Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade Tips

For anyone thinking of seeing the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade next year, here are some tips.

People will camp out along the sidewalks of Colorado Blvd the night before to save themselves a good spot to watch the parade. Camping out on this particular night is safe. I saw many families with young kids hugging big puffy teddy bears out there.

If you want your car to stay clean, don't drive on the lane next to the people who are camping out the night before the parade. If you head east on Colorado Blvd, you'll notice the left lane is packed with traffic but mysteriously nobody is driving in the right lane. I did not want to wait in the left lane traffic, so I pulled into the right lane and went merrily along my way. Soon after I did that a little girl from the sidewalk threw an egg at our minivan. At first, we though it was an isolated incident, but then again and again more and more people from the sidewalk were hitting us with those aerosol cans that shoot out strings of goo. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vJQddxt6XF0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>"Decorating" cars must be a "tradition" the night before the Rose Parade.

The morning of the parade, be prepared for the likelihood some of the exits from highway 210 might be closed. Heading west on highway 210, I was planning on exiting on Sierra Madre Blvd to find parking near the end of the parade route. However, the Sierra Madre Blvd exit from westbound 210 was coned off. The police forced everyone to bypass that exit and instead exit at the next exit (I think it was either at Allen Ave or Hill Ave).

It will be very hard to find street parking if you don't get there until 8am the morning of the parade. Some local businesses will offer their parking lot for a fee ($20 is what we were told).

Use the bathroom in your hotel before leaving because restaurants will not let you use their rest rooms unless you are a customer. If you need to go badly, then order something quick. We made the mistake of ordering something that sounded good, but took them a very long time to cook. If you have small kids, they will be wondering why you are waiting around at the restaurant for so lone while everyone else is walking down to take the best seats along the parade route.

If you reach the parade route from the northern side (which most likely you will since highway 210 is on the northern side), then consider crossing over the parade route to the southern side. If you stay on the northern side, the sun will be shining in your eyes the entire time. If you do decide to cross, don't just cross randomly. You need to wait for the police officer to let you know where and when it is ok to cross.