5 Places to See Holiday Lights in and Around Palm Springs

By: Steve Jurvetson

Christmas time is here, the kids are out of school, and you are probably going to head outside and check out some lights. Here are 5 options for you in, and around, The Greater Palm Springs area:

Updated 12/12/19

1) Candy Cane Lane

Minerva Road in Cathedral City is home to “Candy Cane Lane”. Almost every home on the street goes all out for The Holidays with lights, decorations, and displays (and watch for some surprises as some residents even have a pretty good sense of humor about it.

Get more info on Candy Cane Lane here

2) Robolights

An inflatable Santa Claus in a tank at RoboLights Palm Springs
(Instagram / @pch4birds)

Artist Kenny Irwin has created a magical and weird Holiday Spectacular. They claim Robolights is the “largest residential light display in the country” and it is also one of the strangest.

Update 12/2/19: RoboLights has left Palm Springs for Detroit…well, for now anyways.

3) WildLights

The Living Desert in Palm Desert hosts WildLights every night (with the exception of Christmas) from now until New Year’s Eve. Light displays are in abundance every night at The Living Desert – while the event also features animal encounters, a chance to meet Santa and holiday food items.

Get more info on WildLights here.

4) Festival of Lights at The Mission Inn

4 million lights are on display in downtown Riverside, as the historic Mission Inn has grown bigger and bigger each year. Not only is the hotel all decked out – but Santa makes an appearance nightly, there is plenty of good stuff to eat (donut buckets!), ice-skating, reindeer, and much more.

Get more info on the Festival of Lights here

5) Yucaipa Christmas

Yucaipa’s Manning Street has not one, not two, but sixteen houses(!!) with Christmas lights coordinated to music. The results are pretty rad!

Showtimes run nightly Sunday through Thursday from 5:30-9:00pm and Friday-Saturday 5:30-10:00pm.

Find Yucaipa Christmas at 33375 Manning St. in Yucaipa – nearest cross street is Oak Glen Rd.