Charleston County Parks opens the Holiday Festival of Lights on November 13, 2026 and runs it every night through December 31, 5:30 to 10 p.m. That is 270 minutes at the gate, on 49 consecutive nights. The festival sits at James Island County Park on Riverland Drive, and the three-mile driving tour carries more than 750 illuminated displays.
The 270-minute gate
The festival page prints the window. The FAQ confirms it holds on the three holidays inside the run. "Yes! The festival is open 5:30 - 10:00 pm on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."
Tickets are sold per vehicle. The terms page states admission is "valid for a one-time vehicle entry for your booked date only, during the hours of 5:30-10 p.m."
The organiser sorts nights into Green, Yellow and Red bands on expected traffic and varies admission price by band. The page asks visitors to buy online in advance to save money and prints no nightly figure.
The gift-pass ladder is the one per-vehicle price on the page. 1 to 9 passes cost $25 each, 10 to 50 cost $24, 51 to 250 cost $23, and 251 or more cost $22. Each pass admits 1 to 15 guests per vehicle.
The attractions run on a shorter clock
The gate opens at 5:30 p.m. The train, the carousel and the climbing wall open at 6 p.m. The FAQ sets the three clocks.
The Festival Express train runs nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets cost $5 per person at the train depot, and the ride lasts about 15 minutes. Children two and under ride free on an adult lap. Sales end at 9:40 p.m.
The carousel runs from 6 p.m. at $2 per ride, sold as two tickets. Children under 42 inches need an adult, and the adult stands free beside them.
The climbing wall runs 6 to 10 p.m. Two climbs cost $4, sold as four tickets. All three ticket windows close at 9:40 p.m., twenty minutes before the gate.
Fifteen minutes of train inside a 270-minute gate is 5.6 percent of the visit. A reader who wants the loop and one attraction books the attraction first, because its selling window is 220 minutes long.
What walking means here
The FAQ describes a "three-mile driving tour with a self-guided walking portion to see more lights and other amenities." The walking portion sits inside Santa's Village, after the car is parked. Every Santa's Village lot is reachable from the left driving lane.
The same FAQ closes the gate to foot traffic. "For your safety, bicycles and pedestrians are not allowed entrance into the Holiday Festival of Lights. Bicycles are not allowed at anytime during festival hours; this includes Campground visitors."
Parking is allowed in designated areas only, and visitors may not get out of the car on the tour. A visitor may drive the loop more than once.
The park office lends a wheelchair free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis at 843-406-6990.
The four daytime shop dates
The gift shops open during festival hours and at one other time. The FAQ states it plainly. "Outside of regular festival hours, the gift shops will be open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on December 5, 6, 12, and 13."
That is a 240-minute window on four dates. The shops shut at 2 p.m., three and a half hours before the gate opens. A shopper who wants the shops without the light show has four mornings in the whole run.
Which day-room window reaches 10 p.m.
The Charleston day-room listing returned seven priced cards on 25 October 2026. Day rates run $76 to $135.75 with booking fees included. The mean is $96.25 and the median $96.
Three of the seven carry a window that runs past the gate close. Quality Inn Coliseum North Charleston offers 16-23 at $81. Best Western Patriots Point offers 17-23 at $85, made up of a $79 rate and a $6 fee. Econo Lodge Goose Creek offers 17-23 at $76.
The other four close earlier. Embassy Suites Charleston Airport runs a single 9-17 window at $135.75. Comfort Inn and Suites Charleston Airport runs 7-14 at $100. Comfort Inn Northwoods runs 7-14 and 10-17 at $100. StayAPT Suites North Charleston runs 10-18 at $96, which overlaps the gate by 30 minutes.
Distances are straight-line from the park pin at 32.7348468, -79.9894748. Best Western Patriots Point sits 7.11 miles out, Quality Inn Coliseum 9.66 miles, Econo Lodge Goose Creek 19.04 miles.
Pricing the window
Best Western Patriots Point sells six hours from 5 p.m. for $85. That is $14.17 an hour, and the gate sits inside those six hours.
Quality Inn Coliseum sells seven hours from 4 p.m. for $81, or $11.57 an hour. Econo Lodge Goose Creek sells the same six-hour evening at $76, or $12.67 an hour, across 19 miles.
The morning window prices the shop run. An 8-14 window on Best Western Patriots Point runs $85, or $14.17 an hour across six hours, and closes at 2 p.m. exactly when the shops shut. Quality Inn Coliseum sells 8-14 at $81.
A $25 gift pass plus an $85 evening room comes to $110 for one vehicle and one room across six hours.
Two lines to check before booking
The Getting Here page prints the park at 871 Riverland Drive, Charleston, SC 29412. Every page footer on the same site prints 861 Riverland Drive. The route instructions name Riverland Drive as the final turn either way, and the postcode agrees.
Cars take Folly Road to George L. Griffith Boulevard or Grimball Road, turn right onto Riverland Drive and left into the festival. Larger vehicles take Folly Road to Camp Road to Riverland Drive, which the page recommends to avoid low branches and tight turns.
Admission takes cash and card at the gate. The FAQ states there is no ATM on site.
