Skip to content
What is on this date?

Journal

Key West Holiday Parade vs. Lighted Boat Parade 2026: two Saturdays, a week apart

The short answer

Key West, Florida, has two holiday parades in 2026, seven days apart. The City's Hometown Holiday Parade comes down Duval Street on Saturday, Dec. 5 (the City lists 7 PM; keywestchristmas.org says 6:30). Schooner Wharf's 35th Lighted Boat Parade crosses the Key West Bight on Saturday, Dec. 12, with music from 6 PM and boats at 8 PM, watched free from the Harbor Walk.

By the Christmas in Key West Editorial Team6 min read Last checked October 21, 2026

Daytime view down a harbour walkway to a docked shrimp boat with tall outriggers; a small decorated evergreen tree stands on its deck, with red bows and garland on nearby posts. A 'Schooner Wharf' sign is on a white building at left, a schooner mast at right, palms, and a few pedestrians.
Photo: Julian Lupyan, CC0 (cropped)

“The Key West Christmas parade” can mean two different evenings. One is a street parade of floats and Santa on Truman Avenue and Duval Street. The other is lit-up boats crossing the water of the Key West Bight. They have different organizers, different start times and different places to stand, and in 2026 they fall on consecutive Saturdays, 7 days apart. Below is what each organizer and the City of Key West had posted when we read their pages on Oct. 21, 2026.

Hometown Holiday ParadeLighted Boat Parade
DateSaturday, Dec. 5, 2026Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026
Who runs itCity of Key West (street closure and event notice)Schooner Wharf Bar (35th annual)
StartCity: 7 to 9 PM. keywestchristmas.org: 6:30 PMMusic 6 PM, parade 8 PM (organizers)
WhereTruman Ave. at White St., then Duval St. to Eaton St.Through the Key West Bight
Watch fromNo viewing area publishedThe Harbor Walk; judges at Schooner Wharf
Cost to watchNo price on the City noticeListing marked FREE

The Hometown Holiday Parade, Sat. Dec. 5

The City of Key West’s event notice is titled “Holiday Parade – Street Closure and City Property Event Notice” and gives Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Holiday Fest calendar also says 7 PM. keywestchristmas.org, the Historic Seaport’s holiday site, says “Starts at 6:30pm”, 30 minutes earlier. The City is the organizer, so we plan around 7 PM and tell you about the 6:30 listing so an early float does not catch you out.

The route we can cite comes from keywestchristmas.org: the parade starts on Truman Avenue at White Street, turns onto Duval Street, and runs down Duval to Eaton Street, with Santa making an appearance. The Holiday Fest calendar describes a start at Bayview Park instead. Neither source names a grandstand or a viewing zone, so the published route is the viewing area. The Holiday Parade page will carry the City’s route if it posts one.

The Lighted Boat Parade, Sat. Dec. 12

Schooner Wharf Bar’s 2026 events page lists the 35th annual parade on Dec. 12 at 8:00 p.m. and says the judges’ stand is at Schooner Wharf. keywestchristmas.org adds music from 6:00. The City’s notice for the night covers a wider 7 to 10 PM window at the Historic Seaport, 201 William Street; we read that as the City’s window for use of its property, not a different parade time. Schooner Wharf’s flyer line still read “2026 Coming Soon” when we checked.

Where to stand is the clearest part of either parade. keywestchristmas.org says viewing runs all along the Harbor Walk of Lights at the Historic Seaport, with the reviewing stand at Schooner Wharf, and marks the listing FREE. Fury Water Adventures, a parade participant, says the boats travel through the Key West Bight. No organizer has published a 2026 theme or a turn-by-turn route on the water. If you want a deck rather than the seawall, keywestchristmas.org lists a Schooner Appledore II party from 7:30 to 9:30 pm with very limited seating and no price shown.

The parade has two bookends. Schooner Wharf lists a captains’ meeting on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2026 and an awards ceremony on Monday, Dec. 14, 2026, both at 8:00 p.m., with prizes for the leading 12 vessels. The Lighted Boat Parade page collects the rest of that night.

  • Schooner Wharf lists "Dec. 10 Captains' Meeting Schooner Wharf Lighted Boat Parade 8:00 p.m." and "Dec. 14 Schooner Wharf Bar Lighted Boat Parade Awards Ceremony 8:00 p.m.", with "Boat Loads of Prizes awarded to Top 12 Vessels". Schooner Wharf Bar: Special Events (2026 Events)

What else is on those two nights

Around Sat. Dec. 5

The night before, Friday, Dec. 4, 2026, the City lists a Holiday Village and BeLighted Bike Ride at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater with a rolling street closure. That one is a City notice and a Holiday Fest listing, not yet confirmed on the organizer’s page, so it is a maybe. Sloppy Joe’s runs its End of Prohibition Celebration from Dec. 3 to Sat. Dec. 5, and Hebcal puts the start of Hanukkah at sundown on Friday, Dec. 4, 2026, so parade night is also the second evening of the holiday.

  • The City of Key West calendar lists "Holiday Village & BeLighted Bike Ride – City Property Event Notice and Street Closure Notice" on "Friday, December 4, 2026", "4:00 PM – 10:00 PM", at "Coffee Butler Amphitheater", "21 East Quay Road": "There will be a rolling street closure along the parade route. Parade begins at the Amphitheater, to Southard, left on Whitehead, right on Front, right on Duval, right on United, right on Whitehead and returns to the Amphitheater." City of Key West: Calendar event notice
  • Sloppy Joe's events page: "Thursday through Saturday, December 3-5, 2026", "Key West End of Prohibition Celebration". Sloppy Joe's Bar: Events
  • Hebcal: "Chanukah for Hebrew Year 5787 begins at sundown on Friday, 4 December 2026 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, 12 December 2026." Hebcal: Chanukah 2026

Around Sat. Dec. 12

Boat parade day starts early if the Rudolph Red Nose 5K happens: a City notice lists it from 8 AM to noon on Dec. 12, closing South and Duval streets for the start. Hanukkah ends at nightfall the same day. Both lights tours run that evening. The Conch Tour Train’s half-hourly departures from 6:00 to 8:30 pm include 2 at or after 8:00, the minute the boats move off, and they leave from Key West High School on Flagler Avenue, not from the waterfront. Old Town Trolley’s range also covers Dec. 12, with no departure times posted.

  • The City of Key West calendar lists "Rudolph Red Nose 5K – City Property Event Notice and Street Closure Notice" on Dec. 12, 2026, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM: "Race starts and ends at the Duval Street Pocket Park. South Street and Duval Street will be closed for the start of the race." City of Key West: Calendar event notice
  • Conch Tour Train: "Holiday Sights and Festive Nights Tour", "an hour tour that takes you to all of the island's most elaborately decorated houses, buildings and neighborhoods and caroling." "2026 Dates: December 8-9, 11-14, and 16-27." "6:00 pm, 6:30 pm, 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:00 pm, and 8:30 pm." "Departs from: Key West High School, 2100 Flagler Avenue." "Limited capacity: 48 seats per train." "Tour includes special holiday lights glasses!" Conch Tour Train: Holiday Sights and Festive Nights Tour
  • Old Town Trolley: "Old Town Trolley's Holiday Sights and Festive Nights Tour". "WHERE Mallory Square", "WHEN December 7-27, 2026.", "DURATION 60 minutes". "Limited capacity: 35 seats per trolley." "VIP passes cannot be accepted or used for Holiday Tours." Old Town Trolley Tours: Key West Holiday Tours

The night before the boats, Friday, Dec. 11, 2026, is crowded too: Night 1 of the Holiday Historic Inn Tours runs 6 to 8 pm, and the Custom House Holiday Concert and Bazaar runs 5 to 8 PM with Front Street closed from Greene to Whitehead.

  • The Holiday Fest calendar lists "Holiday Historic Inn Tours" Night 1 on Dec. 11, 2026 and Night 2 on Dec. 18, 2026, 6:00 to 8:00 pm, each with "5:30pm check-in. Visit and tour beautifully decorated locations and their unique architecture and history while enjoying light sweet and savory holiday treats and libation samplings. Tickets available beginning Nov. 15." Key West Inns (Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West): Holiday Fest Calendar
  • The City of Key West calendar lists "2026 Custom House Holiday Concert & Bazaar – City Property Event Notice" on "Friday, December 11, 2026", "5:00 PM – 8:00 PM": "The event takes place at the Custom House and Clinton Place. Front Street will be closed in front of the Custom House from Greene Street to Whitehead Street." KWAHS says students' trees will be displayed "in the week leading up to our Annual Holiday Concert & Bazaar on December 11th." City of Key West: Calendar event notice; Key West Art & Historical Society: Holiday Concert & Bazaar

How to see both

Both parades fit in one trip if you are in town from Sat. Dec. 5 to Sat. Dec. 12, 8 days counting both Saturdays. The week between is not empty. On Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, Schooner Wharf holds its tree trimming party from 6 PM, and the City lights its menorah at Bayview Park from 5 to 7 PM. The trolley lights tours start Dec. 7 and the Conch Train tours Dec. 8. The captains’ meeting is Thu. Dec. 10, and the inn tour and Custom House night is Fri. Dec. 11. Our date checker shows every night in that span.

With room for one, the difference is the setting. The street parade happens on land along a published route through Old Town. The boat parade happens on the water, and you watch from a fixed seawall. We found no 2026 rain plan from either organizer, so check their pages on the day.

Getting there on the two nights

The City’s Dec. 5 notice is a street closure notice, so do not expect to drive along Truman or Duval that evening. For Dec. 12, keywestchristmas.org names three places to park: the main lot at Margaret and Caroline streets, the parking garage a block away at Caroline and Grinnell, and the lot at Green and Elizabeth streets. It also points to free scooter parking and bike racks around the Seaport, and asks that nobody lock a bike to the decorations. See our parking page for the lots in one table.

The garage is the City’s Park N Ride at 301 Grinnell Street, and the City warns that special event rates may apply. Key West Rides, the City’s on-demand bus, stops at 8 PM: the minute the boat parade starts, and an hour before the City’s Holiday Parade window closes. Plan the trip home on foot, by bike or by scooter.

  • keywestchristmas.org: "Park in the Main Parking Lot located at Margaret & Caroline St. OR the Parking Garage one block away at Caroline & Grinnell St. OR in the lot at Green & Elizabeth St." and "Please use FREE scooter parking areas and designated bike racks all around the Historic Seaport and Harbor Walk Area. Please no locking bikes to the decorations!" Key West "Bight" Before Christmas: keywestchristmas.org (Harbor Walk of Lights)
  • City of Key West: the "Park N Ride – Old Town Parking Garage" is "at 301 Grinnell Street at the corner of Caroline & Grinnell Streets", "300 on a first come, first serve basis", hourly "$ 6.00 plus tax", daily "$48.00 plus tax". "Special Event Rates may apply – the City Manager determines the rate." "The bus stop is across Caroline Street in front of West Marine." (Page last updated Feb. 28, 2024.) City of Key West: Parking Garage
  • City of Key West: "Key West Rides On-Demand is an innovative form of transportation that will replace the North and South Lines". "This is a bus stop-to-bus stop service". Hours "Monday" to "Sunday 6 AM" to "8 PM", "(No service on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day)." Booking help: "305-809-3910". City of Key West: Key West Rides On-Demand Bus Service

On Dec. 12 the sun sets at 5:40 PM and civil twilight ends at 6:05 PM, per the U.S. Naval Observatory. The boats set off 140 minutes after sunset, in full dark, which is the point of a lighted boat.

Sources we checked

When is the Key West Holiday Parade in 2026?

Saturday, December 5, 2026. The City of Key West lists it from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. keywestchristmas.org says it starts at 6:30pm, so arrive before 6:30 to be safe.

Source: City of Key West: Calendar event notice

What is the Holiday Parade route?

According to keywestchristmas.org, it starts on Truman Ave. at White St., turns onto Duval St., and runs down Duval to Eaton St. The City notice does not print a route.

Source: Key West "Bight" Before Christmas: keywestchristmas.org (Harbor Walk of Lights)

Is the street holiday parade the same as the boat parade?

No. The Hometown Holiday Parade is on land along Truman Ave. and Duval St. on Dec. 5, 2026. The Lighted Boat Parade is on the water at the Historic Seaport on Dec. 12, 2026.

Source: Key West "Bight" Before Christmas: keywestchristmas.org (Harbor Walk of Lights)

Written by the Christmas in Key West Editorial Team. We draft with help from AI tools; a person checks each fact against its source before it goes live.

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: City of Key West: Visitors

Categories

After the holidays

December in Key West every year? Ask what owning here would involve.

This planner is owned by LPE Realty LLC, a licensed Florida real estate brokerage. If you keep coming back for the boat parade and the Harbor Walk lights, we can walk you through buying or selling a home in Key West: process, timing and costs, with no pressure.

Visit LPE Realty LLC Call LPE Realty LLC (561) 652-6917

What is it like to live in Key West? · Thinking of selling a home in Key West?