Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2026: Start Time, Route, TV Channel and Balloons

The 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, on NBC and Peacock, according to Time Out New York and CentralPark.com. Macy’s own parade pages were not reachable when we checked, so every fact below is one that both guides report. Below: the start in each U.S. time zone, the route street by street, and what has not been announced. A one-page morning plan is at the end.

What time does the Macy’s parade start in each time zone?

The parade is live in New York at 8:30 a.m. ET. CentralPark.com says “the broadcast starts at 8:30 AM in all time zones,” so NBC shows it at 8:30 a.m. local time everywhere. For a viewer in Chicago or Los Angeles, the floats are already moving through Manhattan hours earlier. The zone rows are our conversion. See when Thanksgiving falls on the calendar.

Time zone	Step-off in New York	NBC broadcast, local time
Eastern Time (ET)	8:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.
Central Time (CT)	7:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.
Mountain Time (MT)	6:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.
Pacific Time (PT)	5:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.
Alaska Time (AKT)	4:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.
Hawaii-Aleutian Time (HT)	3:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.

Both guides list NBC from 8:30 a.m. to noon, with streaming on Peacock. We did not find a source that says whether Peacock streams the parade live in the western zones, so check your local listing. The full Thanksgiving week TV lineup, with the NFL games, is in our Thanksgiving 2026 TV schedule.

What is the Macy’s parade route in 2026?

Time Out New York and CentralPark.com give the same route, the one Macy’s has used in recent years. Time Out’s route section is headed 2025, while CentralPark.com gives it for 2026. Macy’s own 2026 route map was not reachable.

Segment	Direction	Where
Step-off	Start	West 77th Street and Central Park West
Central Park West	South	To Columbus Circle
Central Park South	East	From Columbus Circle
Sixth Avenue	South	To 34th Street
34th Street	West	To Macy’s Herald Square at Seventh Avenue

Where do you watch the parade in person?

Both guides tell spectators to arrive early. CentralPark.com advises Central Park West between West 75th and West 61st Streets and suggests arriving around 6 a.m.

What wind rule decides whether the Macy’s balloons fly?

The city’s balloon standard dates to 1998, when a mayoral task force recommended, in a release from the NYC Office of the Mayor, that no large parade balloon be operated “when there are sustained wind conditions exceeding 23 mph,” or in gusts over 34 mph. City officials decide on parade morning.

Macy’s full 2026 balloon list was not on a page we could reach, so this story names no balloons yet. Balloon inflation traditionally happens the afternoon before Thanksgiving on the Upper West Side; Macy’s 2026 hours are not yet announced.

What has Macy’s not announced for the 2026 parade?

• Performers: Time Out New York wrote on Oct. 28, 2026 that this year’s performers are yet to be announced.
• Hosts: not yet announced for 2026. In 2025, the hosts were Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker.
• Subway service: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has not posted a 2026 Thanksgiving service notice that we could find.
• Spanish-language coverage: Macy’s has not confirmed a Spanish-language broadcast on a page we could reach.

Looking for other New York dates this season? The NYC holiday calendar for 2026 lists the tree lighting and more. A November 2026 printable calendar has room for the whole week.