Monterey Car Week officially runs August 7 through 16. Inside Pebble Beach, the more useful calendar begins a day earlier and ends several days later.
That distinction matters. The public schedule describes shows, auctions and gatherings. A resident experiences production vehicles, private-event setup, changing gate patterns and a final weekend when ordinary movement through Del Monte Forest requires more forethought.
This Pebble Beach Car Week 2026 resident guide is therefore built around a different premise: Car Week is best understood as a sequence of local operating conditions, not a collection of events. The pressure gathers gradually, becomes visible on Thursday morning and reaches its most concentrated form over the final weekend.
The resident calendar runs from August 6 through August 20, even though the public celebration is August 7 through 16.
The activity begins before the opening date
The first public events arrive on Friday, August 7, but Monterey County special-event records show private production beginning earlier.
A BMW activation on Poppy Lane has setup scheduled from August 6 through 11, followed by programming from August 12 through 15. Dismantling is scheduled to continue through August 20. A McLaren event on Crespi Lane begins setup on August 9, with programming from August 12 through 15 and dismantling on August 16.
These are private activations rather than public destinations. Their significance is logistical. They establish that the neighborhood begins absorbing Car Week activity before the official opening and continues to carry it after the final award has been presented.
For residents arranging property service, deliveries or guest arrivals, the quieter window is early. Plans that depend on predictable access become less certain once production work begins and the public calendar accelerates.
A working calendar for the forest
| Date | What changes locally |
|---|---|
| August 6 | Private-event setup begins at a Poppy Lane activation |
| August 7 | Monterey Car Week officially opens |
| August 9 | Setup begins for a Crespi Lane activation |
| August 12 | Pebble Beach Auctions viewing opens at Parc du Concours; private programming expands |
| August 13 | Tour d’Elegance lines up on Portola Road; Concours Village, RetroAuto and the Classic Car Forum open |
| August 14–15 | Auction activity and events across the Peninsula overlap |
| August 15–16 | 17-Mile Drive closes to general tourist traffic |
| August 16 | The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance takes place |
| August 20 | Scheduled dismantling concludes for the Poppy Lane activation |
Thursday morning is the hinge point
The week changes character on Thursday, August 13.
The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance brings more than 150 Concours entrants to Portola Road. Cars begin lining up at approximately 7 a.m., depart at 9:30 a.m. and follow 17-Mile Drive and Highway 1 toward Big Sur. The Tour is expected to return to Pebble Beach at approximately noon.
This is the first point at which the 75th Concours moves from private preparation to a highly visible neighborhood event. Public viewing is complimentary at designated points, making the Tour one of the rare Car Week experiences that feels closely tied to the roads and scenery that define Pebble Beach.
There is one important route correction for 2026: the Tour will not stop in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Residents familiar with prior descriptions should not plan around a Carmel display.
The Tour also connects this year’s anniversary program to Pebble Beach history. The first Concours and Pebble Beach Road Race were held together in November 1950. Racing continued on Del Monte Forest roads through 1956 before the purpose-built Laguna Seca circuit took its place.
For 2026, cars associated with the original road races are part of a broader anniversary program that includes Ferrari as the primary featured marque, Vignale as the featured coachbuilder, and classes devoted to early American speedsters, classic streamliners and Japanese motorsports. The official featured-class program gives the 75th edition a strong design and competition focus.
The lower-commitment way to take part
A resident need not devote an entire Sunday to Car Week. Thursday through Saturday provides a more flexible way to see the design, engineering and collecting culture without entering the main Concours field.
Concours Village occupies more than 60,000 square feet at Forest Lake Road and Stevenson Drive. General access is complimentary. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from August 13 through 15 and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on August 16.
The Village includes manufacturer displays, concessions, Ride & Drives, the Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum and RetroAuto. Its location also makes it a meaningful local pressure point. It sits across from the auctions and becomes the designated ride-share pickup and drop-off area on Concours Sunday.
RetroAuto is particularly well suited to those whose interest extends beyond mechanical performance. Its exhibitors focus on automotive art, historic memorabilia, literature, collectibles and design objects. Admission is complimentary, with the same Thursday through Sunday hours as Concours Village.
The Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum runs August 13 through 15 in the Village. Sessions are open to the public, but preregistration is required and pricing varies. Since the complete 2026 speaker schedule was not available as of July 15, residents should consult the official Forum page before choosing a session.
Taken together, Thursday morning and Concours Village offer the most locally grounded way to participate. The Tour places the cars in motion against 17-Mile Drive and the Big Sur coast. The Village allows a shorter visit centered on design, conversation and collecting.
The auction schedule explains part of the internal pressure
The Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach Auctions are held at Parc du Concours from August 12 through 15. This is the only auction staged within the 17-Mile Drive gates.
Viewing begins Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It continues Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The auctions begin at 4 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
That timetable matters because it overlaps with the Tour, Concours Village, RetroAuto, private events and the final preparations for Sunday. By Friday evening, Pebble Beach is carrying several distinct audiences at once. The event guest sees a full calendar. The resident sees overlapping arrival, parking and service patterns.
Activity elsewhere on the Peninsula adds another layer. The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion runs August 12 through 15 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, following the Pre-Reunion and Corkscrew Hillclimb on August 8. Those events place simultaneous demand on Highway 68 while Pebble Beach and Carmel are approaching their busiest period.
Saturday and Sunday require a different access plan
The most consequential resident detail is straightforward: 17-Mile Drive will close to general tourist traffic on Saturday and Sunday of Concours weekend.
Residents, residents’ guests and Pebble Beach event attendees will still be permitted through the gates. Even so, access should not be treated as routine. Residents should have current gate credentials ready and give arriving guests clear directions before the weekend.
Concours Sunday begins long before judging. Credentialed spectators may enter the show field at 5:30 a.m., judging begins at 8 a.m., and the awards ceremony and live show run from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Gate and internal-road activity will therefore begin before a conventional Sunday morning.
General-admission drivers may be assigned parking soon after entering Pebble Beach and transferred to the show field by shuttle. Ride-share service is encouraged, with vehicles directed to the designated area at Concours Village. These event patterns mean familiar roads may be used differently even when resident access remains open.
For guests coming through Carmel, the current 2026 schedule confirms a shuttle from Carmel Plaza to Pebble Beach on Sunday, August 16. Service is listed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., generally every 20 to 30 minutes. The fare is $40 for unlimited same-day rides, and children under 12 ride free. The Carmel Car Week page is the better reference for this service because some regional tourism pages still display conflicting dates.
What the current road picture does and does not tell us
Monterey County’s July 15 road advisory lists an active resurfacing project on Carmel Valley Road between Carmel Rancho Boulevard and Via Petra. The county has scheduled a construction pause from August 5 through 17, covering Car Week.
That pause removes one planned construction conflict. It does not promise ordinary traffic conditions. Carmel has also declined the proposed Car Week parking plan that would have charged up to $200 on part of Ocean Avenue and $100 on selected side streets. The city instead moved toward stronger enforcement, temporary speed controls, lighting, traffic redirection and noise measures.
A complete final traffic-control plan for every Peninsula jurisdiction was not available as of July 15. The practical approach is to review the Monterey County road advisory again shortly before the event. Residents can also receive county Car Week safety information by texting CARWEEK to 65513, subject to final verification before the week begins.
The resident planning list
- Complete time-sensitive deliveries and service appointments before private-event setup expands.
- Treat Thursday morning on Portola Road as a special operating window.
- Give weekend guests gate and arrival instructions in advance.
- Use the official Pebble Beach and Carmel sources for shuttle dates.
- Check the County road map and event map again 7 to 10 days before Car Week.
- Consider Concours Village or RetroAuto for a shorter, complimentary visit.
- Expect dismantling activity to continue after Concours Sunday.
A measured view of the 75th edition
Car Week imposes real demands on the Peninsula. It also supports a significant charitable program.
In 2025, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance generated a record $4 million in charitable donations and brought cumulative giving above $45 million. For the 75th edition, organizers have announced a goal of raising $5 million and moving total giving beyond $50 million. Funds support the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and other Monterey County organizations focused on children’s health and education.
Both facts deserve space in a resident’s account. The week changes access, adds noise and extends beyond its advertised dates. It also brings international attention to Pebble Beach and directs substantial support to regional organizations.
The most useful response is neither enthusiasm without qualification nor reflexive resistance. It is preparation. When the week is understood as a gradual build from August 6 through the final teardown on August 20, its demands become easier to place. Thursday offers the most graceful point of entry. The final weekend calls for restraint, clear guest communication and fewer assumptions about ordinary road patterns.
Car Week will always alter the rhythm of Pebble Beach. Reading that rhythm accurately is the resident advantage.
For discreet guidance on Pebble Beach property and life on the Central Coast, connect with Michele Altman, luxury real estate advisor with Sotheby’s International Realty.
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