The 1200 block of East Acacia Avenue is a short cul-de-sac. Every December since 1949, the households on it have covered their houses, yards and trees in lights and seasonal displays, and the residents pay for all of it themselves. The tradition has its own film, which was shot on the street and released on Amazon Prime Video in 2023.
The lights still belong to that one block. The evenings around them now belong to the City. Shuttles, barricades, portable restrooms, trash pickup and police patrols are all City services, and this year that support covers every night of the season. For anyone who lives in El Segundo, the City's Candy Cane Lane shuttle schedule is the best guide to how December will run.
One block's lights, a citywide cost
Candy Cane Lane began with the residents, and it is still theirs. As the City described it in its December 2025 press release, the neighbors "spontaneously began the tradition and fully fund all the adornments."
Supporting the event costs the City money. The same release put the City's estimated cost for 2024 at $63,000. The El Segundo Police Department, the El Segundo Volunteer Program and the Recreation, Parks and Library Department handle safety each evening and clean up afterward. According to the City, the crowds had grown big enough to raise public safety concerns. The problems it listed were the number of visitors, large amounts of trash, restrooms not being used properly, and aggressive drivers.
That cost figure explains the rules that came next. The block decorates, and the whole city pays for what happens on the streets around it.
What the Council put in place last December
In December 2025, the El Segundo City Council directed City staff to add four measures. Here is how the City's release listed them:
- Food sales limited to prepackaged items that meet County health guidelines, sold only on the weekends of December 13–14 and December 19–21
- Street barricades from 5 to 10 p.m. on the 1100 and 1200 blocks of East Acacia Avenue and the 900 block of California Street
- Police patrols continuing on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, even though those are not official Candy Cane Lane days
- A request that Candy Cane Lane residents turn off their holiday lights at 10 p.m. so visitors would head home
The City also said the blocks around the display would be closed to non-resident traffic, and that all traffic laws would be enforced.
Mayor Chris Pimentel made the City's request in the same release. The Daily Breeze carried his words: "We ask in the holiday spirit that visitors respect the hard work of the residents who host this tradition and keep the area clean, behave kindly to one another and act in the best spirit of Christmas."
Last year's season opened on Saturday, December 13, with Santa arriving at 7 p.m. The displays stayed lit from 5 to 10 p.m. every night through Tuesday, December 23. The 2025 rules give the best idea of what this season may look like on the ground. This year's shuttle shows how much further the City's support now reaches.
The shuttle went from select nights to every night
The free Park & Ride shuttle has been running for at least three seasons, and its schedule keeps getting longer.
| Season | Shuttle nights | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Friday through Sunday nights during the display, which ran December 14–23 | Weekend evenings |
| 2025 | December 13, December 14, and December 19–23 | 4:30–10 p.m. |
| 2026 | Every night, December 12–23 | 4:30–10 p.m. |
That works out to seven shuttle nights last year and twelve this year. Last year there was no shuttle from Monday, December 15 through Thursday, December 18. On the City's 2026 calendar listing, the shuttle runs straight through, starting Saturday, December 12 and ending Wednesday, December 23. The City says the shuttle is there "to help ease traffic and parking congestion around Candy Cane Lane."
For people who live in town, that means the weeknight parking and traffic around the lane are now part of the City's plan too. The shuttle runs every night, so visitors have a parking option on Mondays as well as Saturdays.
Where the three stops sit
The shuttle runs on a continuous loop with three stops.
- Recreation Park, 401 Sheldon Street, at the Guaymas parking lot entrance
- Library Park, 111 West Mariposa Avenue, at the Richmond Street corner
- Sycamore Park, 808 California Street
Each stop has its own role. Sycamore Park, which the Daily Breeze described as near Candy Cane Lane, is the drop-off point. Last year it also had the portable restrooms, and trash cans were placed along the event route. It sits on California Street, where last year's barricades covered the 900 block. Recreation Park had permanent restrooms last season. Library Park, at Mariposa and Richmond, is the stop on the downtown side of town.
So for twelve nights in December, visitor parking spreads out to three parks instead of filling the streets around East Acacia. If you live near one of those parks, expect evening traffic at the pickup point from 4:30 to 10 p.m. If you live near the lane, the shuttle is the City's way of keeping cars off your block.
A December that builds toward the lane
The rest of El Segundo's holiday calendar leads up to the shuttle dates and then overlaps with them. In order:
- November 5 through December 19. The Mattel Toy Store Holiday Tent Sale at 1955 East Grand Avenue opened November 5 and runs Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Thursday, December 3, 3 to 7 p.m. The City hosts Joy Around the World: Festival of Holidays and Tree Lighting at City Hall, 350 Main Street. According to the City, last year's festival was free and family-friendly, with music, cultural dance, Santa, food trucks, crafts and train rides for kids.
- Saturday, December 12, from 4:30 p.m. The Candy Cane Lane shuttle starts its first night.
- Sunday, December 13, 1 to 3 p.m. The El Segundo Chamber of Commerce calendar lists the 2026 El Segundo Holiday Parade.
- Wednesday, December 23, until 10 p.m. The shuttle makes its last loop.
December 13 is the busiest day on the calendar. The parade finishes at 3 p.m., and the shuttle starts its second night at 4:30. Under last year's rules, that was also a weekend night for food sales near the lane. Anyone planning to drive across town that Sunday will be dealing with both events.
The two City events are also in different parts of town. The tree lighting is downtown at City Hall on Main Street, nine days before the shuttle starts. Candy Cane Lane is in a residential area on the east side, and the City brings visitors in through three parks. Downtown gets one afternoon, and the 1200 block of East Acacia gets twelve evenings.
If your home is near Acacia, Sycamore Park or Library Park, December brings barricades, shuttle traffic and a 10 p.m. lights-out request close by. Rachel Ezra would be glad to talk through what that means for your street and your plans. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation and we can start there.
