Santa Monica Pier This Fall: Local Events and Access Updates

"The surf took the beach we planned this on, and we cannot put tens of thousands of festival-goers on that sand until it's safe," Mayor Caroline Torosis said on September 11, as the Santa Monica Daily Press reported. That was the day the city and Goldenvoice canceled the first Ocean Way Festival, 15 days before its September 26 opening.

The festival was supposed to be the big public event of Santa Monica's fall. Without it, the season looks different. The Pier is open, but you get onto it through a side entrance. Its most famous landmark is scheduled to leave for Las Vegas. Most of what's left on the calendar was planned for people who live within a short walk or drive. For the next few months, the waterfront mostly belongs to residents.

Where the Festival Money Went Instead

Ocean Way was planned for "The Sandbox," the stretch of beach south of the Pier. Hurricane Marie sent a large south swell ashore around September 5, followed by rain on September 6 and 7. The surf removed so much sand that the festival's safe shoreline setback would have had to move 96 feet inland. Runoff from the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain outfall also cut through the south end of the site, pushing the festival's southern boundary about 500 feet north. The Pier itself was not damaged.

Some of the benefits planned alongside the festival are going ahead anyway, and they are spread across neighborhood parks rather than set on the sand. According to the city's September 21 announcement, Goldenvoice funded fencing, drip irrigation and storm-proofing at Reed Park, custom compost-bin lids at Ishihara Learning Garden, and café lighting at the 19th Street Community Farm.

Two programs still on the calendar come from the same agreement:

• Continuum: Honoring the History of Belmar and Black Santa Monica. A free, all-ages event with music, conversations, art and vendors at Historic Belmar Park on Sunday, October 11, from noon to 5 p.m.
• Surf Bus Foundation youth water-safety workshops. Held at the Annenberg Community Beach House on October 11 and 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Goldenvoice is also giving $15,000 to Santa Monica Pier Corporation youth programs and another $15,000 to LA Surfrider's One Watershed environmental program. Both the city and Goldenvoice say Ocean Way will return in 2027. The benefits for that year are still being worked out with the Coastal Commission.

The Front Door Moved

The bigger change at the Pier is getting there. The Pier Bridge Replacement Project formally began December 9, 2025. It replaces the nearly 90-year-old bridge that has been the Pier's main vehicle access with a new, seismically sound span that includes a 15-foot sidewalk. The city's original schedule had demolition finishing between May and August 2026. On September 24, the city said the final and largest section of the old bridge was still coming down. Treat any posted date as the current plan, not a promise.

Here are the ways onto the Pier right now:

1. The temporary pedestrian bridge. It sits about 30 feet south of the old Ocean Avenue entrance and is now the main way in on foot.
2. Ocean Front Walk. It still runs under the bridge, but the city warns of short closures on weekdays between 5 a.m. and 1 p.m. During those, flaggers direct people around the work.
3. A protected walkway in the Pier parking lot, running alongside the temporary vehicle ramp.
4. The stairs near Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

The temporary vehicle ramp in the Pier lot handles emergency vehicles, deliveries and public parking. The old Colorado Avenue ramp is closed to cars for the length of the project.

Two more closures this fall affect anyone driving to the beach:

• Moomat Ahiko Way on- and off-ramps. Closed for about two months starting Monday, September 28, which puts the reopening around late November. The city's detours send drivers to the California Incline or to eastbound I-10 and Lincoln Boulevard.
• Appian Way under the bridge. Closed to all vehicles Monday, October 5, through Friday, October 9. During that week, cars reach Pier parking only from Pacific Coast Highway. The city suggests Beach Lot 4 South, Beach Lot 3 North or Parking Structure 8 instead. It also points out that the Metro E Line ends a short walk from the Pier.

Crews are now drilling the bridge's underground foundations: deep holes filled with steel reinforcing bar and concrete. They started at the base of the Pier and are working toward Ocean Avenue, weekdays from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city warns the work may be loud. Cyclists get a short detour too. The outside southeast lane and bike lane at Ocean and Colorado close from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on October 5 and 6.

All of this shapes when to go. The noisy part of the project happens on weekday mornings and is done by 1 p.m. Nearly every Pier event this fall is on a weekend, a weekday evening or a holiday.

The Sign Is on Borrowed Time

The blue neon sign was unveiled on June 17, 1941, by the Pan Pacific Neon Sign Company. It is listed on the California Register of Historical Resources. YESCO, a sign company founded in 1920, will restore it. The city's sign FAQ explains the process. Crews will remove the neon tubes, take the sign and its truss down in sections, and ship the pieces to Las Vegas for restoration. After the project, the sign goes back up at a higher elevation.

The city's construction page still says only that the sign will be removed in "fall 2026." The city has not announced a specific day. If you want a photo of the original over Ocean Avenue, now is the time.

Once it's gone, there's a half-scale, lit replica on the bridge walkway just before Pier Burger, with the Pacific Park roller coaster and the shoreline behind it. The original is scheduled to return when bridge construction wraps up in late 2027.

What's Left on the Pier Calendar

With the festival canceled and the main entrance under construction, the remaining Pier calendar leans on small, recurring events and one-night community programs. Several of them have "Locals" in the name.

Some notes on the dates. The history talk runs on the last Thursday of each month, which lands on Thanksgiving, November 26, and New Year's Eve, December 31, later this year. Check before planning around either one. The Pier Corporation lists Holiday Cheer on the Pier for December 2026 but hasn't posted 2026 dates on that listing, and the dates on its detail page aren't confirmed for this year. On Halloween, Pacific Park's calendar shows rides and games open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The calendar does not list a separate Halloween event.

The October 15 Locals' Night fits the season especially well. It's built around a Dogtown and Z-Boys screening with live music, a classic-car meet and youth activities, and it takes place on a Thursday night, long after the weekday drilling has stopped at 1 p.m.

What to Watch Between Now and December

Three things are still unsettled, and each changes how the Pier feels on a given day. The sign's removal date hasn't been announced. The Moomat Ahiko Way ramps are due back around late November, if the two-month estimate holds. Holiday Cheer still needs 2026 dates. The city posts updates on its Pier Bridge project page, and you can sign up there for construction alerts.

If the construction around Ocean and Colorado has you thinking about what the new bridge will mean for your own block or your home's value, Blanche D'Souza follows these projects closely and is happy to talk them through with you. Let's Connect.