Murrieta Rod Run 2026

“FIVE HUNDRED OLD ENGINES IDLING DOWN MAIN STREET AND THE…”

You hear it before you see it — the low burble of five hundred old engines idling down a main street that's been closed just for them. For one weekend, downtown Murrieta hands Washington Avenue over to the cars, and the exhaust note carries a full block, which is exactly how the whole town knows it's on.

Friday is Cruise Night: engines lit, windows down, the avenue glowing as the cars roll through while the downtown businesses stay open late for it — free to just stand on the curb and watch. Saturday is Show and Shine, the cars parked and judged, owners leaning on fenders talking shop, spectators drifting hood to hood. Pre-war hot rods, muscle cars restored down to the bolt, lowriders, builds that took somebody a decade. Thirty-plus years in, it pulls fifteen thousand people and stays the biggest car event in southwest Riverside County — not a mall-lot meet, an open-street block party on old Highway 395.

Washington Avenue closes for it; park in the downtown lots or the side streets off Old Town Front, and get there before 9am Saturday for the prime spots. Free both days, no registration to come watch. If you follow SoCal car culture, it's already on your fall calendar.