The 47th Corona del Mar Christmas Walk is Sunday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. That is an hour longer than last year, and this year it has a trolley. The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce has added a hop-on-hop-off trolley for the first time. Its route map points visitors to one place to leave the car, labeled "Civic Center & Free Trolley Parking."
On paper it's a small convenience for a single afternoon. It also arrives while the City is planning summer trolley service for Corona del Mar and studying how to ease parking along Coast Highway. On Dec. 6 the village's biggest street party is the first day this fall to put that idea into practice.
What the Chamber Added This Year
The Chamber announces the trolley in a single line on its event page:
"NEW THIS YEAR IS THE HOP-ON-HOP-OFF TROLLEY TO EASILY GET TO ALL YOUR FAVORITE ENTERTAINMENT STOPS!"
The map marks the Civic Center parking and both southbound and northbound Pacific Coast Highway. The Walk is free and has no set starting point. The Chamber invites visitors to stroll the PCH sidewalks through the village.
The hours changed too. The Newport Beach Independent reported that the 46th Walk ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2025. This year the Walk runs until 5 p.m. With the extra hour and parking outside the village, visitors have more time to spend on Coast Highway.
The rest of the program will look familiar. The Chamber lists more than 17 local bands, visits and photos with Santa, a Beer & Wine Garden with dancing to the "Pinch Me" Band, vendor booths, children's activities, merchant and restaurant promotions, and street performers. Proceeds have gone to the Corona del Mar High School Music Program in past years, the Independent reported.
Why Parking Was Already on the City's Agenda
The trolley isn't a new idea for the village. It comes out of a conversation that has been running at City Hall since 2024.
The City's Corona del Mar Commercial Corridor Study launched that year to recommend zoning, parking and infrastructure changes for the Coast Highway business district. On Feb. 10, 2026, the City Council formally started the General Plan, Local Coastal Program and Municipal Code amendments needed to carry out those recommendations.
The Planning Commission held a study session on the proposed amendments on Sept. 17 at the Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Drive. That is the same complex the Walk trolley's parking label points to. The City said no action would be taken at the session, and the amendments would come back at a later public hearing before a recommendation goes to the City Council.
Citizen Portal's account of that session reported that several residents told the commission that parking and congestion along the corridor are at capacity and spilling into nearby neighborhoods. Staff described possible options:
- Dynamic signage showing where parking is available
- An extension of trolley service
- Crosswalk bulb-outs along the corridor
- A voluntary monthly in-lieu parking fee to help pay for leasing private lots and other improvements
None of these has been adopted. Staff said the fee design and coastal constraints still need work. The Chamber's trolley is separate from the study, though trolley service is one of the options on that list.
Three Trolleys on One Timeline
Corona del Mar will see three different trolley efforts within a few months of one another, and they are easy to mix up. The Walk trolley is the Chamber's. The City runs its own trolley program and has announced plans to expand it.
| Christmas Walk trolley | Balboa Peninsula Trolley | Planned summer expansion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run by | Promoted by the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce | City of Newport Beach | City of Newport Beach |
| When | Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, during the Walk | Weekends and summer holidays, May 23 to Sept. 7, 2026, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. | Next summer |
| Where | Civic Center parking to stops along PCH in the village | 22 marked stops on the Peninsula, starting near the Avon Street Parking Lot | Balboa Island, Corona del Mar, Fashion Island and Newport Dunes |
| Parking and fare | Free trolley parking at the Civic Center | Free rides; free parking at the Avon Street lot with the City's code | Details to come from the City |
The Balboa Peninsula Trolley shows how the City sets up its service. This past summer, four trolleys ran each day, and the City estimated a trolley would reach each stop about every 15 minutes, with delays possible in heavy traffic. Riders could bring bikes on a front rack that holds two, surfboards up to six feet held upright, and beach gear.
At October's 3rd Thursdays event in the village, the City brought its new open-air trolley. People could climb aboard, take photos and talk with senior civil engineer Eric Loke about the Peninsula service and the planned expansion. The City's Oct. 23 newsletter called the evening a preview of next summer's expanded service, which will give residents and visitors more ways to get around Newport Beach.
So the village will get a one-day trolley in December, a City display came through in October, and a City expansion is planned for next summer. The Christmas Walk is the first of these to actually carry people between a parking area and the village.
The Corner Where It All Comes Together
The trolley display at 3rd Thursdays was parked in the Sherman Library & Gardens lot at Dahlia Avenue and PCH. That night the same lot also held inflatable carnival games, a preview setup from Hazeltine's Restaurant, Corona del Mar High School and the CdM Residents Association.
On Dec. 6 that corner will be busy again. The Chamber's vendor fair at PCH and Dahlia is at 2647 E. Coast Highway, which is Sherman's address. A second vendor fair runs at PCH and Marguerite.
The timing at Sherman also works out. The Walk ends at 5 p.m., and Sherman's first entry window for "Merry & Bright Lights" opens at 5 p.m. that evening. Stu News Newport reports that the after-hours, timed-ticket event runs on select December nights, with lights, music, Mexican food for purchase, a dance floor, Santa, the Wishing Tree, a holiday craft and the Sherman Express G-gauge train. The first run is Dec. 4 through 6, the second is Dec. 10 through 13, and the last is Dec. 17 through 22, with entry at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. each night. Tickets are $45 for members and $65 for non-members, and children 3 and under get in free. The event goes on rain or shine, dates cannot be changed after purchase, and Sherman expects it to sell out.
The lot will keep drawing people after the holidays. Sherman's planned restaurant on the PCH side, Hazeltine's, is aiming for late summer 2027. Sherman says it will serve brunch, lunch and dinner seven days a week with a full bar, and it will be run by Damian Orozco, owner of Tea House on Los Rios. That puts its opening in the same season as the City's trolley expansion.
Planning Sunday, Dec. 6
The Walk gives you a full afternoon, and the trolley makes it easier to split between ends of the village. Here's one way to plan the day from first stop to last:
- Arriving. Park at the Civic Center lot shown on the Chamber's trolley map and ride into the village.
- 11 a.m. The Corona del Mar Branch Library Holiday Open House at 410 Marigold Avenue starts with holiday storytime, followed by the Lincoln Elementary Choir at 11:30 a.m. and the Newport Elementary Choir at 12:15 p.m. The open house is for all ages, needs no registration and runs until 4 p.m., with crafts and treats while supplies last. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Midday. Walk or ride between the vendor fairs at PCH and Marguerite and PCH and Dahlia, catching bands along the way and the Beer & Wine Garden with the "Pinch Me" Band.
- Afternoon. Roger's Gardens at 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road has its 2026 Christmas Boutique open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., so there's time to stop in after the Walk winds down.
- 5 p.m. The Walk ends. Ticket holders for Sherman's 5 p.m. entry are already at the right corner.
The corridor amendments still have to go through a Planning Commission hearing and then the City Council. The Christmas Walk trolley runs Dec. 6, before either vote.
If the trolley has you thinking about how Corona del Mar's village is changing, we're glad to talk it through over coffee on Marigold or a walk down Coast Highway. The team at Arbor Real Estate follows these corridor decisions closely and would love to compare notes with you after Dec. 6. Let's Connect.
