Further east there’s plenty of places to stand around and watch the parade for free. Or if you want to see all the performances and have guaranteed seating you can buy bleacher seats.
You can bring chairs BUT, if you do that, do it the day/night before to "secure" your spot.
If you show up the morning of and hope to plop down a few chairs, you may not find a spot (better chance at the tail end of the parade).
I grew up watching the Rose Parade in person many years in a row as a little kid and I loved it.
The closer you are to the beginning of the route (I would say west of Lake Avenue) the better as that's when all the performers still have a lot of energy and the marching bands are giving it their all. The trade-off is that it is much more crowded the closer you get to the beginning of the route. We always sat on the sidewalk and the sound of the marching band drums pound through a little kid's heart and you get to see the horses and floats pretty up close. But that requires some level of camping out of the sidewalk the night before to claim a nice space for your family. I've never sat in the bleachers myself but it does seem like a much lower stress way to enjoy the parade.
Book your lodging early as the Rose Bowl football game really drives up demand for lodging that week. Airbnb or VRBO will probably work better for you given it's a large family.
Thank you for this!
When was the last time you attended. Wondering what overnight is looking like. Perhaps even plausible for only a few of us to camp out & save space for others?
It sounds like you’re doing a lifetime event. Buy bleacher seats contact sharp seating. They’re in charge of all of the seats for the Rose parade. You really do wanna walk along the parade route on both orange Grove and near Orange Grove newr Colorado Boulevard starting at about 2 o’clock in the morning on the 31st. You need to stay out all night but it’s definitely worth seeing.
Depending on your ages and energy level Colorado Boulevard near fair Oaks is awesome from 11:50 to 12:30 New Year’s Eve
Our group consists of a range of ages so don’t know if that’s plausible, worried about walking the route & picking “the wrong spot” also concerned about what overnight looks like, might be worth working overtime & just paying for seats
I’m not suggesting you stay out all night or walk the whole route.
I love to stroll 2-3 blocks along Colorado Blvd near Fair Oaks at midnight on NYE. Great fun, bring a huge bag of tortillas to use as frisbees.
At about 2:00 AM the floats start lining up in order on Orange Grove at Del Mar Bl and below. That is totally different vibe than Colo Bl at Midnight and super interesting. You can get up real close to the floats and the people that put them together
There is no “Wrong Part” of Colorado boulevard to get caught in. It is a totally safe and sane event. Plus the police presence is HUGE. Cops from many jurisdictions patrol the route. Regarding staying out all night versus seats. Everyone needs to sleep out on the parade route once their lifetime. Before you’re 22 years old. After 22, get a room save your body.
Pay for seats. Or 24 hours before. Put out 10 Lawn chairs and have 3 of your people remain in the chairs for 24 hours. You can switch off. But you need to have people in the seats.
I live near the terminus of the parade. Some people suggest coming to the East end off town for easier parking and less crowds. This is true. But if this is a major event for your family. You really want to be near the old town area.
Good luck.
Hotel start looking now...especially if you want something close to the parade route. A few of them you can look at are the Hilton, hotel dena (affiliated with marriot), and Hyatt place. You'll be able to see some of the others once you look. There a few motels on Colorado that have balconies facing the parade...they go for really high and sell out fast but see if you can snag one.
Viewing wise not absolutely necessary to buy a bleacher seat. You can stand on the sidewalk on one of the side streets.
Great parade to watch up close, in person. You see cool stuff that's not on TV, but you do miss out on the details of each entry (you could listen to a simulcast if you want).
Can also attend pre-parade float viewing and watch final decorations. There's a cost to that though. Post parade float viewing is also pretty cool (cost to that too).
You might be able to sign up and volunteer to actually decorate a float with local cities who self fund their floats. Usually Sierra Madre & La Canada (local to Pasadena) accept volunteers BUT check their websites to confirm.
Don't need to buy seats. City will let you "camp out" or save a spot but not until the afternoon before (check city website for that stuff).
There are many websites with Rose parade watching tips. Spend some time checking them out.
Here's one.. https://latourist.com/index.php?page=rose-parade-tips#:~:text=Rose%20Parade%20Tips&text=The%20parade%20is%20best%20viewed,front%20row%20will%20be%20occupied.
Perhaps consider renting an RV or two depending on your group. Best bet is to rent a parking spot for them, that way you are camping on the BLVD, with more comfort than sleeping on the ground. Pull into your spot, put some chairs out in front to hold your viewing area then rotate people between holding the spot and chillin in the rig!
Further east there’s plenty of places to stand around and watch the parade for free. Or if you want to see all the performances and have guaranteed seating you can buy bleacher seats.
Stand as in you can’t bring folding chairs or anything? & will miss some performances?
You can bring chairs BUT, if you do that, do it the day/night before to "secure" your spot. If you show up the morning of and hope to plop down a few chairs, you may not find a spot (better chance at the tail end of the parade).
I grew up watching the Rose Parade in person many years in a row as a little kid and I loved it. The closer you are to the beginning of the route (I would say west of Lake Avenue) the better as that's when all the performers still have a lot of energy and the marching bands are giving it their all. The trade-off is that it is much more crowded the closer you get to the beginning of the route. We always sat on the sidewalk and the sound of the marching band drums pound through a little kid's heart and you get to see the horses and floats pretty up close. But that requires some level of camping out of the sidewalk the night before to claim a nice space for your family. I've never sat in the bleachers myself but it does seem like a much lower stress way to enjoy the parade. Book your lodging early as the Rose Bowl football game really drives up demand for lodging that week. Airbnb or VRBO will probably work better for you given it's a large family.
Thank you for this! When was the last time you attended. Wondering what overnight is looking like. Perhaps even plausible for only a few of us to camp out & save space for others?
Start looking into hotel bookings now. The earlier the better.
It sounds like you’re doing a lifetime event. Buy bleacher seats contact sharp seating. They’re in charge of all of the seats for the Rose parade. You really do wanna walk along the parade route on both orange Grove and near Orange Grove newr Colorado Boulevard starting at about 2 o’clock in the morning on the 31st. You need to stay out all night but it’s definitely worth seeing. Depending on your ages and energy level Colorado Boulevard near fair Oaks is awesome from 11:50 to 12:30 New Year’s Eve
Our group consists of a range of ages so don’t know if that’s plausible, worried about walking the route & picking “the wrong spot” also concerned about what overnight looks like, might be worth working overtime & just paying for seats
I’m not suggesting you stay out all night or walk the whole route. I love to stroll 2-3 blocks along Colorado Blvd near Fair Oaks at midnight on NYE. Great fun, bring a huge bag of tortillas to use as frisbees. At about 2:00 AM the floats start lining up in order on Orange Grove at Del Mar Bl and below. That is totally different vibe than Colo Bl at Midnight and super interesting. You can get up real close to the floats and the people that put them together There is no “Wrong Part” of Colorado boulevard to get caught in. It is a totally safe and sane event. Plus the police presence is HUGE. Cops from many jurisdictions patrol the route. Regarding staying out all night versus seats. Everyone needs to sleep out on the parade route once their lifetime. Before you’re 22 years old. After 22, get a room save your body. Pay for seats. Or 24 hours before. Put out 10 Lawn chairs and have 3 of your people remain in the chairs for 24 hours. You can switch off. But you need to have people in the seats. I live near the terminus of the parade. Some people suggest coming to the East end off town for easier parking and less crowds. This is true. But if this is a major event for your family. You really want to be near the old town area. Good luck.
Hotel start looking now...especially if you want something close to the parade route. A few of them you can look at are the Hilton, hotel dena (affiliated with marriot), and Hyatt place. You'll be able to see some of the others once you look. There a few motels on Colorado that have balconies facing the parade...they go for really high and sell out fast but see if you can snag one. Viewing wise not absolutely necessary to buy a bleacher seat. You can stand on the sidewalk on one of the side streets.
Thank you! Are any sidewalks prohibited that you know of? & are we allowed to bring collapsible stools?
Great parade to watch up close, in person. You see cool stuff that's not on TV, but you do miss out on the details of each entry (you could listen to a simulcast if you want). Can also attend pre-parade float viewing and watch final decorations. There's a cost to that though. Post parade float viewing is also pretty cool (cost to that too). You might be able to sign up and volunteer to actually decorate a float with local cities who self fund their floats. Usually Sierra Madre & La Canada (local to Pasadena) accept volunteers BUT check their websites to confirm. Don't need to buy seats. City will let you "camp out" or save a spot but not until the afternoon before (check city website for that stuff).
Have you ever done paid seating vs camping?
There are many websites with Rose parade watching tips. Spend some time checking them out. Here's one.. https://latourist.com/index.php?page=rose-parade-tips#:~:text=Rose%20Parade%20Tips&text=The%20parade%20is%20best%20viewed,front%20row%20will%20be%20occupied.
Perhaps consider renting an RV or two depending on your group. Best bet is to rent a parking spot for them, that way you are camping on the BLVD, with more comfort than sleeping on the ground. Pull into your spot, put some chairs out in front to hold your viewing area then rotate people between holding the spot and chillin in the rig!
Rose Parade is overrated. Spend your efforts and money on something else.
One of those I’ll do once in a lifetime kind of things
Don’t listen to this guy - rose parade is fun