Mendocino Botanical Gardens Festival of Lights

November 24-December 17, 2023, 5-7 p.m.

Actual dates: November 24, 25 & 26, 2023; December 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 & 17, 2023

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
18220 North Highway 1
2 mi.  south of Fort Bragg, 7 mi. north of Mendocino.
$10, age 16 & under free, gardenbythesea.org

One of several holiday-lit gardens in California, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens transforms each year into the Festival of Lights.

 Quaint neighborhoods and main streets are drenched in aromatic garlands and sparkling lights. Alluringly festive inns move at a slower pace during the winter months, offering a relaxing and affordable escape along the coast. A warm feeling and sense of tradition washes over each small shop, restaurant, and local watering hole. Perhaps best of all, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens transforms into a luminescent winter wonderland for its annual Festival of Lights. An unbelievable show of glittering color draws people into the Gardens for a stroll along the twinkling pathways lined with inventive displays. The Succulent Garden morphs into a fantastic underwater scene of seaweed and floating jellyfish.

• A sailing brig that struck near-by reefs back in 1850 is reanimated in dazzling lights amidst the Gardens' nationally recognized Heath and Heather Collection.
• A visit to Santa's workshop will delight the little ones and give families a chance to snap a keep-sake photo.
• A beautifully decorated tent offers visitors a place to warm up and wind down.

Visit this garden by the sea year-round, and enjoy easy access to the treasured California Coastal National Monument, a unique marine-dependent wildlife and vegetation oasis of more than 20,000 rocks, islands, exposed reefs, and pinnacles along the California coast at the Point Arena-Stornetta Unit of BLM.

Each night the tent comes to life with sweet treats, live music, local craft brews, and some of the best wine Mendocino County has to offer. 

Weddings: Winter Wonderland Wedding Package gives exclusive use of the festively decorated tent and spectacularly lit Gardens.

In the daytime witness 47-acres of natural beauty with manicured gardens, fern-ringed ponds, hidden pocket gardens, coastal pine forests, and wildflower-strewn bluffs at ocean's edge.

The Garden Store and Nursery on the Plaza are open year-round for themed gifts.

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.