Los Angeles in Winter: 7 Things to Do

Los Angeles in winter is a good time for events outdoors, because days stay mild and the big dates are easy to find. Most of them fall between late November and New Year, and several run only one or two evenings. If you would rather ride than drive, our guide to a tour bus Los Angeles hop on off ride compares the daytime bus options.

1. Go whale watching on a gray whale cruise

Whale watching is the easiest winter day plan in Los Angeles, because boats leave all year from Long Beach and Newport Beach. Harbor Breeze says it runs whale tours any time of the year, with a winter gray whale and dolphin trip and a summer blue whale trip. Its Long Beach tour lasts 2.5 hours and leaves from 100 Aquarium Way, Dock 2. Whale watching has no do-it-yourself version unless you own a boat, so a cruise is the way to do it, and the choice is only which one.

Gray whales travel along the coast twice a year. NOAA Fisheries says they head south in the fall and can be seen going north from mid-February to May. Whales are wild animals, so no boat can promise a sighting. Harbor Breeze, the operator of the Long Beach trip, describes its own trips on its site, and GetYourGuide shows the reviews below.

The Long Beach whale and dolphin watching cruise is run by Harbor Breeze, from €42.73 per person. The price covers a 2.5-hour cruise with Aquarium of the Pacific educators, live English narration, indoor seating and a promise of a free voucher if no sealife is seen. The listing says that food, drinks, tips and parking are not included. The listing says the meeting point may vary by the option you pick and gives no group size. It is rated 4.5 from 1,049 reviews on GetYourGuide. It showed free cancellation on 22 October 2026, so read its own terms before you book.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 22 October 2026.

In Orange County, the Newport Beach 2-hour whale watching tour is run by Davey's Locker, from €32.63 per person. It leaves from 400 Main St in Newport Beach and is rated 4.3 from 1,520 reviews. The listing leaves out binoculars, drinks and tips, gives no group size, and showed free cancellation on 22 October 2026. The ticket is a boarding pass, so you bring your own binoculars or pay to rent them.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 22 October 2026.

Pro Tip Book a whale cruise for the morning of a dry day and bring a windproof layer. It is always cooler on the water than on land.

2. See the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade

The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade is the biggest December boat show near Los Angeles, and in 2026 it runs from 16 to 20 December. According to the parade's own site, it runs Wednesday to Sunday and begins at about 6:30 p.m. each night. Opening night has fireworks at about 6:15 p.m., and drone shows run from 6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., depending on the place and the night.

You can watch from shore for free, so a tour is worth it only if you want to be on the water. The parade site calls Marina Park, at 1600 W Balboa Blvd, the largest public viewing area, with free admission and 177 parking spaces. The site gives no parking fee, so check its directions page. The parade starts and ends at the tip of Lido Isle. The page also shows two dates for opening night, 16 and 17 December, so confirm the night you want.

If you want to be on the water, the Newport Harbor holiday lights cruise is run by Newport Landing Cruises, from €35 per person. It is a 75-minute boat tour with festive music and light commentary, and the listing says the "Ring of Lights" competition is part of the view. You can bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks. The listing says wheelchair users are not suitable. The boat leaves from 400 Main St, and the listing notes the ramp can be steep at low tide. The listing gives no group size. It is rated 4.6 from 30 reviews on GetYourGuide and showed free cancellation on 22 October 2026.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 22 October 2026.

Key Takeaway The Newport Beach parade runs only five nights, 16 to 20 December 2026, so choose your night before you choose your hotel.

3. Pick a harbor boat parade closer to the city

Los Angeles has three more holiday boat parades in the first half of December, and one is free. The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board lists them on its holiday parades page, which covers the 2025 season. That year the LA Harbor parade was on Saturday 6 December at 6 p.m. in the East Basin Channel of the Port of Los Angeles. The Marina del Rey parade was on Saturday 13 December, with a light show at 5:45 p.m. and the parade from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The King Harbor parade in Redondo Beach was also on 13 December, at 5:30 p.m. along Harbor Drive, and the page lists it as free. It does not give prices for the others. These are last season's dates. We could not find 2026 dates when we looked, so check each parade's page before you plan around a Saturday.

4. Ride through the holiday lights by bus

A holiday lights bus tour lets you see Hollywood's decorated streets without driving at night. The Holiday Lights Tour with a LACMA Urban Light stop is a 2-hour tour, from €31.16 per person, run by Starline Tours of Hollywood. It meets at 1738 N Orange Dr in Hollywood.

The listing says the tour drives through Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Melrose and the Sunset Strip. It includes a 30-minute stop on Rodeo Drive, a 15-minute stop at LACMA's Urban Light and a free sweet treat for the holidays. Hotel pick-up and tips are not included, so you get yourself to Orange Drive. The listing says the vehicle is wheelchair accessible, lists no one as unsuitable and gives no group size. The price covers the seat, the two stops and the sweet treat; the listing names no meal or drinks. It is rated 4.0 from only 10 reviews, so it is a small sample. The listing showed free cancellation on 22 October 2026, so read its own terms before you book.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 22 October 2026.

Things to Do in Los Angeles' count of GetYourGuide listings on 22 October 2026 found 4 holiday lights tours and cruises near Los Angeles, and three of them are boat cruises in Newport Beach.

If you would rather go on your own, Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame are free to see. The trade-off is that you drive or ride at night and plan the stops yourself, while the tour from €31.16 per person adds a live guide and two timed stops. Our page on Hollywood and Beverly Hills tours covers the daytime options.

5. Watch the Hollywood Christmas Parade

The Hollywood Christmas Parade comes first in the season, on Sunday 29 November 2026. That date is on the parade's own site. The page gave no start time, no route text and no ticket prices.

Last season's listing is a guide to what to expect. The tourism board's parade page put the 2025 parade at 6 p.m. along Hollywood Boulevard, starting at Orange Drive. Watching along the route was free, and grandstand seats were sold through Ticketmaster. Treat all of this as unconfirmed for 2026 until the parade posts its times and road closures.

Hollywood Boulevard closes to cars for events like this, so take the Metro B Line to Hollywood/Highland and walk. The Getting around Los Angeles page explains the fares and the options.

6. Start the year at the Rose Parade

The Rose Parade is the New Year's Day parade in Pasadena, and it starts early in the morning. The tourism board's parade page lists it for 1 January at 8 a.m. Pacific time, with tickets sold through the Tournament of Roses. The Tournament of Roses site links a parade day guide, a lineup and a "where to watch" page. The pages did not show the 2027 route or whether street viewing is free, so read them before you go.

Pasadena is outside Los Angeles proper, and a morning start means you need a plan for the night before. Our guide to getting around Los Angeles without a car covers the transit options. Book a room early if you want to stay near the route.

7. Spend New Year's Eve on the water

Metro's fares page lists $1.75 a ride, capped at $5 a day, and shows no New Year's Eve fare change, but no official source says how hard a ride is to get that night, so a cruise is the simplest way to see fireworks without a car. Harbor Breeze lists a 3-hour New Year's Eve cruise starting at $125 and a 2-hour fireworks observation cruise starting at $65. The 3-hour cruise lists light hors d'oeuvres, a DJ, a cash bar and the midnight fireworks. The Harbor Breeze page says New Year's Eve, which is 31 December, but showed no booking date or year, so these are starting prices to check on the day you book.

A cruise also solves the ride problem, because the show comes to you on the water and you only need a ride to and from the harbor. No official source we found says how hard it is to get a ride in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve, so we cannot tell you how long a wait to expect. Many readers ask whether Uber is free that night. We found no source that says so, and LA Metro's home page showed no special New Year's Eve service on 22 October 2026. Plan on paying for the ride, and book your way home before you go out. The Metro site is the place to look for a holiday schedule.

How to choose your winter plan

Pick the plan by the date, the time of day and how you will get there. The table sorts the seven ideas.

With one free day, start with the whale cruise. If you are in town for the first half of December, add a boat parade. For the full list of boat cruises, see our page on long beach whale watching.

For New Year's Eve, we found no official list of events on land. The one dated event we can name is the Harbor Breeze fireworks cruises on 31 December, from $125 for 3 hours or from $65 for 2 hours. The Rose Parade is on 1 January, the morning after.

What is the weather like in Los Angeles in winter?

Winter in Los Angeles is mild, with cool nights and the year's wettest weather. The National Weather Service averages for downtown from 1991 to 2020 are below. They are averages, not a forecast.

Pack layers and a light rain jacket. Rain advisories also matter at the beach. Los Angeles County says its beach rain advisory stays in effect for 72 hours after the rain ends. For a wet day, pick a museum or a studio visit. The Newport Beach lights cruise listing says it runs rain or shine.

For the cold side, there are limits to what these numbers show. They cannot tell you about one cold night or a storm week, so check the National Weather Service forecast a few days before you fly.

What do hotels cost in Los Angeles in December?

Hotel prices in December are not the lowest of the year, but they are below the summer peak. In the 2026 Los Angeles Travel Cost Study, the median price of a 4-star hotel room per night for two adults on Google Hotels, read in October 2026, was $134 for December 2026, against $160 in July, the priciest month.

Rooms near the Newport Beach parade and the Rose Parade fill earlier on event nights, so book those dates first. Our where to stay in Los Angeles guide compares the areas.

What is open on Christmas Day in Los Angeles?

On Friday 25 December 2026 the Getty Center and Getty Villa are closed, Metro runs its Sunday and holiday schedule, and the beach and Hollywood Boulevard stay open to walk; few other places publish Christmas Day hours. According to the Getty's visit page, the Getty Center is closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and it closes early on Christmas Eve. The Getty Villa follows the same rule. Both close early on New Year's Eve too.

Metro's bus timetables say the Sunday and holiday schedule runs on Christmas Day, so expect less frequent buses. We found no official list of what else is open or closed. The Griffith Observatory page shows regular hours of noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and a Monday closure, with no holiday note. LACMA's visit page shows 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays, also with no holiday note. So we cannot say if either opens on Friday 25 December 2026. The Newport Beach boat parade ends on 20 December and the Rose Parade is on 1 January, so neither falls on 25 December. Check each place's own page, and call before you go if the page is silent.

Free choices stay open because they have no door. The beach, a walk on Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame cost nothing. For more free ideas, see our list of free things to do in Los Angeles.

A mild winter makes any Los Angeles plan easier, but the best dates are the ones you book early.

Book a winter cruise or tour

If you want a plan you can book now, start with the cruises, because they cover both daytime and evening. Our page on Long Beach whale watching lists the boat trips from Long Beach, and the lights tour and Newport Beach cruise above are the evening options.