Holiday Festival of Lights James Island 2026: Dates, Prices & Green Nights
The Holiday Festival of Lights opens at James Island County Park on Friday, Nov. 13. Charleston County Parks has already set prices for each night. Between opening night and Dec. 5, 18 of the 23 nights are green, the cheapest and least crowded tier. Four are yellow. Only one is red: Friday, Nov. 27.
For families on James Island and Johns Island, Riverland Drive is close enough that a weeknight visit is easy to plan, and the calendar rewards that. An online ticket for a green night costs a third of the gate price on the red night.
This is the festival's 37th season. It runs nightly from 5:30 to 10 p.m. through Dec. 31, 2026, with more than 750 light displays along a three-mile drive through the park.
Charleston County Parks gives every night a color based on how many people it expects, and admission follows the color. The county's Oct. 13 announcement lists these per-vehicle prices for 2026:
| Night color | Expected crowds | Advance online | At the gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Lighter | $15 | $25 |
| Yellow | Moderate | $25 | $35 |
| Red | Heavy | $30 | $45 |
A standard vehicle can carry up to 15 people. Each ticket covers one entry on the date you booked. So a carload on a green night with an online ticket pays $15. The same car pays $45 at the gate on the red night. Buying ahead saves $10 on green and yellow nights and $15 on the red night. Gold Pass holders get one free vehicle entry per membership period, as long as they show the pass at the gate.
The county itself recommends buying in advance and coming on a green or yellow night. The bigger story is how many green nights there are. Before December, choosing a cheap night barely limits your options.
Here is the calendar from opening night through the first weekend of December, as listed on the county's tickets page and individual night listings:
Weekends are not automatically expensive. The opening Friday, the first Saturday and every Sunday in this stretch are green. The yellow nights are the later Saturdays and Thanksgiving Day, and the red night is the Friday of the holiday weekend.
For anyone who wants Thanksgiving guests to see the lights, Wednesday, Nov. 25 and Sunday, Nov. 29 are both green and sit on either side of that busy stretch. Colors for Dec. 6 through Dec. 31 are on the same tickets page. December also brings Santa's final nights and New Year's Eve, so check that page before booking a later date.
The festival is more than the drive. After parking, visitors can walk to the Festival Express train, the 50-ton sand sculpture, the old-fashioned carousel, a climbing wall, marshmallow roasting over an open fire and holiday gift and ornament shops.
Several dated events fall outside the regular nightly schedule:
The Fun Run puts you on the course on foot, but it still sells admission by vehicle, though, so plan it like a festival night: one car, arriving early, before the gates close at 6:30.
The park entrance is at 871 Riverland Drive. Charleston County Parks' route guidance says drivers coming from Folly Road should turn onto George L. Griffith Boulevard or Grimball Road, turn right on Riverland Drive, then make the final left into the festival. Larger vehicles should take Folly Road to Camp Road to Riverland Drive, which avoids low branches and tight turns on the other routes.
Two road changes this fall may affect the drive. On James Island, Live 5 reported in September on a City of Charleston drainage project expected to bring temporary closures on Central Park Road, with completion forecast by the end of 2027. If Central Park Road is part of your usual shortcut, check its status before a festival night.
On Johns Island, the new roundabout at Main, River and Chisolm roads opened at 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19, according to Charleston County. It was built as part of the Main Road Corridor project. The Main Road Corridor site says work on the replacement CSX railroad bridge is scheduled to start in fall 2026, and Segment A should be substantially complete in late 2028. Main Road remains an active work zone this season, so Johns Island drivers may want to allow extra time even on green nights.
Festival hours line up with a newer stop on the Folly Road corridor. Three Monkeys Ice Cream Parlour opened at 915 Folly Road, Unit P, with a grand opening on Aug. 1, 2026. WCBD reported its hours as noon to 9:15 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. The gates open at 5:30 p.m., so a family can get ice cream on the way in and still reach the lights early in the evening. If you plan to stop on the way home instead, finish the drive before 9:15. On Monday nights the shop is closed, so stop on the way to a Tuesday through Sunday visit instead.
For island families, the cheapest plan this year is also the calmest one. Book online, pick a green night before December, and keep the Friday after Thanksgiving for staying home.
Planning holiday visits around James Island and Johns Island is part of knowing the islands day to day. That kind of local knowledge also helps when you're weighing a home here or hosting family who might someday want one. If you'd like to talk through any part of island life this season, Anna Gruenloh and The Exchange Co. would be glad to hear from you. Let's connect.
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Anna prides herself in knowing not only the properties that are available on the market but also the people that live and work in Charleston. Anna has a knack for quickly understanding her clients’ bottom-line needs and guiding them toward the home or investment property that will best suit them.