Christmas Tree Lightings in San Diego 2026: Dates and Times

San Diego tree lightings 2026: the calendar

These tree lightings have 2026 dates published by the organizer or on the San Diego Tourism Authority’s official holiday calendar. Lighting times are included only where a 2026 page states them. Almost all are free.

• Sunday, November 8: The Old Globe Christmas Tree Lighting, Balboa Park, 6 p.m.
• Friday, November 20: Santee Holiday Lighting, Santee Trolley Square, from 5:30 p.m., tree at 6:15 p.m.
• Friday, November 27: Liberty Station Tree Lighting and Holiday Festivities, Point Loma, 5 to 9 p.m.
• Saturday, November 28: Julian’s Country Christmas Tree Lighting, noon to 7 p.m.
• Friday, December 4: Coronado Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting, Rotary Park.
• Saturday, December 5: Christmas on Crystal Pier, Pacific Beach, 2 p.m. to sunset.
• Saturday, December 5: Lakeside Spirit of Christmas, from 3 p.m., tree at 5 p.m.
• Saturday, December 5: Chula Vista Starlight Parade and Festival, tree at 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, December 5: Little Italy Tree Lighting and Christmas Village, 4 to 8 p.m., tree at 6:30 p.m.
• Sunday, December 6: Holiday Lights in Downtown El Cajon, 3 to 7 p.m., tree at 6:30 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12: Poway’s Christmas in the Park, Old Poway Park.

November: the season’s first lightings

The Old Globe, Sunday, November 8. The Globe holds its 21st annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6 p.m. on Copley Plaza in Balboa Park. It is free and open to the public, and the Globe says more details will be announced closer to the date.

Santee Holiday Lighting, Friday, November 20. The City of Santee’s free evening at Santee Trolley Square, 9884 Mission Gorge Road, starts at 5:30 p.m., and the tree is lit at 6:15 p.m. The city lists live music by Upstream, face painting, holiday photo spots, sledding and photos with Santa. Parking nearby is limited, so the city encourages guests to ride the Copper Line trolley, which stops at Trolley Square.

Liberty Station, Friday, November 27. The day after Thanksgiving, Liberty Station lights its 88-foot Norfolk pine as the centerpiece of its Salute the Season series. The free evening runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on the North Promenade and at Vesper Venue, with live music, fire engine rides and a screening of The Grinch. A specific lighting time had not been posted when we checked.

Julian’s Country Christmas Tree Lighting, Saturday, November 28. Up in the mountains, the tourism authority lists Julian’s small-town lighting from noon to 7 p.m., with music all day, craft vendor booths and Santa arriving to meet children at 6 p.m. It is free. Visit Julian is the contact for the exact lighting time.

December 4-6: the big lighting weekend

Coronado, Friday, December 4. The Coronado Chamber of Commerce has confirmed its Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting for this date. The parade travels Orange Avenue and the evening ends with a tree lighting at Rotary Park. Start times had not been posted when we checked.

Saturday, December 5 is the busiest lighting night of the year, so pick by neighborhood:

• Little Italy: the Little Italy Association’s Tree Lighting and Christmas Village runs from 4 to 8 p.m., with the ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in Piazza della Famiglia and a Christmas Village on India Street between West Cedar and West Grape Streets. Free.
• Lakeside: the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce’s 28th annual Spirit of Christmas opens at 3 p.m. with shopping, children’s activities and treats, and the Lakeside Historical Society leads the Community Tree Lighting at the Olde Presbyterian Church at 5 p.m., when Santa arrives.
• Chula Vista: the Starlight Parade and Festival on Third Avenue between E and H Streets lists the tree lighting at 5:30 p.m., between a 3 p.m. holiday market and the 6 p.m. parade.
• Pacific Beach: Discover PB lists Christmas on Crystal Pier, with photos with Santa and a tree lighting, from 2 p.m. to sunset.

Sunday, December 6, and later lightings

Downtown El Cajon’s free Holiday Lights runs from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 6, with a microbubble snow zone, live music, kids’ train rides, photos with Santa and an artisan market. Mayor Bill Wells leads the tree lighting at 6:30 p.m. in Prescott Promenade. Sunset that week is around 4:40 p.m., so the lighting happens well after dark.

The same day, the tourism authority’s holiday calendar notes that the La Jolla Christmas Parade and Holiday Festival includes a tree lighting ceremony; the parade organizers’ own page does not give a lighting time, so check closer to the date.

Poway’s Christmas in the Park is listed for December 11 and 12, 2026, with a tree lighting ceremony, Santa visits and train rides at Old Poway Park. Confirm the lighting time with the City of Poway.

Lit trees without a lighting ceremony

Some of San Diego’s best-known holiday displays are better visited on any evening than on a single lighting night. Hotel del Coronado’s 2026 holiday season runs November 20, 2026 to January 3, 2027, with a nightly light show that drapes the hotel’s historic pine trees in lights set to music and ends with a snow flurry finale. The hotel’s holiday page lists the season and the light show but no separate tree lighting ceremony.

In East County, if you are visiting Lakeside on December 5 for the Spirit of Christmas, the Yuletide Medieval Festival runs the same day at El Monte County Park, east of town on El Monte Road. It is not a tree lighting: it is a ticketed living-history festival set in England in 1420, with jousting, a daily battle pageant and the King’s Procession, and it runs until 8 p.m. on Saturdays, so the two can share a day.

Still waiting on 2026 dates

When we checked in late October 2026, we could not find an official 2026 tree lighting date for Seaport Village, La Mesa, Del Mar, Carlsbad or Escondido. Many smaller lightings at shopping centers, churches and city halls are announced only in November. Check each city’s events page, local news and the tourism authority’s holiday calendar from mid-November, and look for the year on any listing, since many pages still show 2025 dates.

Tips for a tree lighting night

• Arrive 30 to 60 minutes before the lighting for a view, especially at Little Italy, Liberty Station and Coronado.
• Take transit where organizers suggest it: Santee points visitors to the Copper Line trolley because parking is limited.
• Bring layers. Evenings cool quickly after sunset, and inland East County is colder than the coast.
• Bring cash for food and vendor booths, and plan Santa photos early, before the lighting crowd arrives.
• Confirm the date and time on the official page the week of the event.

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