Lots of people walking around the Mission Inn in Riverside California looking at all the red and white and purple holiday lights.

Seeing the Lights

All light, all light, all light. This season make your way to any of these places featuring botanical gardens glowing, food and drinks flowing, fields of illumination, and strolls and hikes to help you see the lights. 

Week: 12.03.2025
Regions: Southern CA

O Enchanted Night!

Visiting the Enchanted Forest of Light in Descanso Gardens

Prepare to be mesmerized! Holiday-season nights in Descanso Gardens are a magical interplay of lights and natural beauty that dazzle as you stroll through the Enchanted Forest of Light. Kids and adults alike will thrill as they enter 10 themed gardens, each beckoning visitors to
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Bright Redding

See the Redding Garden of Lights

There's a reason Redding Garden of Lights (November 21 – January 4) has been named a Top 10 Reader’s Choice event by USA Today. Stroll through sparkling trees and colorful tunnels, past shimmering gardens, and across the glittering Sundial Bridge. More than two million lights are used to illuminate this incredible exhibition.
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Take a Hike, Find the Empire of Light

Hike Riverside's Two Trees Trail and Visit the Mission Inn's Festival of Lights

Riverside’s Mission Inn has one of the most stunning displays of holiday lights in the US, but first things first: To really get in the mood—and earn your holiday treats, calorically speaking—take a quick-escape hike on nearby Two Trees Trail.
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Light This Way

Experience the Extraordinary Sensorio Lighted Art Exhibition in Paso Robles

Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles
Live music at the Sensorio Mercado Restaurant in Bar in Paso Robles
The Tower of Light colorful exhibit at Sensorio in Paso Robles
Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields. DECEMBER BONUS: Enjoy a holiday market, see The Nutcracker, and visit Santa at Sensorio.
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Huffaker for Huge Views

Go on a Panoramic Sunset Hike at Huffaker Hills in Reno Tahoe

A woman in a pink windbreaker jacket is standing atop a rocky outcropping Huffaker Hills Open Space in Reno
A woman hiking a trail at Huffaker Hills Open Space in Reno
A woman is walking on a trail with wildflowers at Huffaker Hills Open Space in Reno
A woman is standing with her arms spread out as she takes in the view of mountains and downtown Reno at Huffaker Hills Open Sapce
As the sun goes down, the iconic lights come up in the Biggest Little City in the World. And there’s a perfect place to witness both on a short sunset hike to an outcropping offering a brilliant panorama. South Reno’s Huffaker Hills is a grass prairie open space teeming with wildlife and seasonal wildflowers.
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  2. Been There, Dome That

    Surrounded by granite domes, craggy peaks, and miles of hiking trails, the High Sierra landscape of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is famous for good reason. For a truly grand view, take a short hike to bold—and bald (except for snow at times)—Lembert Dome.

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  3. Wapama Wows

    Hetch Hetchy can be overlooked in Yosemite National Park because of its more remote location and limited facilities. But this is where you’ll also find one of the best day hikes in the park: Wapama Falls.

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  4. Hike Mount Tamalpais into Muir Woods

    Muir Woods Through the Backdoor

    A backdoor entrance into Muir Woods? Hike a tranquil trail that starts in Mount Tamalpais State Park and quietly leads into Muir Woods, letting you avoid the busyness of the main parking area.

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  1. Inn-spiration Point!

    For more than a century, people have been hiking or mountain biking to West Point Inn for good reason. Perched at 1,785 feet on the southern slope of Mount Tamalpais, the historic inn has sweeping views from the Marin Headlands to the San Francisco skyline.

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  2. A Thousand Steps to Paradise

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    Lookout for This View!

    Sierra Buttes Lookout, at a lofty 8,591 feet, is a memory maker for its pucker-worthy stairway to the tower’s balcony. It's a 5-mile (round-trip) hike to reach it. And the reward? Epic!

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