Morro Bay Lighted Boat Parade

The working fleet strings up lights for the Morro Bay Lighted Boat Parade

On the Morro Bay Embarcadero. The Morro Bay Lighted Boat Parade runs the harbor on Saturday, December 5 at 6 PM, the working fleet and pleasure craft strung with lights and moving in procession against the dark water and the Rock. It is one of the better holiday traditions on the Central Coast precisely because it uses the real harbor: these are the same commercial fishing boats that land rockfish and crab the rest of the year, dressed up for one night in strings of light and reflected color on the bay.

The Rotary Club of Morro Bay organizes the parade and runs a Santa House near the Giant Chessboard that opens at 5 PM, an hour ahead of the boats, which gives families a reason to come early. The best viewing runs the length of the Embarcadero, with both the north commercial-fishing end and the south tourist-facing end filling up well before the parade starts. Anywhere along the waterfront with a clear line to the channel works.

This is a cold-weather harbor night, so dress for it: layers, a warm hat, and something to keep the wind off, since December evenings on the water run genuinely chilly. Stake out a viewing spot before sundown, bring a thermos if you have one, and settle in. The parade is free to watch, and the lit fleet reflected on the dark bay is the kind of scene that explains why people live in a working harbor town.

For more holiday events and harbor traditions around the bay this winter, see what is coming up on the event calendar.