Last year you could pick almost any December night, load the car and drive through Fantasy of Lights at Vasona Lake County Park. This year the event runs four nights, all of them walk-through, and every one of the four needs a ticket that goes on sale this Sunday, November 1. In a single season the county's best-known holiday light show stopped being something you could do on short notice and became an event you have to book. Its first weekend also falls on downtown Los Gatos's own holiday weekend.
What the county cut, side by side
NBC Bay Area reported that the event will open on far fewer days this year and move from a mostly drive-through show to an entirely walking one. Santa Clara County cited rising operating costs. "We did not make this decision lightly," Audrey Ann Díaz, the county's acting senior communications officer, told NBC Bay Area. The Mercury News covered the same decision on October 19, describing fewer days and higher prices.
Here is how this year compares with last year:
| 2025 season | 2026 season | |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-through nights | Dec. 6 and 7 | Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13 |
| Drive-through nights | Dec. 9 to Dec. 30, closed Christmas | None |
| Total nights | About 23 | 4 |
| Adult walk-through ticket, 13 and up | $17 | $25 |
| Youth ticket, ages 4 to 12 | $8 | $10 |
| Ages 3 and under | Free | Free, but a ticket is still required |
| Regular car, up to 12 people | $30 | Not offered |
Families feel the price change most. In 2025 a regular car cost $30 before fees whether it carried two people or twelve, so a household of four that drove through paid $30. In 2026 the same two adults and two kids between 4 and 12 pay $70 for walk-through tickets. That is more than double what the car cost, and the car option no longer exists. For the 2024 season, the Mercury News's holiday guide listed drive-through admission starting at $32.34 per vehicle with fees, across a season that ran from December 10 to January 5.
For the higher price, the county is adding more. It lists drone light shows on all four nights, weather permitting, plus expanded family areas and photo spots, live entertainment and more food choices around the park. The route is the same 1.5-mile loop through Vasona that cars used to drive, and this year everyone covers it on foot.
The walk-through nights already sold out, and now they are the only nights
The walk-through format was already the hard ticket. The Mercury News reported in December 2025 that walking nights started as a single night in 2013 and grew to two nights that routinely sold out, with 19,000 tickets sold each year. The county's own page for the 2025 walk-through was marked sold out.
Until now, families who missed out could still drive through later in the month. This year the people who would have driven are buying for the same four nights as the people who have always walked.
The county is selling tickets in three rounds through parkhere.org:
- Phase 1: Sunday, November 1, at 8 a.m.
- Phase 2: Friday, November 6, at 6 p.m.
- Phase 3: Monday, November 9, at noon
The county says entry is guaranteed only with a pre-paid ticket and asks visitors to buy in advance. Every person needs a ticket, including babies and toddlers whose ticket is free. If your group includes kids 3 and under, add them to the order so you don't come up short at the gate. The event runs rain or shine.
December 4 to 6 is now the busiest weekend in town
Fantasy of Lights now opens on the same weekend Los Gatos holds its own holiday traditions, so these three days are now the busiest stretch of the season.
- Friday, December 4, 5 to 7 p.m.: Los Gatos in Lights and the traditional tree lighting at Town Plaza Park on Montebello Way.
- Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m.: The 70th annual Children's Holiday Parade starts at Almendra Avenue and North Santa Cruz Avenue, heads south to Main Street, then turns east to Church Street. Streets that give access to the route are scheduled to close by 9 a.m. Parade entries closed October 16.
- Saturday, December 5, 4 to 9 p.m.: Fantasy of Lights opening night at Vasona Lake County Park, 333 Blossom Hill Road.
- Sunday, December 6, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Los Gatos Certified Farmers' Market, which runs every Sunday all year at Town Plaza on Main Street and North Santa Cruz Avenue.
- Sunday, December 6, 4 to 9 p.m.: The second Fantasy of Lights night.
Saturday the 5th is the busy day. A morning parade downtown and an evening at Vasona can work as one family outing, but both draw crowds on the same day in the same part of town. For the evening, the county is offering free parking and shuttles from Netflix at 121 Albright Way, Los Gatos. That keeps Fantasy of Lights traffic off the park entrance on Blossom Hill Road.
If your weekends are flexible, the second pair of nights, December 12 and 13, doesn't overlap any of the downtown events above. Hosting relatives who are only in town for the first weekend? Phase 1 on Sunday morning is the one to plan around.
Before you walk in
Walking Vasona also means checking the trails. As of the county's closures and alerts page, last updated October 22, part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail inside Vasona is closed. The closure runs from the fishing dock area to the intersection closest to the Circle Group Area, because of a failed culvert, and a detour is signed. The county lists a separate 100-foot partial closure at Los Gatos Creek County Park, also with a short detour. No one has said whether these will be fixed by December. The county's line for current trail closures is (408) 355-2200, option 3. If you usually reach Vasona on the creek trail from home, call before you go.
If anyone in your group needs an accommodation, the county asks you to email [email protected] at least 48 hours before your night, and sooner if possible. The county also says it needs hundreds of volunteers each year to run the walk-through nights and has a volunteer sign-up open.
After the 13th, the holiday lights move to Oak Meadow
When Fantasy of Lights ends, the county points visitors to the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad's Holiday Night Train and Carousel at Oak Meadow Park, next door to Vasona. Its ticketing works the opposite way. The railroad's holiday train page says tickets are sold only at the booth during operating hours, with no advance sales. It lists hours of 6 to 9 p.m., train rides at $10, carousel rides at $6, a $15 combo for one ride on each, and free rides for children under 2 with a paying adult. The Oak Meadow Park entrance closes at 8:45 p.m., and the last train leaves at 9 p.m. That page doesn't put a year next to its prices, so confirm them at the booth.
The dates also differ slightly depending on where you look. The county lists the holiday train for December 14 through 23 and December 26 through 28. The railroad's own page says Monday, December 14, through the 23rd, then the 26th and 27th. Until the two match, plan any after-Christmas visit around the 26th or 27th.
Fantasy of Lights tickets go on sale at 8 a.m. this Sunday at parkhere.org.
I've watched Los Gatos traditions shift over the years, and this is one of the bigger changes. If you're hosting family this December and want a local's read on how to plan the weekend, or you're thinking about how life in Los Gatos fits your next move, Jamie Sweeney is always glad to talk it through. You'll find more of what's happening around town on the Los Gatos neighborhood page. Let's Connect.
