Coastal Christmas at Del Mar: Don't Book the 4 p.m. Entry

Overview

Coastal Christmas turns a chunk of the Del Mar Fairgrounds into a walk-through holiday park — a light trail with, by the organizers' count, millions of lights, a synthetic ice rink, photos with Santa, a holiday market, live entertainment and a kids' play zone with inflatable slides and rock climbing.

Opening night is Friday, December 11, 2026. Gates run 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Here's the thing worth knowing before you book, because it's the difference between a good night and ninety minutes of standing around.

The light trail — the entire reason to come — doesn't switch on until dusk, around 5:30 p.m.

And there are three entry times to choose from: 4:00, 5:45 and 7:30 p.m.

So the 4 p.m. slot puts you inside a holiday light event for roughly ninety minutes before any of the lights are lit. In mid-December at the fairgrounds, that's a walk around an unlit display in the dark-ish gloom of a winter afternoon, waiting.

• Book 5:45 p.m. if you want the lights and a relaxed pace. The trail is on, the crowd hasn't peaked, and you've got three hours before close.
• Book 7:30 p.m. if you want the lights at their best and don't mind a shorter visit.
• Book 4:00 p.m. only if you have small children — and then it's actually the smart choice. Do Frosty's Fun Zone and the bouncers in daylight, eat, and be standing on the trail exactly when it comes on. For anyone else, it's the wrong ticket.

The second thing to know is what your ticket actually covers, because it's less than most people assume. General admission gets you the light trail, live entertainment and photos with Santa. That's the list. Skating, the kids' rides, food, drink and parking are all extra.

What You Need to Know

• Event: Coastal Christmas — a CBF Productions experience
• Opening night: Friday, December 11, 2026
• Hours: 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. · Light trail on at dusk, around 5:30 p.m.
• Entry times: 4:00 p.m. · 5:45 p.m. · 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA 92014
• Adult (13+): $27.00 plus a $2.97 booking fee
• Child (4–12): $22.00 plus a $2.42 booking fee
• Ages 3 and under: free
• Format: walk-through, not drive-through
• Parking: paid, on-site, buyable in advance with your tickets — price not published
• Rain or shine, with no refunds unless you add Purchase Protection

What the Ticket Costs, All In

This is the part worth doing on paper before you go.

• General admission includes three things: the Holiday Light Trail, live entertainment, and photos with Santa and friends.
• A family of four — two adults, two children — is $108.78 in admission alone, once the booking fees are counted. Before parking. Before a hot chocolate.
• Glice skating is an add-on, bookable onto a general admission ticket or a reservation. Skate rentals are included in the skating price.
• Frosty's Fun Zone — the inflatable bouncers, slides and rock climbing — runs on individual ride tickets or an unlimited wristband, and the organizers note that some specialty rides aren't covered by the wristband.
• Food and drink are separate. Local vendors, holiday cocktails, beer and wine, hot chocolate and cider.
• Parking is a separate purchase. Buy it with your tickets.
• None of these prices are published except admission and the wine walk. Budget generously or ask when you book.

The Wine Walk Is the Grown-Up Option

If the kids aren't coming, there's a genuinely different ticket.

• Holiday Wine Walk & Lights: $55.00 plus a $6.05 booking fee
• 21+ with valid ID
• Includes park admission and the light trail, wine tastings at stations around the park, a map of the tasting locations, a souvenir tasting cup, and live entertainment

One caution worth reading twice: the organizers publish two different tasting counts and two different time windows for this. Their own site says eight wine samples; the ticketing page says seven. The ticketing page then gives wine hours as both 5 p.m.–8 p.m. and 4 p.m.–9 p.m., in two places on the same listing. Ask when you buy, because a three-hour window and a five-hour window are very different evenings.

Private Igloos and Fire Pits

For a group, there's a reserved option — a heated igloo or a fire-pit table with your own fire pit for s'mores, seating and a dedicated server for drinks.

• An igloo reservation includes admission for six. A fire pit table includes four. Anyone beyond that needs their own general admission ticket.
• These are strictly timed. Your reservation is valid only for the window on your ticket, you check in at the reservation stand at your reserved time, and you have to clear the space when the window ends.
• The drinks aren't included. A server takes your order, but you pay for what you order. A charcuterie box and hot chocolate can be added at extra cost.
• All reservations are final. No refunds within 48 hours, no refunds for late arrival, and changes only by email and only if they can accommodate you.
• Prices aren't published. They're on the booking page.

Good to Know

• It's a walk-through event, so dress for standing outdoors on a December evening a block from the ocean. It will be colder than you think.
• Service animals only. This is not a dog-friendly event, which catches people out at outdoor holiday events.
• The venue is ADA-compliant, per the organizers.
• No backpacks, no coolers, no outside food or drink — sealed, unopened water bottles are fine. All bags are checked at entry.
• Photos yes, tripods no. Personal photography is encouraged; professional equipment and tripods aren't permitted.
• Rain or shine, and no refunds unless you add Purchase Protection at checkout. Decide on that at the time of booking, because you can't add it later.
• There's a Toys for Tots drive running during operating hours through December 19 — worth bringing something if you're going in the first stretch.
• General admission is good for one visit on any open date and time, so if a date doesn't work you aren't locked to it the way the igloo reservations are.

Why It's Worth the Trip

North County doesn't have many large-scale walk-through light events, and the ones that exist tend to be either free and modest or expensive and ticketed to the hilt. This sits in between: $27 for an adult buys a light trail, Santa and live music, and everything beyond that is opt-in.

The fairgrounds is also an easy venue to get to — it's directly off I-5 at Via de la Valle, with on-site parking, which is more than most holiday light events in this county can say.

The honest read: go for the trail, pick the 5:45 entry, and decide in advance how much of the add-on menu you're saying yes to. Walk in with a number in your head and it's a good night out. Walk in without one and a family of four can clear two hundred dollars without trying.

If you're making an evening of it in Del Mar, our guide to Del Mar's beaches and parks covers what else is within a few minutes. For more of what's on this season, browse our full event calendar.