Bavarian sausages with pretzels, sweet mustard and beer mugs on rustic wooden table. Oktoberfest menu
Photograph: Shutterstock
Photograph: Shutterstock

Where to celebrate Oktoberfest 2025 in Los Angeles

What’s on tap for everyone’s favorite boozy fall holiday? Live oompah bands, lederhosen, dirndls and more beer than you’ll know what to do with.

Gillian Glover
Written by: Patricia Kelly Yeo
Advertising

If beer and sausages are your idea of a good time, look sharp: Oktoberfest is upon us. With all the beer Los Angeles has to offer—from craft breweries to Bavarian-style biergartens—you’d be remiss not to celebrate Oktoberfest here in Los Angeles, but we’ve also rounded up larger, rowdier events a little farther away in Orange County and San Bernardino, if you’d rather make a day trip out of it. So put on your lederhosen, brush up on your oompah dancing and welcome autumn with a bratwurst in one hand and a stein in the other. Prost!

What is Oktoberfest?

A massive, centuries-old beer festival in Munich that’s now celebrated around the world.

When is Oktoberfest?

Though the German originator starts in mid-September (September 20 this year, to be exact), most Oktoberfest events in L.A. run throughout October, with a few that kick off in early September and last till mid-November.

The best Oktoberfest events near Los Angeles

  • Things to do
  • Highland Park

Highland Park’s new biergarten is turning 1, and the celebrations are plentiful: First, it’s debuting a new outdoor dining, drinking and playing area dubbed “The Backyard by Kiez.” Second, it’s introducing a new craft cocktail program, and third, it’s hosting its first annual Oktoberfest shindig, transforming the space into a Bavarian beer hall. The sister to Wirtshaus and Rasselbock already serves standout sausages and schnitzel year-round (including veggie options), but every Friday and Saturday through October 25, you can also enjoy food and drink specials, live music, stein-holding contests and costume contests, so come dressed in your Bavarian best.

  • Things to do
  • Rancho Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills Estates

South Coast Botanic Garden’s adorable dog walking hours jumps from a once-a-month treat to an every-weekend affair just during the month of October at Dogtoberfest. In addition to dog-friendly walking paths, the garden will hold an Oktoberfest-style pub crawl (for humans) with four stations of included beer samples (full pours are available for purchase, as are pretzels and Bratwurst). The pup-friendly offerings continue with a “dance pawty” and obstacle course.

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • La Brea
Don your lederhosen and head to this Fairfax District biergarten, where an extensive selection of German brews gets served alongside traditional German fare like pretzels, sausages and Black Forest cake on Fridays and Saturdays through the end of October. The Oktoberfestivities here also include live music, festive decor and food specials. They’ll also be celebrating with stein-holding contests at their two other biergarten locations: Rasselbock Mar Vista and Rasselbock Long Beach.
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Venice

Every Saturday (and select Fridays) through October 25, this Venice gastropub is throwing a Bavarian celebration with lederhosen and finger-licking fare. Dive into a savory rattlesnake and rabbit hot link topped with onions and peppers, choose from a selection of German and Belgian beers on draft, and enjoy yodeling and live German music. The best part? Each ticket (with noon or 5pm start times on Saturdays and 7pm start times on Fridays) includes a Wurstküche beer stein, with the first fill-up included. Entry isn’t cheap ($72 and up), but the 12 seatings regularly sell out.

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Silver Lake

It feels like Oktoberfest all year round at Silver Lake’s long-running Red Lion Tavern, but it’s especially festive in the fall, when it celebrates the Bavarian tradition on weekends through mid-November. Order the Oktoberfest platter—an epic array of pretzels, brats, schnitzel and sides—alongside a four-liter boot of beer, or a collector’s stein designed by the local Bad Bean Studio. Check the bar’s Instagram for programming updates.

  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Huntington Beach

Billing itself as “Orange County’s biggest party since 1977,” the Old World Oktoberfest promises enough beers, brats and bands to make you feel like you’re in Munich—albeit with better ocean views. Every Wednesday through Sunday between September 7 and November 9, this re-created Bavarian village will offer a sausage-filled menu, oompah and German bands, a biergarten, dancing and more. While Old World’s Oktoberfest is 21-plus with a cover charge on Friday and Saturday evenings, it’s open to families and revelers of all ages on Saturday afternoons and other nights. (Entry is free on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights, as well as Saturday afternoons, just book ahead online.)

Advertising
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Big Bear
  • Recommended

Head to the mountains for the annual Oktoberfest at Big Bear Lake, where you’ll be able to clink steins every weekend from September to early November. Beer will be flowing, knockwursts will be cooked up, and dirndls will be worn. The entertainment lineup includes numerous bands—many straight from Germany—and other performances, and one lucky damsel will be named the Oktoberfest Queen when she wins the stein-carrying contest. Others can test their skills with free log-sawing, stein-holding and chugging competitions.

  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Lake Arrowhead

Held in the so-called Alps of Southern California, Lake Arrowhead’s all-ages Oktoberfest runs every weekend from September 20 to October 26 this year, hosting live German American oompah bands, stein-holding and dance contests, children’s games and a daily sausage toss. Although there’s no entry fee, attendees are advised to book picnic (for up to eight people, $100–$150 on Saturdays, $50–$100 on Sundays) or pub tables (for up to four, $50–$100 on Saturdays, $25–$50 on Sundays) to secure seats closer to the stage. This year, the event is being held in a new venue, the picturesque Waterfront Park.

Recommended
    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising