Tree lightings at dusk, ice skating under the pines, and a reindeer you can adopt for the season are all back at Santa's Village, the midcentury mountain attraction near Lake Arrowhead that kicks off its holiday run this weekend. Santa's Village holiday activities return starting Saturday, per the park, with a merrymaking season that stretches on select dates from November 7, 2026, through January 10, 2027.
The park sits at SkyPark near Lake Arrowhead in Southern California, as reported by NBC 7 San Diego. According to SkyPark at Santa's Village, the address is 28950 California 18 in Skyforest, and every evening the park is open, guests can gather with Santa and Friends at dusk for the tree-lighting ceremony.
What's Included in the Holiday Lineup
Beyond the lightings, the season brings cookie decorating, puppet performances, magic shows and seasonal treats scattered throughout the village, the park's site notes. There's also an Adopt-A-Reindeer experience, plus the park's usual shopping and SkyPark activities, including pedal cars. Photos with Santa Claus are part of the mix too, though the park's own site cautions that Santa visits are available during park hours — generally 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on select dates — but are not guaranteed for every visit.
Ice skating is also on offer during park hours, subject to operating conditions and availability, and the park advises guests to bring their own socks for skating. For families wanting a more intimate Santa moment, Breakfast with Santa and Tea with Mrs. Claus take place on certain dates, though both require a separate experience ticket in addition to regular park admission — guests need both a park ticket and an experience ticket for the same date, per the park's ticketing page.
Characters and Ticket Costs
Santa's Village includes characters associated with its North Pole-style attraction, and one of them, Arrow, lives with the Claus family as part of the park's cast. Online admission starts at $69 for children and seniors and $79 for adults, with peak-date pricing running $79 to $89, according to the park's ticket page.
Tickets are non-refundable under the park's stated policy, but if the park closes for weather or safety reasons, a ticket can be used again within 365 days. That policy is worth noting given the park's mountain setting, where winter weather can shift quickly.
A Midcentury Attraction With a Long History
Santa's Village is a midcentury attraction that predates Disneyland by about six weeks, having opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1955, according to the Los Angeles Times. For a stretch in the 1980s, the park was drawing 180,000 guests a year, former owner Henck told the paper. The original park closed in 1998, and the same report notes a grand reopening was planned for early December 2016 — the version that reopened that year after being shuttered for a good long spell, as NBC 7 San Diego's report describes it.
