Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train 2026: Dates, Departure Times and Ticket Prices
Roaring Camp Railroads’ Holiday Lights Train runs Nov. 27–28, Dec. 5–6 and Dec. 12–23. The train leaves at 5 and 6:30 p.m. from in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Merry-Go-Round. Standard tickets are $58.25 for adults and $38.11 for children.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 2 min read
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and its rides seen from the beach on a summer day. Photo: The wub / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Roaring Camp Railroads’ Holiday Lights Train will run along the Santa Cruz waterfront this season on Nov. 27–28, Dec. 5–6 and every night from Dec. 12 to Dec. 23.
Trains leave at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. from in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Merry-Go-Round. The round trip takes about 60 minutes and runs rain or shine.
Tickets
Standard: $58.25 adults, $38.11 children
First class: $74.15 adults, $48.71 children
Children under 2 ride free.
Roaring Camp says each ticket includes a $10 myboardwalkcard for the Boardwalk.
What’s on board
The train features live holiday music by Steve Bennett, a visit from Santa and hot cider. The train is wheelchair accessible. Dogs are not allowed.
Roaring Camp also lists a New Year’s train from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31. Its Chanukah train is listed as returning in 2027.
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