The 1200 block of East Acacia Avenue is a cul-de-sac. One street, one way in, and a holiday tradition dating to 1949 that now draws far more people than the street was built for. The tradition started when resident Kenneth Bailey decorated a communal tree and his neighbors followed. In 2023, Amazon Prime Video released a movie based on the street and filmed there.
The block is the same size it was in 1949. This year the city has changed how people reach it. El Segundo's calendar lists a free Park & Ride shuttle every night from Dec. 12 through Dec. 23, 4:30 to 10 p.m., running a continuous loop through three city parks. Last year it ran on seven nights. This year it runs all twelve, and one of its stops is on the corner of Richmond Street. That moves the starting point of El Segundo's biggest December crowd away from Acacia and toward downtown.
Why the city stepped in last December
The 2025 season came with new rules. On Dec. 9, 2025, the city issued a release titled "El Segundo's Candy Cane Lane Calls for Courtesy," saying the neighbors who host the tradition had raised concerns. It listed the problems that come with heavy foot and vehicle traffic: large amounts of trash, restrooms that weren't being used properly, and aggressive drivers. The same release put the city's estimated cost of supporting the event in 2024 at $63,000. The residents themselves pay for all the decorations.
According to the release, the City Council directed staff to put these rules in place for 2025, and the Daily Breeze reported the same list two days later:
- Barricades from 5 to 10 p.m. on the 1100 and 1200 blocks of East Acacia Avenue and the 900 block of California Street
- Food sales limited to prepackaged items, and only on the weekends of Dec. 13–14 and Dec. 19–21
- Police patrols continuing on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
- A request that Candy Cane Lane residents turn off their lights at 10 p.m. so visitors would head home
"We just ask that all who visit show respect to the community that keeps this wonderful holiday tradition alive."
That was Mayor Chris Pimentel in the city's 2025 release. The tone was welcoming but firm. The 2025 shuttle was part of the same plan, running from Recreation Park and the El Segundo Public Library to Sycamore Park on Dec. 13 and 14, then nightly from Dec. 19 to 23.
The 2026 loop, stop by stop
This season's shuttle uses the same three parks, but where the 2025 service carried riders out to Sycamore Park on selected nights, the 2026 shuttle loops continuously every night of the season. The city lists the stops in this order:
- Recreation Park, 401 Sheldon St. Use the Guaymas parking lot entrance. Last year the city also had restrooms here.
- Library Park, 111 W. Mariposa Ave., at the Richmond Street corner.
- Sycamore Park, 808 California St., the stop closest to Candy Cane Lane.
Last year the lights were on from 5 to 10 p.m. each night, and Santa arrived at 7 p.m. on opening night. The 2026 shuttle starts at 4:30, half an hour earlier than last year's lighting, and runs until 10. It is free.
If you live near Acacia, this changes the traffic pattern on your street. If you live anywhere else in El Segundo, it means you can leave the car at home or at a park and skip the crawl down California Street. And if your evening starts downtown, Stop 2 is on the Richmond Street corner.
Library Park is the stop with dinner attached
Recreation Park and Sycamore Park are parks. Library Park sits at the Richmond Street corner, in the downtown core where Richmond Street, Main Street and Grand Avenue carry a long list of restaurants and bars. A family that parks there can eat first, ride to the lights, and come back to the same block for dessert or a beer. On the busiest nights, that turns the shuttle into a downtown evening.
On Richmond Street
Old Town Patio at 115 Richmond St. reopened in 2025 as a barbecue spot and was still hosting events this summer, according to Easy Reader. A short way up the block, Porterhouse Bourbon & Bones at 223 Richmond St. hosted a dining event in October that Easy Reader included in its October dining roundup.
In the Daily Breeze roundup of El Segundo bar food, two Richmond Street spots appear: G's Il Capo dei Bar at 225 Richmond St. and Richmond Bar & Grill at 145 Richmond St.
On Main Street
El Segundo Brewing Company at 140 Main St. showed up in Easy Reader's Best of the Beach 2026 dining results, along with Japonica at 229 Main St. and Canton Low Chinese Restaurant at 439 Main St.
Farther up Main, ¡Jaime! Taqueria at 450 Main St. opened in 2025. Its sister restaurant, Jame Enoteca, is at 241 Main St., as Easy Reader noted in its review of ¡Jaime!.
The same Daily Breeze roundup covers three more bars on and near Main: Tavern on Main at 123 Main St., Rock & Brews at 143 Main St. and Brewport Taphouse & Kitchen at 204 Main St.
On Grand Avenue
The Slice & Pint at 130 W. Grand Ave. serves pizza and beer in the same downtown core.
The rest of December, arranged around the loop
The shuttle runs the twelve nights from Dec. 12 to Dec. 23. The weeks before that already have their own schedule, and much of it happens downtown too.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursdays–Saturdays through Dec. 19, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Mattel Toy Store Holiday Tent Sale | 1955 E. Grand Ave. |
| Dec. 1–18 | Spark of Love Toy Drive | City calendar listing |
| Dec. 3, 3–7 p.m., tree lighting at 5:30 | Joy Around the World: Festival of Holidays and Tree Lighting | City Hall Plaza, 350 Main St. |
| Dec. 5, 9 a.m. | Breakfast with Santa | City calendar listing |
| Dec. 5, 6 p.m. | Snow Showers at The Point | The Point |
| Dec. 12–23, 4:30–10 p.m. | Candy Cane Lane Shuttle | Recreation Park, Library Park, Sycamore Park |
| Dec. 24–25 | City Hall and Library closed | Citywide |
The tree lighting on Dec. 3 brings the season onto Main Street nine days before the shuttle starts. The city's November newsletter describes it as an afternoon of crafts, food and performers at City Hall Plaza, with the tree lit at 5:30 p.m. City Hall Plaza is on Main Street, so the downtown restaurants above work for both evenings.
The Mattel Toy Store Holiday Tent Sale happens on the city's east side. The listing advertises up to 70% off Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and Mega, with new stock added through the season as items sell out. Parking comes with specific instructions. Use the Holiday Tent lot, entering on Grand Avenue, or park in front of the toy store on Continental Boulevard. There is no customer parking in the Mattel structure. Cards are accepted. The permanent Mattel Toy Store at 333 Continental Blvd., on the campus of Mattel's global headquarters, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you're heading south toward The Pointe at 820 PCH, HomeState is a newer stop. The Tex-Mex restaurant opened at #112 this fall, according to Easy Reader.
What a twelve-night loop does to an old tradition
The 2025 rules addressed problems on the block itself: barricades, trash cans, portable restrooms at Sycamore Park, and lights off at 10. The 2026 shuttle takes on the drive to the block. When it runs every night, from Recreation Park's Guaymas lot and from a stop downtown, visitors have a reason to arrive somewhere other than Acacia. The city calls it a way to "help ease traffic and parking congestion around Candy Cane Lane." For the families on the 1200 block, who fund every light, the goal is fewer cars on their street. For everyone else in El Segundo, it means a December evening can start with dinner on Richmond Street and still end at the cul-de-sac.
Any South Bay seller knows that a home's surroundings in December are part of what buyers see. If your home is near Acacia, downtown or one of the three shuttle parks and you're wondering how the season might affect timing, showings or presentation, Ryan Shaw Group can walk you through it block by block. Request Your Home Valuation, and we'll include what the holiday calendar means for your street.
