2025 Carweek Guide

Holy moly…we just looked at the calendar and we’re well into July!!! This means we’re rapidly approaching our favorite time of the year, Monterey Car Week! Every year we like to take the opportunity to encourage you to partake in Car Week festivities as well as lay out all of your options for the week-long (August 8-17) series of events across the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Valley, Seaside, and at the famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas.

As the list of events has blown up over the last several years, it’s important to plan carefully to ensure the best experience. That said, even if you have no plans, sitting on any street corner on Ocean Avenue in Carmel by the Sea for a couple of hours would be the best carspotting experience you had in 2025…or ever. Other than probably sitting in a traffic jam or two, being in that area in the middle of August is a no-lose proposition. We count a whopping 40, give ot take, events on offer for 2025!

Before we list all of the various events of Car Week, we’d like to give you a little history and our strongest recommendations for your visit….

Before there was a “Car Week,” or a “Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,” (RMMR) waaay back in the early 1950s, there were the Pebble Beach Road Races. Such American racing icons as Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby battled each other, and the perils of racing through the often misty and tree-dense Del Monte forest with hopes of winning the Del Monte Trophy. This perilous 1.8 mile road race and adjoining Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (French for “fancy car show”) ran hand in hand until the race through the forest was discontinued in 1956. In 1957, the race was transplanted 15 miles due east to the newly minted 1.9 mile Laguna Seca Raceway (now 2.238 mi). The rest, they say, is history. The Concours d’Elegance is now arguably one of the most venerable prestigious concours in the world and Laguna Seca (now WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca) is one of the one of the most admired and iconic racing circuits on the globe.

Phil Hill’s XK 120, the first winner of the Pebble Beach Road Race in 1950 on the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in a lineup of other early event winners….

From somewhat humble beginnings, auto and motorcycle racing and the grandeur of the concours (we just call it, “Pebble”) and the pure majesty of the local geography, amazing weather, proximity to the Pacific Ocean have culminated in what we know as Car Week. From the two aforementioned events, Car Week has expanded into a weeklong celebration of all things car and automotive, including numerous auctions, car shows, concours, rallys/drives, unveilings/debuts, and parties ranging from the very pedestrian to the very well-heeled.

Humor us….

We know that everyone who’s been to Car Week at least a few times has a different idea of what Car Week is all about, and many attendees have their own traditions and favorite things to do. That said, we always encourage people, from veterans to noobs, to make it a point to 1.) visit Laguna Seca to take in the amazing sights, sounds, and living history of racing (and a whole lot more) at the RMMR and 2.) to attend the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance at least once.

The Reunion is a venue that offers most of the “stuff” of Carweek…racecars, exotics, history, celebrities and personalities from across the universe, debuts & unveilings, unbelievable car corrals, and exhibitions and demonstrations. Pebble Beach features the most beautiful, significant, expensive cars in the world just feet from the Pacific Ocean and a sprawling campus featuring manufacturer displays, the Prototype Lawn, and a fairway featuring millions of dollars worth of new and vintage Ferraris. Pebble is not inexpensive, and may not be something you can afford every year, but it’s quite a spectacle and something you’ll never forget if you only do it once.

Now, on to the show….er, shows…

As mentioned above, we like to give you a list of all of the festivities and happenings of this celebration so that no matter what you can afford to spend, including zero deniro, the trip to Car Week is totally do-able for almost anybody on any budget. That’s the good news….

The only real bad news is that if you’re coming from a distance that requires accommodations, you might be out of luck for this year. By June/July of every year, accommodations for anywhere within 30-45 minutes are totally booked and/or prohibitively expensive. We’ve seen Motel 6 rooms for $450 a night with a medium/long drive and Airbnb/VRBOs with $1,500 per night with multiple day minimum bookings. We recommend that you think about booking your room at least 6 months in advance…but even that can be too late. We’d love to offer more specific/secret intel about lodging, but we’re no different than anyone else…it’s a jungle out there. We search and book even earlier than 6 months out, and it can still be difficult. You have been warned….plan accordingly.

We’ve listed below as many events as we’re aware of, with links to more information and pricing. Be aware that the prices we quote may not be current as many events increase prices and fees higher as we get closer to the middle of August. If you know of any we haven’t listed, please don’t hesitate to hit us up at loudpedalblog@gmail.com. If you have any questions or need advice, hit us there too. We’re happy to help.

Here are your options….

August 4-13

Pebble Beach Motoring Classic 9 Day driving adventure with accommodations

$18,000 which includes $1,000 registration

August 8

Monterey Car Week Kick-Off

FREE

August 9-10

Monterey Pre-Reunion and Corkscrew Hillclimb (hillclimb on 8/9)

$72.28 - $118.85

August 11

Central Coast Poker Rally