Monterey use Highway 68 (Holman Highway); for Seaside and Sand City drop down Canyon Del Rey (Highway 218); for Carmel take Laureles Grade to Carmel Valley Road and come in from the east. Then park once and walk between the free shows instead of moving the car.

What is the best way to get to Pebble Beach during Car Week?

Enter 17-Mile Drive through the Pacific Grove (Country Club) gate or the Morse Drive gate off Highway 68 rather than the Highway 1 gate, which backs up worst. Arrive early, and for the paid Concours use the official park-and-ride shuttles when offered instead of driving in.

Where can you park for free during Monterey Car Week?

Free street parking exists on the residential edges of each town if you arrive early and walk in. In Pacific Grove, park a few blocks off Lighthouse Avenue. In Carmel, park uphill east of Ocean Avenue and walk down toward the water. In Seaside, use the side streets off Broadway. Read and obey posted signs, since permit and time limits are enforced hard during Car Week.

Is there a shuttle for Monterey Car Week?

The major paid events, including the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, typically run park-and-ride shuttles from off-site lots. Confirm the current pickup locations and hours on each event's official site before the day, since they change year to year.

What are the worst days for traffic during Car Week?

The peak weekend, Friday through Sunday of August 14 to 16, 2026, is the heaviest, with Saturday and Sunday morning around Pebble Beach and Carmel the worst. The early and midweek days, August 7 to 13, are far calmer and the easiest time to get around.

Plan the Rest of Your Week

The Full Free Local's Guide

Free events, the day-by-day schedule, where to watch, the backroads, and where to eat. All in one place.

Read the Car Week Guide
© 2026 PURSUIT. · A Nick Engvall project · Monterey, CA · connect@pursuitmonterey.com · @pursuitmonterey