Christmas Lights in the Coachella Valley: Where to Go, What to See

The Coachella Valley has two proper holiday light attractions, one long-running residential street, a parade, and a snow event. That is the whole list, and it is worth knowing which is which before you drive across the valley for something that turns out to be four houses.

Here is what runs every December, what it costs, and what has quietly stopped running.

WildLights at The Living Desert (Palm Desert)

The zoo stays open after dark and the grounds are lit end to end. It runs select nights from late November through December 30, 6 to 9 p.m., with last admission at 8:30, and the zoo is closed on Christmas Day.

Advance reservations are required — this is the one that catches people out, because you cannot simply turn up and pay at the gate. Tickets are timed, non-refundable, and members get a couple of dollars off. Check the calendar before you plan a night around it: it is select nights, not every night.

WildLights tickets and nights · What The Living Desert is like the rest of the year

Magic of Lights (Indio)

A drive-through light show at the Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51 in Indio — the same grounds as Coachella and Stagecoach. You stay in the car the whole way, which makes it the easiest option with small children or anyone who does not want to stand around in the cold.

One carload, one price. It opens at 5:30 and runs to 9 Sunday through Thursday and to 10 on Friday and Saturday. Buying online in advance is cheaper and gets you through the gate faster, but it is not required — passes are sold at the front gate for cash or card.

The operator publishes hours but not its season dates until closer to the time, so check the site rather than assuming it has opened.

Magic of Lights, Coachella Valley · What the Empire Polo Club is like

Candy Cane Lane (Cathedral City)

Minerva Road, between Tachevah Drive and Avenida La Vista. It is a residential street where the neighbours decorate, not a ticketed attraction — free to drive or walk, no gate, no hours.

It is also the one with no organiser, which is worth understanding before you go. Cathedral City’s council proclaimed December “Candy Cane Lane month” years ago and the street sign says as much, but nobody publishes a schedule, a start date or a display count. How good it is in any given year depends entirely on how many houses on that block feel like it. Go on a weeknight if you can — the weekend crawl down a residential street is slow.

Our Candy Cane Lane guide

Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade

Not a display you drive to, but the biggest holiday night of the year downtown. It runs the first Saturday in December, starts at 5:45 p.m. sharp, and goes north up Palm Canyon Drive from Ramon Road to Tachevah Drive. Free, no tickets. The seating area at Amado and Palm Canyon is first come, first served, and the rest is standing room on the sidewalk.

Palm Canyon closes for it, so if you are coming downtown that evening for anything else, park early or park elsewhere.

Five things to know about the parade · Official site

Snowtopia at the Palm Springs Air Museum

Fifty tons of real snow trucked into a hangar, for four evenings in the second half of December. Ticketed, limited capacity, and the museum is otherwise closed during it — you are there for the snow and the event areas, not the aircraft. Train rides and food are extra.

The museum publishes its nights and prices on its own events site each year, and they move, so book from there rather than from a listing somewhere else.

Snowtopia at the Air Museum

What is not running any more

RoboLights is gone. Kenny Irwin Jr’s backyard installation in Palm Springs was the strangest holiday attraction the valley ever had, and people still search for it every December. It has not been open to the public since 2017, there is no operator site, and the relocation that was supposed to follow the city’s code case never happened. Do not drive to the house.

The full RoboLights story

The Aerial Tramway also gets asked about, and it is not a lights attraction. It runs extended hours and paid holiday dining in late December, which is a different thing and worth doing on its own terms.

Planning a night around it

The two ticketed shows are twenty-five minutes apart and both fill up, so pick one per evening rather than trying to chain them. WildLights and Magic of Lights are the two worth paying for; Candy Cane Lane and the parade are free and go well with dinner downtown or in Palm Desert.

December evenings drop into the forties and fifties out here once the sun is gone, and every one of these is outdoors. Visitors reliably underdress for it.

More for the holidays

• Christmas in Palm Springs: the full rundown
• New Year’s Eve in Palm Springs
• Things to do in Palm Springs this weekend
• What to know before riding the Tram

One caveat: nights, prices and reservation rules change every season, and the two ticketed shows both sell timed entry. Confirm on the operator’s own site before you drive.