The 49th Dana Point Turkey Trot starts at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26, and its listing advertises about 12,000 participants. The race centers on Dana Point Harbor, where the remaining Wharf retailers and restaurants were scheduled for their last day of business on Oct. 31, following the April closures in Harbor Village.
So the race will run the way it always has, while everything around it shifts. The registration, packet pickup and expo corner stays at the harbor. The shuttle drop, the street parking and the places open for a post-race breakfast are now up the hill along Del Prado and the Lantern District. If you live in Dana Point, the easiest Thanksgiving morning starts by planning for that.
The harbor this Thanksgiving, compared with last
The 2025 race drew more than 12,000 runners. The Dana Point Times recap quoted the event's promoter calling it the largest yet. Nearly every race sold out, and organizers added 500 places. The city's own strategic plan metrics for July through December 2025 put Turkey Trot attendance at 12,500.
Last year's crowd still had a working harbor around the finish. This year's crowd arrives after several rounds of closures:
- April 30, 2026: Beach Harbor Pizza, Village Market, Bella Bazaar and The Brig closed their Harbor locations as revitalization moved forward, Dana Point Times reported. Bella Bazaar continues to sell online and from its local warehouse.
- Sept. 15, 2026: Wind & Sea's last day on the Wharf, ahead of Building 1 construction.
- Oct. 31, 2026: Scheduled last day for the remaining Wharf retailers and restaurants in Buildings 2 through 5, as Phase 4 begins.
- Through October: The Harbor's Culture on the Coast pizza pop-up ran on select weekends and ended before race day.
Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching and Catalina Express are staying open in temporary trailers, running excursions seven days a week. The Harbor's July update says the public boardwalk and boater docks stay accessible inside the new construction fence line. You can still walk the water's edge, but grabbing a table at the Wharf after the finish isn't possible this year.
How the morning runs, wave by wave
The organizer staggered the start times, so the crowd builds and thins in layers instead of arriving all at once.
| Time on Nov. 26 | What's happening |
|---|---|
| 5:30 a.m. | Free shuttles begin from Dana Hills High School and Costco |
| 6:00 a.m. | Race-day packet pickup opens at Dana Marina Plaza lot |
| 7:00 a.m. | 10K start; Combo runners begin here |
| 8:30 a.m. | First 5K wave |
| 9:00 a.m. | Costume contest |
| 9:30 a.m. | Second 5K wave |
| 10:00 a.m. | 5K Family Walk/Run, new this year |
| 10:30 a.m. | Kids' 1-Mile Gobble Wobble, ages 2 to 12 |
| 11:00 a.m. | Race-day packet pickup closes |
| 12:15 p.m. | Last shuttle service |
Combo participants run the 10K at 7:00 and then choose one of the 5K waves. This year adds two new options for families. One is the 10:00 a.m. Family Walk/Run. The other is an optional Adult Gobble Buddy for the kids' mile, which is only available with a child's registration and isn't chip-timed. Families with young children no longer need to be at the harbor at dawn. A household could arrive for the 10:00 start, stay through the Gobble Wobble at 10:30 and still be on a shuttle home before service ends.
If you'd rather avoid race day altogether, Wednesday works too. Packet pickup runs from noon to 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 25 in the Dana Marina Plaza parking lot at 25001 Dana Point Harbor Drive, the same corner of Dana Point Harbor Drive and Golden Lantern that serves as registration and expo headquarters. Regular registration stays open through race day. The current prices are $63 for the Combo, $54 for the 10K, $48 for the 5K, including the 10:00 family walk/run, and $25 for the Gobble Wobble.
The shuttle drop is already in the Lantern District
The free shuttles from Dana Hills High School and Costco don't drop off at the water. They stop at Del Prado and Golden Lantern near Ralphs, running from 5:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. One travel article gives an earlier end time of 11:15 a.m., but the organizer's pages list 12:15, so plan around the organizer's time.
The organizer's parking list points uphill too. It names the Dana Point Harbor parking structure, Del Prado street parking and the City's public lots in the Lantern District, and there's an e-bike corral in the harbor lot. The structure at Golden Lantern and Dana Point Harbor Drive normally offers four free hours, subject to availability, and the Harbor notes that special-event rates may apply.
For a resident, this mostly comes down to the walk. Two of the three parking options and the only shuttle stop are on the bluff. Most people will walk Golden Lantern down to the start and back up afterward. Once you're back up the hill, breakfast and coffee are close by.
Where the post-race morning goes
The clearest new option is Harwood House at 34200 Street of the Amber Lantern. It opened in July and serves breakfast, pastries and lunch. No holiday hours have been posted, so check before you build a family plan around it.
Beach Harbor Pizza may be getting closer to coming back. A Hoodline report from Sept. 14 identified a proposed address at 24921 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Suite B-140, outside the Harbor gates. No opening date had been filed, though, so it's a possibility, not a plan for Thanksgiving.
If the plan is a sit-down Thanksgiving meal later in the day rather than a quick breakfast, Visit Dana Point recommends booking restaurant reservations early. The same article promotes Small Business Saturday in the Lantern District two days after the race. Out-of-town relatives running with you can use the official race hotel, Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, which has a room block for Nov. 25 through 29.
What isn't published yet
Two details that usually shape a resident's morning are still unannounced three weeks out.
- The 2026 course. The organizer's course map page still says "2026 COURSE MAP COMING SOON." Last year the 10K started and finished at the harbor entrance and ran through Doheny State Beach, across the Harbor Island bridge and out to the Ocean Institute. That was the 2025 route, though. With Phase 3, 4 and 5 work all active this year, wait for the new map before assuming the same turns.
- Street closures and driveway access. No 2026 closure schedule has been posted yet. For the 2025 race, entering and exiting the Harbor parking lot from Golden Lantern was unavailable from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. during the 10K. Treat that only as a sense of last year's timing. Construction fencing has moved since then, and Visit Dana Point advises allowing extra time and following event signage. If you need to leave by car on Thanksgiving morning, check turkeytrot.com the week of the race.
Why the race still matters to the town
The registration fees stay local. This year's charity partners are the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley and the RH Dana Elementary School Booster Club. In 2025, the Los Angeles Times' Daily Pilot reported that the Dana Point Chamber of Commerce hosts the race and that Dana Point Harbor Partners sponsored it. The 2026 sponsor list includes Mother's Market, Prado Square and Dana Wharf.
The 10K will also have serious competition. USA Track & Field's Southern California Association named the 2026 Turkey Trot the final race of its 2026 Road Running Grand Prix, so some runners on the 7:00 a.m. start will be racing for season standings. By the 10:30 Gobble Wobble, the field will be mostly families and kids.
If Thanksgiving week has you wondering what the harbor's next phases mean for the streets around it, Liana Norman follows the revitalization schedule closely and is happy to talk it through. Schedule a consult whenever you're ready to discuss your buying or selling goals.