Getting to New Year’s Eve Events and the Rose Parade in Pasadena This Week

With New Year’s Eve celebrations and the Rose Parade drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to Pasadena this week, transit agencies are offering a mix of free and paid transportation services, while drivers contend with major street closures taking effect across the city on Wednesday and Thursday.

Colorado Boulevard, the core of the Rose Parade route, will close to motor vehicles beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, and is expected to reopen by about two p.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, following parade staging and cleanup. The closure spans Colorado Boulevard from Orange Grove Boulevard to Sierra Madre Boulevard, with additional restrictions along Sierra Madre Boulevard northbound to Paloma Street. Residents and merchants are advised that guests and vendors must arrive before the closure or park outside restricted areas and walk in.

Overnight camping along the parade route will be permitted beginning at noon Dec. 31. At 11 p.m., spectators may move up to the designated “blue honor line,” but not past it.

The 137th Rose Parade begins at eight a.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, and follows a 5.5-mile route starting at Green Street and Orange Grove Boulevard, traveling east along Colorado Boulevard before concluding near Villa Street. The parade is expected to take approximately two hours to pass any given point along the route.

To accommodate parade crowds and New Year’s Eve travel, LA Metro will offer free rides on all buses, trains, Metro Bike Share and Metro Micro services from four a.m. Wednesday through three a.m. Thursday. During that period, fare gates will be unlocked and no fares will be deducted from TAP cards. Free 30-minute Metro Bike Share rides will be available using promo code 123125, and Metro Micro rides will be free within service zones using promo code RING26.

Metro will also provide overnight rail service on several lines. The A, B, D and E Lines will operate all night from Dec. 31 through the morning of Jan. 1, while the C and K Lines will operate until two a.m. before resuming service at four a.m. The A Line directly serves Pasadena, with four stations within walking distance of the parade route: Memorial Park Station, about 0.2 miles away; Del Mar Station, about 0.3 miles from Colorado Boulevard or 0.8 miles from the parade start; Lake Station, about 0.4 miles away; and Allen Station, also about 0.4 miles from the route. Memorial Park Station also serves as the transfer point for the free Rose Bowl shuttle later on New Year’s Day.

After three a.m. Jan. 1, regular Metro fares will resume, with a base fare of $1.75 per one-way trip. Many Metro station parking lots will be free on New Year’s Day, while parking at Union Station will be available for up to $8 per day.

Metrolink, which connects Pasadena with surrounding counties, will operate on a weekend schedule on New Year’s Day but will not provide special early-morning Rose Parade service this year. A Metrolink spokesperson said ridership data from the past two years, combined with increasing operational costs, made the service impractical. Riders may still reach Pasadena by transferring to Metro’s A Line at Union Station or Pomona North station. Metrolink will offer a $10 Southern California Day Pass for unlimited travel on Jan. 1, with Metrolink tickets valid for free transfers to Metro by scanning at marked turnstiles.

Pasadena Transit service will be sharply limited. Only Route 33 will operate on New Year’s Day, running on a Sunday schedule with detours in place until 3:30 p.m. to avoid the parade route. All other Pasadena Transit routes will not operate, and Dial-A-Ride service will be suspended for the holiday. Several Pasadena Transit routes will begin detouring around Old Town Pasadena and the Rose Bowl area starting at six p.m. on New Year’s Eve through end of service.

Foothill Transit, which serves much of the San Gabriel Valley, will provide free rides during the same New Year’s Eve period as Metro and will operate multiple lines on weekend or Sunday schedules on Jan. 1, with detours in place near the parade route.

Parking rules in Pasadena will also be adjusted for the holiday period. Vehicles legally parked on city streets will not receive overnight parking citations through the morning of Jan. 4. Parking meters will be free on Jan. 1, and time limits will not be enforced.

Rideshare and taxi drop-offs will not be permitted at the Rose Bowl Stadium. Designated drop-off and pickup will be located on Holly Street between Fair Oaks Avenue and Raymond Avenue, where patrons may board the free Rose Bowl shuttle or walk to the stadium.

The Pasadena Fire and Police Departments urge attendees to plan ahead, dress for cold weather, stay hydrated, and report suspicious activity. Smoking, including cannabis and vaping devices, is prohibited at outdoor public gatherings under Pasadena Municipal Code. Emergency assistance is available by calling 911, while non-emergency concerns may be reported to the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4241. Spectators may also receive public safety text alerts by texting “ROSEPARADE” to 888777.