Monterey Car Week 2026: the dates, schedule, and free events

The official Monterey County visitor calendar identifies August 7–16 as the core Car Week window and lists the free Monterey Car Week Kickoff on Alvarado Street with a 5 p.m. start. The official Pre-Reunion schedule supplies the full 5-to-7 p.m. window for that kickoff.

Saturday and Sunday shift the center of gravity to Laguna Seca. The official Pre-Reunion schedule covers August 8–9. Practice and qualifying lead into Saturday’s Corkscrew Hillclimb, while Sunday is organized around two rounds of historic racing. The detailed session grid is marked subject to change, so a specific race group should be checked at the venue source.

Monterey British is scheduled for Monday, August 10, at the Carmel Valley Historical Society. The organizer lists a 10 a.m. start and free spectator access. An official destination calendar displays a different start time and venue, which are disclosed later in this tracker.

The Automobilia Collectors Expo runs Monday through Wednesday at Embassy Suites Monterey Bay in Seaside. It is a ticketed collectors’ event rather than an outdoor car show.

On Tuesday, Concours for a Cause is scheduled on Ocean Avenue in Carmel from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with free public entry. A See Monterey travel page labels it Wednesday instead; the event organizer and Visit Carmel both support Tuesday, so that date controls here and the conflict is disclosed below.

The first Bonhams Laguna Seca Auction preview also opens Tuesday with free public access. Bonhams lists 9 a.m. starts Tuesday and Wednesday, but its own page conflicts between 5:30 and 6 p.m. close times. It lists a ticketed Thursday preview from 8:30 to 10 a.m., followed by the 10 a.m. auction. Use 5:30 p.m. as the conservative Tuesday and Wednesday planning cutoff until Bonhams reconciles the page. Destination and venue pages also publish later Thursday endings, so the organizer’s 8:30-to-10 window controls that day.

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion begins its four-day program at Laguna Seca. Anyone seeking one category of race car needs the live day-by-day schedule because the event window does not mean every group runs every day.

Away from the circuit, Astons on the Avenue is scheduled in Carmel from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Little Car Show runs in Pacific Grove from noon to 5 p.m. The current Little Car Show page supports the date and time, but its spectator-access wording is not clear enough to freeze here, so readers should check it directly.

Wednesday evening, Motorlux runs at the Monterey Jet Center from 6 to 10 p.m. It is ticketed and limited to guests 21 and older. The organizer’s 10 p.m. close conflicts with a later time on an official destination listing, so this tracker uses the organizer time and keeps the mismatch visible.

Three auction programs also have Wednesday activity: previews for Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach Auctions, RM Sotheby’s Monterey, and the Broad Arrow auction at The Quail.

The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance begins lining up before 7 a.m. and is scheduled to leave at 9:30 a.m. The public may watch without a fee at designated locations. That does not guarantee unrestricted roadside access, so the organizer’s route and viewing guidance should control.

Concours Village opens from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It is a free public venue that is separate from the credentialed Concours show field.

Thursday’s marque gatherings include the Ferrari Owners Club Concours Carmel on Ocean Avenue and Legends of the Autobahn at Pacific Grove Golf Links. The Carmel destination page lists free public viewing for the FOC event. Legends lists free spectator admission, while designated parking is a separate paid item.

Pebble Beach adds RetroAuto and the Classic Car Forum. RetroAuto is open to the public at no cost, and both current Pebble Beach records now list an 8 a.m. Thursday opening. The Forum is open to the public with session-specific registration and access terms.

The Reunion continues at Laguna Seca. Bonhams, RM Sotheby’s, Mecum Monterey, and Broad Arrow also have scheduled Thursday programs.

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, is scheduled in Carmel from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its current organizer page does not expose enough entry-access detail to freeze that boundary here, so readers should confirm current admission terms directly with the organizer. Its four announced themes do not establish a final entrant list or guarantee a specific vehicle appearance.

Werks Reunion Monterey begins Friday morning at Monterey Pines Golf Course. The official destination calendar lists free spectator access; participant registration and parking arrangements remain separate. The Pacific Grove Rotary Concours Auto Rally begins public viewing and staging at 10 a.m. before a 2 p.m. rally departure, with free spectator access.

The Paddock Monterey runs from 3 to 8 p.m. at Bayonet Black Horse and is ticketed. Racing, Concours Village, RetroAuto, Forum sessions, and auction programs continue in parallel.

Saturday is the final day of the Motorsports Reunion and the busiest day for public-facing events outside Pebble Beach.

• Concours d’Lemons runs on the Seaside City Hall lawn. The organizer lists free access, and the official destination record lists 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Concorso Italiano runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bayonet Black Horse and is ticketed.
• Exotics on Broadway is scheduled in Seaside from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The organizer’s current pages support a free Broadway Avenue spectator display plus a separate ticketed showcase. Its ticket page places that showcase on Del Monte Boulevard, while parts of the access guide still say Fremont Boulevard. Confirm the live access map before traveling.
• Monterey Motorsports Festival runs from 5 to 11 p.m. at the Monterey County Fairgrounds and is ticketed.

Pebble Beach programs and several auctions also continue Saturday. A visitor cannot reasonably cover all of these as one continuous event, especially after accounting for parking and cross-county travel.

The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is scheduled from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The current sequence is:

1. The show field opens to spectators with a credential at 5:30 a.m.
2. Judging begins at 8 a.m.
3. The awards ceremony and live show run from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

The credential language matters. Free access to Concours Village and RetroAuto does not grant entry to the judged show field.

The official Pebble Beach directions page says 17-Mile Drive will be closed to non-Concours-related traffic from Thursday, August 13, through Sunday, August 16. It says Concours activity attendees, residents, club members, and others with normal passes can enter, and that public hotels, retail shops, and restaurants remain open. The page is expected to keep changing, so final parking maps and arrival instructions remain live-source facts.

Auction week includes Bonhams, Gooding Christie’s, RM Sotheby’s, Mecum, and Broad Arrow. Their public boundaries are not uniform.

• Bonhams lists a free public preview Tuesday, ticketed previews Wednesday and Thursday, and a Thursday auction.
• Gooding Christie’s lists preview days from Wednesday through Saturday and auction sessions on Friday and Saturday.
• RM Sotheby’s lists a preview beginning Wednesday and an auction program from Thursday through Saturday.
• Mecum lists its Monterey sale from Thursday through Saturday, but its current event page does not expose a reliable daily time grid worth copying here.
• Broad Arrow lists complimentary public previews Wednesday through Friday and auction sessions Thursday and Friday, with seating initially restricted before opening approximately one hour after each session begins.

Preview access, catalog access, bidder registration, and auction-floor admission are different permissions. Anyone planning around a particular vehicle or sale session should use the auction house’s current event page.

The reviewed sources support a free spectator component at the downtown kickoff, Monterey British, Concours for a Cause, Astons on the Avenue, designated Tour viewing points, Concours Village, FOC Concours Carmel, Legends of the Autobahn, Werks Reunion, the Pacific Grove Rotary Rally, Concours d’Lemons, and the Broadway Avenue portion of Exotics on Broadway.

That does not make the entire visit free. Parking may carry a charge or use a remote lot. A free street display may sit beside a reserved area. Participant registration, hospitality, a shuttle, or an auction session can have separate terms.

This tracker does not silently choose whichever time looks most convenient.

1. Monterey British lists 10 a.m. at the Carmel Valley Historical Society on the organizer page, while an official destination calendar lists 11 a.m. at Carmel Valley Community Park. The organizer time and venue are used here.
2. Motorlux lists a 10 p.m. close, while an official destination listing says 10:30 p.m. The organizer time is used here.
3. Concours for a Cause and Visit Carmel list Tuesday, August 11, while the See Monterey travel page says August 12. The organizer-supported August 11 date is used here.
4. The Bonhams page itself gives Tuesday and Wednesday 5:30 p.m. closes in its schedule grid but 6 p.m. closes in its preview description. This tracker uses 5:30 p.m. as the conservative planning cutoff.
5. Bonhams lists its Thursday preview from 8:30 to 10 a.m., while See Monterey extends it to 11 a.m. and WeatherTech Raceway lists 9 to 11 a.m. The Bonhams organizer time is used here.
6. FOC NorCal lists vehicle placement beginning at 7 a.m. and an overall 4 p.m. close, Visit Carmel lists public hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the county calendar extends the event to 4:30 p.m. This tracker uses the organizer-supported 9 a.m. public opening and 4 p.m. close where a public window is needed.
7. The aggregate visitor calendar lists 9 a.m. openings for Concours Village on Thursday and Sunday, while the event-specific organizer page lists 8 a.m. openings. The organizer’s differentiated daily hours are used here.
8. The aggregate visitor calendar and Visit Carmel compress RetroAuto into shorter or blanket windows, while the two event-specific Pebble Beach pages list August 13–16 with 8 a.m. openings Thursday and Sunday. The event-specific organizer dates and hours are used here.

There is also a separate Exotics on Broadway access-location conflict. The organizer’s current pages agree that Broadway Avenue spectator viewing remains free and a separate showcase is ticketed, but the access guide alternates between Del Monte Boulevard and Fremont Boulevard for that ticketed section. The live access map should control on the day.

There is a separate transportation conflict. The travel page labels a Carmel-to-Pebble shuttle as an August 16 service but also calls the day Sunday, August 17. In 2026, Sunday is August 16. The shuttle price and timing remain outside this tracker until the listing is corrected or separately confirmed.

• the date and opening time;
• whether a ticket, credential, reservation, bidder registration, or parking pass is required;
• the exact entrance, parking lot, and shuttle route;
• any road closure or rideshare instruction;
• the day’s race group, display, forum, or auction schedule;
• ticket inventory and refund terms; and
• a weather, safety, delay, or cancellation notice.

For exact times, admission, and access, the individual organizer takes priority over an aggregate roundup. A later material change belongs on this same living URL with a visible update record, not in a near-duplicate schedule article.

No correction has been recorded at this review-candidate checkpoint. Every time-sensitive fact must be checked again by a human reviewer before publication.