If your holding tank fills this week, where do you take it? The pump-out station at the Marina del Rey Boat Launch Ramp, 13477 Fiji Way in Basin H, closed on Oct. 28. It stays closed until the county finishes its ramp improvement project. LA County Beaches & Harbors expects that work to run from fall 2026 into summer 2027.
The two free pump-outs open around the clock both sit on Mindanao Way. The Holiday Boat Parade's main viewing spot is on Mindanao Way too. So is Lot 4, the county lot that has been fenced off for construction since last December. This winter, one short stretch of road on the east side of the harbor handles routine boat upkeep and the year's biggest night on the water, while its biggest parking lot is still unfinished.
What the ramp project is building
On the county's project page, this is mostly a dock job. Crews will replace the aging dock system at the ramp and add a new accessible queuing dock beside the launch lanes, all inside the facility's current footprint. On the land side, the plan calls for Low Impact Development stormwater features plus a slurry seal and restripe of the parking lot, with accessible spaces and better circulation.
The county has announced only one closure so far, and it's the pump-out. The project page doesn't say whether trailered boats can keep launching while the docks are replaced. The county also published a phasing map and a site plan for the work. If you trailer in, check the launch ramp page before you hitch up. That page also lists the current fees, which are $15 per 24 hours for vehicles with trailers and $10 for vehicles alone.
Where the pump-outs are now
The county's Boater's Guide lists four public pump-out stations elsewhere in the harbor. The guide's revision date is Nov. 2, 2025, so the hours below are a year old. Call ahead before a run that depends on them.
| Station | Location | Cost | Hours | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage 47 | Basin G, 600 Dock, 13575 Mindanao Way | No charge | 24 hours | (424) 526-7892 |
| Burton Chace Park Guest Docks | Main Channel, Basin G-H, 13650 Mindanao Way | No charge | 24 hours | (424) 526-7910 |
| Del Rey Fuels / Del Rey Landing | Main Channel, 13800 Bora Bora Way | $5 | Mon–Thu 7 a.m.–4 p.m.; Fri–Sun 7 a.m.–6 p.m. | (310) 574-4443 |
| Panay Way Marina | Basin D, 13953 Panay Way | No charge | 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | (877) 247-1734 |
Three of the four are free. For a pump-out after work or on a Sunday evening, though, the list gets short. Del Rey Fuels stops at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on weekends, and Panay Way Marina keeps daytime hours. That leaves Anchorage 47 and the Chace Park guest docks as the free, any-hour options. Both are in Basins G and H, roughly across the water from the closed ramp station.
Some boats can't easily leave the slip. California State Parks' Division of Boating and Waterways keeps a mobile pump-out list, last updated August 2026. It includes Popeye's Pumpout Co., based at 13900 Panay Way DS 50 and serving Marina del Rey, at (310) 822-8312, or (310) 467-5008 for immediate assistance. The same list includes Royal Flush Pumping Service at (888) 656-2551, which covers Los Angeles and Orange counties. Its listing doesn't give hours or prices.
If you only have a dinghy, the county's no-fee dinghy launch at Mother's Beach, 14110 Palawan Way, isn't part of the ramp project. The county finished renovating the Mother's Beach restroom and dry boat storage in July 2026, adding storage capacity and improving accessibility.
The other fence on Mindanao Way
Head up Mindanao Way from the Chace Park docks and you reach the second construction zone. Lot 4, near the Marina del Rey Visitor Center at Admiralty Way and Mindanao Way, has been closed since Dec. 1, 2025. The county is replacing part of the surface lot with a three-level structure. Together, the structure and the remaining surface lot will hold 368 spaces, open 24 hours, with pay-and-display stations, ADA stalls and EV chargers. The side facing Mindanao Way will carry a civic art piece by the artist team FreelandBuck, designed to look like abstracted sails.
The finish date depends on which county page you read. When the county announced construction was underway on Jan. 7, 2026, it expected completion by late fall 2026. The project timeline on the county's development page gives December 2026 and says dates can change with permitting and approvals. Neither page gives an opening day, so for now Lot 4 is a target, not a parking spot you can count on.
The difference between late fall and December matters this year because of one Saturday in December.
Parade night lands on the same block
The 64th Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade runs Saturday, Dec. 12. According to Visit Marina del Rey, this year's theme is "Hollywood Under the Stars" and the grand marshal is David Chokachi. Here's the evening as the organizers have scheduled it:
- 4 p.m. Park activities begin.
- 5:40 p.m. Lot 2 closes to all vehicles for about 30 minutes because of drone safety rules.
- 5:45 p.m. The drone light show starts.
- 6 p.m. Boats step off and the parade runs until 8 p.m.
The two viewing spots with live announcements are Burton Chace Park at 13650 Mindanao Way and Fisherman's Village at 13755 Fiji Way. The organizers' site also lists an Inlet & Park viewing area, a parking lot they describe as kid-friendly and close to the beach.
Chace Park shares an address with the guest docks in the pump-out table, and it sits a short walk down Mindanao Way from the unfinished Lot 4 structure. The parade's parking page currently warns that parking on Mindanao Way will be very limited because of the Lot 4 closure. The page has no date on it, though, and the same closure was in place for last year's parade on Dec. 13, 2025. If Lot 4 opens on the county's late-fall timeline, the warning may be out of date by Dec. 12. If construction runs to the end of December, it won't be.
Either way, the organizers name these backups:
- Lot 77, the county public lot at 13560 Mindanao Way
- Marina Towers, 4640 Admiralty Way
- Other county lots on the county's alternate parking map, at $5 to $15 for event parking
At the county lots closest to Chace Park, event parking is $8 at winter rates. The pay-and-display machines take Visa and Mastercard or $1 and $5 bills, and they don't give change. Parking at Fisherman's Village is cash-only, $1 per 20 minutes up to $15. Bring small bills to either side of the harbor.
For skippers putting a boat in the lineup
If you're decorating your own boat, the paperwork deadline comes before the electrical work is done. The parade requires boats to register. Online entry closes Friday, Dec. 11, at 9 p.m. You can also enter in person at the skipper's meeting on parade morning, where the organizers ask you to arrive by 8:30 a.m.
Use the table above to plan your boat's pump-out around parade day. The Chace Park guest docks are free and open 24 hours, and they're right next to the park the organizers call one of their most popular viewing spots. To keep away from the parade crowd, empty the tank earlier in the week at Anchorage 47 or Chace Park.
The county's schedule has the Fiji Way project finishing in summer 2027, with new docks, an accessible queuing dock and a restriped lot.
A ramp rebuild and a new 368-space structure two basins apart will change how parts of the harbor work day to day. That matters if you own near the water and are wondering what it means for your property. I track these projects closely, and I'm glad to walk you through how they factor into a sale, a remodel, or a decision to stay put. Reach out to Zacha Homes and find out what your home is worth.
