Winterhaven Festival of Lights

My first time to this event was ten years ago. I went back again tonight with my dog Gretel.I thought 730pm would be a good time to stop by, but traffic on Country Club road was backed up. Every parking lot had become a cash-only $10 lot. I didnt have cash on me.I ended up parking on the west side of Winterhaven, in a quiet neighborhood off Linde street and Tucson Avenue. Weather tonight was unseasonbly mild, which may explain the heavy crowd that first hour. I used my tracking app to prevent from getting lost, following the crowd as I meandered through Candy Cane Lane.I especially liked the tall pines getting lighted up, the local musicians and the more creative and/or spiritual displays. There were a few food and drink vendors at the west entrance.There were plenty of dogs and happy children.It took me 90 minutes to walk 3.4 miles.

I've been to Winterhaven several years and it has never disappointed. I've moved out of state and haven't been in a while and miss it a lot, there's truly nothing like it anywhere else. The whole neighborhood really comes together to create a spectacular display of lights for people around the country to come and see. Bring some cocoa and dress warm, you'll be walking in the cold and it can get pretty chilly for Arizona. Parking can be a bit of a nightmare, so arrive early and be prepared to park a bit further and walk to the neighborhood. Traffic can also be difficult so public transit or ride sharing is also a great option if you have anxiety about being stuck in weird traffic patterns.

This neighborhood all comes together to do over the top yard and house displays. And collect for the food bank. Hundreds of people spread out over a dozen streets enjoying the lights. This was a good Christmas Eve idea. Strolling together with a long Time friend. No hurry!

Had so much fun at this festival! Beautiful beautiful homes decorated. We decided to walk it with our two kids and they loved it. Would recommend to anyone in the area for Christmas activities

For a family from snowy Minneapolis this was a super fun and unique way to celebrate Christmas in the dessert. We really enjoyed our visit and our toddler did too.

Such a fun event! I can see why it's a Tucson tradition! It's amazing how the neighborhood comes together to decorate and make such an amazing experience. Can't wait to come again next year!

AMAZING CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY!I was so happy to see a neighborhood that embodies the Christmas spirit!!! This neighborhood is LARGE TOO! Many houses are in sync, with matching decor or lights synced up to music. I love to see the community effort, I only saw about 4 houses without any lights or decorations. This is a fun FREE activity in Tucson! I spent about 1.5 hours here but I'm not quite sure if I saw all of the houses, and we walked pretty fast too. You can hop in for a quick glance or spend hours here. They do accept food drive donations at the entrance, so be sure to bring something to donate, in the spirit of giving this holiday season!

A Tucson holiday staple. I go every year! It's a tucson tradition of mine and I love taking my family & friends. You can walk through the neighborhood and see the festive and very well thought out decorations. Every house has a different theme from UA wildcats to The Grinch. It's a very fun family event or a cute date night! They even have food vendors such as hot chocolate & churros. Can you name a better combo than that? It's nice to walk around sipping hot chocolate but you can also catch a ride on the wagons pulled by propane powered historic jeeps! Parking situation is not the best. You can find parking at Bushido studio. Highly recommend going ever December!

Full Disclosure: I live in Winterhaven and I know how much money and work goes into creating the largest event in Tucson each year and the best free thing to do during the holidays.There hasn't been a review posted for the Winterhaven Festival of Lights for quite a while so I figured it would be a good time for this one. This year (2022) is the 73th annual Festival of Lights and, if you're new to Tucson or if you haven't been in a while, you should absolutely make plans to come walk the neighborhood.The Winterhaven Festival of Lights started in the 1950's when the developer of the neighborhood started offering cash prizes to houses for their holiday decorating. This has grown, year by year, to get to where we are today with hundreds of thousands of Tucson residents walking by each year.The festival starts about 2 weeks before Christmas and is now a fully walk-through event. It used to be drive-through but that created so much traffic limited the ability of residents to come and go from their houses (not to mention getting emergency services into the community if necessary) that it is now a fully walk-through event. Plan to bring a stroller or a wagon for the kids and well behaved dogs on leashes are always welcome.As you walk through the community, you'll find some houses that are a generic holiday theme, a few that try to make political statements (not too many, thankfully), and some very funny themes too (like the Christmas Vacation house with Cousin Eddie). You'll also see some absolutely INCREDIBLE displays that will make you smile and will leave you in awe (like the Grinch/Whoville house). Each home has a unique theme that they have worked on for years and some add something each year like the "Winterhaven Zoo" house.At the island in the center of the community you will find food trucks (I recommend you go say hi to Ramon and let him feed your face at the You Sly Dog truck), port-o-johns, and of course the infamous street preachers (eye roll) that usually can be found on 4th Ave or downtown most weekend nights. The toilets do get some pretty heavy use so just be prepared for that.The event runs 6-10pm every night and, if you're not interested or able to walk it, I recommend the "hayride" pulled by propane-powered Jeeps or the Trolley (also handicapped accessible). You won't see the entire neighborhood if you go these routes but you will see most of it.Weekends are definitely busier than weeknights but it's always a great night to go. Just bundle up, maybe fill a cup with cheer, and come enjoy a Tucson tradition and institution that is more than 7 decades in the making.

Our son and his family from Texas purchased 5 tickets so that we could enjoy seeing the lights as a family since his dad has trouble walking. We were not told parking cost $10 cash. So we had to find parking.we took two car. Our daughter and us arrived first. We were there at 6:29. Our son and his wife and baby were on the way walking from parking and were a block away. The driver rudely told my husband to hurry up and board. It took him time to get up the stairs. Then my our daughter tried to tell the driver her brother was almost there, he told her to be quiet and sit down. People on the trolley thought it sad that he wouldn't wait. So the ride for us was already ruined by the bad behavior of the driver. We asked for a refund for the two tickets they didn't get to use. Again a rude response, he should have been on time and check the website. The website needs improvement. No where does it say you need cash for parking or allow extra time for parking. No where does it say the trolley leaves exactly on time nor will it wait for you. Everything should be clearly stated. As for the ride, the music in the trolley was too loud which made it difficult to hear the driver. The driver wanted applause when the ride was over but no one gave him any because the rest of the car was already disappointed that he had been rude to us. Our son should get the $40 back Website should be improved. Compare it to the Hayride website and you'll see the difference. They give more accurate information. Plus the hayride folks are more cordial. Worst experience ever. Walk or take the Hayride!