Christmas Lights in the Tri-Cities: 2026 Displays, Dates and Cocoa Stops

Top photo courtesy Christmas Carol Lane.

Last verified: October 28, 2026. Every date below was checked against the organizer or a current listing, and anything not yet posted for 2026 says so. We recheck through December.

For years the answer to “where are the Christmas lights in the Tri-Cities” was easy: Senske’s drive through on Quay Street in Kennewick, half a million lights, free. That show is gone. Senske moved its headquarters to Dallas and the show didn’t run in 2025. The Red Mountain holiday wagon rides are gone too, because Red Mountain Trails closed in May 2025.

Most of the pages that come up when you search still list both. This one doesn’t. Here’s where the lights actually are in 2026, what they cost, when they run, and where to get something hot afterward. Dates marked 2026 come from the organizer. Where an organizer hasn’t posted yet, we give last year’s schedule and say so, and we’ll update this page as the 2026 dates land.

The short version

• The big night: the Christmas Lighted Boat Parade on the Columbia, Friday and Saturday, Dec 4 and 5, 2026. Free from shore.
• The neighborhood classic: Christmas Carol Lane in Kennewick, every house decorated to its own carol since the 1960s.
• The one night you can’t make up: the Desert Plateau Luminaria in West Pasco, more than 25,000 candles, one night only: Saturday, Dec 12, 2026, its 40th year.
• Walk and look: Richland’s Winter Wonderland at John Dam Plaza, opening Saturday, Dec 5 at 5 p.m.
• A drive through: since Senske closed, the closest is Hermiston’s Land of Lights in Oregon.

The Christmas Lighted Boat Parade

The Clover Island Yacht Club has run a lighted boat parade on the Columbia since 1964. It’s two nights. Each night the boats leave from under the Cable Bridge at Clover Island at 6 p.m., run upriver along the Kennewick side past Columbia Park, and turn around at Howard Amon Park in Richland around 7:30 p.m. On the way back they swing along the Pasco side between Chiawana Park and Road 78, loop Clover Island one more time and dock at 9 p.m.

Where to watch: Columbia Park, Howard Amon Park, Chiawana Park, or Clover Island for the close loop at the start and end.

In 2026 it runs Friday and Saturday, Dec 4 and 5, starting at 6 p.m. both nights. It’s free to watch.

Kennewick

Christmas Carol Lane

Christmas Carol Lane is a neighborhood tradition in Kennewick’s Concord Heights, running since the 1960s. Each house gets a different carol on a song board and decorates to match. The neighbors’ own site gives the area as 23rd Place to 26th Avenue, between Garfield and Kent Streets. Recent counts put it at about 80 houses.

In 2026 the houses are lit Dec 5 through 31. Many homes run on timers, so the neighbors recommend driving through between 4:30 and 10 p.m. A couple of houses have a display set up for photos, and this year there’s an Elf and a Waldo to find near one of the song boards. The neighbors say the busiest nights are the Saturday before Christmas and Christmas Eve. It’s free. Drive slowly or park and walk, and remember people live here.

Clover Island and the Veterans Christmas Tree

The Port of Kennewick wraps the trees along Clover Island Drive and the Clover Island Lighthouse in lights, and lights an 86 and a half foot pine in red, white and blue to honor veterans. In recent years it has stayed lit through New Year’s Day. It’s free, a five minute stop, and it pairs naturally with boat parade night.

Hometown Holiday Parade

Downtown Kennewick’s Hometown Holiday Parade is Saturday, Dec 5, 2026 at 10 a.m. It’s a daytime parade, not a lighted one. It runs about an hour and ends at Avenue Square, which becomes Santa Square for the season. Right after, you can meet Santa for photos, write a letter to him, get free hot cocoa and browse the seasonal vendors in the square. Then the downtown bookstores host Booked for the Holidays, a book crawl with authors and bookish vendors at shops around downtown. The boat parade is that same weekend, so it can make a whole Saturday.

Richland: Winter Wonderland

The City of Richland turns John Dam Plaza into Winter Wonderland every December, and the city has confirmed the 2026 kickoff: Saturday, Dec 5 at 5 p.m. Last year’s opening weekend brought a lighted vehicle parade from John Dam Plaza with a countdown light show, fireworks at Howard Amon Park, and crafts, cocoa and Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the Richland Community Center. After the kickoff, the plaza’s dancing light show runs 5 to 9 p.m. into early January.

The part worth slowing down for is the Alphabet House Village: recreations of Manhattan Project era homes, the “alphabet houses,” each with a history plaque, lights and a letter drop for Santa. Last year the city ran a free walking tour of it on the Sunday afternoon.

There was no admission last year. The city says the full 2026 schedule is coming soon. Watch for road closures on parade night around Knight Street, Jadwin Avenue, Swift Boulevard and George Washington Way.

Pasco

Desert Plateau Luminaria

One Saturday each December, the Desert Plateau neighborhood in West Pasco lines its streets with more than 25,000 candles in white paper bags, and neighbors fill every lot so there are no gaps. The area runs from Burden Boulevard to Argent Road, and from Road 36 to Yuma Drive. It’s been going since the 1980s, and 2026 is its 40th year.

In past years the candles were lit from 6 to 10 p.m. and burned out around 10:30 or 11 depending on the weather; the 2026 hours aren’t posted yet. You drive through slowly. It’s free, and visitors are asked to bring food for Second Harvest. In past years street parking was banned and visitors were sent to McGee Elementary’s lot on Horizon Drive.

In 2026 it’s Saturday, Dec 12.

Pasco Winterfest

The City of Pasco’s Winterfest and tree lighting is at Peanuts Park, 426 W Lewis St. In 2026 it’s Saturday, Dec 5, 3 to 6 p.m., with the tree lit about 5 p.m. and Santa and Mrs. Claus. Last year it also had a heated vendor tent, food trucks and a kids’ zone. It’s free.

West Richland and Benton City

Bergmann Lights in West Richland is a home light show synced to music, with more than 100,000 LEDs. The family uses it to raise money and supplies for Mikey’s Chance Canine Rescue. Check the Bergmann Lights Facebook page for this year’s dates and the address.

Benton City Winterfest is Saturday, Dec 12, 2026: a bazaar at Ki-Be High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a lighted parade at 5 p.m. from Ki-Be Middle School to Babs Avenue and 9th Street, then the tree lighting at City Park with hot chocolate and caroling. It’s free, and this is its 24th year.

Neighborhood homes

There are hundreds of decorated homes across the three cities. The best current map is TriCities Family Fun’s Holiday Lights map, where homeowners opt in, with more than 400 homes. We’d rather point you there than print private addresses.

Worth the drive

• Hermiston Land of Lights, Oregon: the closest drive through light park now that Senske is gone. It’s at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. Last year it ran Thursday to Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m., from Dec 5 into early January, with a $5 suggested donation per car and a walk through Candy Cane Village with hot chocolate. Hermiston also lights its downtown tree on Festival Street on Friday, Dec 4, 2026, at 5 p.m., with Santa and a lighted parade.
• Walla Walla Holiday Parade of Lights: Saturday, Dec 5, 2026 at 6 p.m., downtown, always the first Saturday of December. Free.
• Prosser Christmas Tree Lighting: Friday, Dec 4, 2026, on Bennett Avenue, with Santa, live entertainment and free hot cocoa as downtown lights its big tree at Depot Square, 1230 Bennett Ave. Visit Yakima lists the lighted Christmas trucks around 6 p.m. and the tree lighting at 6:30.

What’s gone

• Senske Holiday Light Show: discontinued. It did not run in 2025.
• Red Mountain holiday wagon and carriage rides: Red Mountain Trails closed in May 2025.

Where to get something hot afterward

Call ahead in December, because holiday hours change.

• After Winter Wonderland: Frost Me Sweet Bistro and Bakery, 710 The Parkway, Richland, open until 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Or Milieu Coffeeworks, 10 Newton St, by the river near Howard Amon Park, open until 7:30 p.m. (closed Thursday).
• After the boat parade at Columbia Park: Angel Brook Ice Cream Parlor and The Farmer’s Daughter Coffee Bar, same building, 8524 W Gage Blvd, Kennewick. The parlor is open until 9 p.m.; the coffee bar until 8 p.m., or 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
• After Clover Island or Christmas Carol Lane: Heavenli Coffee N Scoops, 939 S 10th Ave, just across the bridge in Pasco, open until 8 p.m. on weeknights and 9 p.m. Saturday.
• After the luminaria or Winterfest: Viera’s Bakery, open until 10 p.m. It’s at 6411 Burden Blvd, right on the luminaria’s edge, and at 430 W Lewis St, next door to Peanuts Park.

Which Tri-Cities spot does your family go to after the lights? Tell us. Readers have already named over 450 independent Washington businesses they want to see on the EWS Card.

For more of the season here, read Celebrating Christmas in Tri-Cities.

Seeing lights beyond the Tri Cities this season? Our 2026 Washington Holiday Lights Map puts the best displays in every corner of the state on one page, region by region. For the rest of your trip, start with our Kennewick, Richland and Pasco guide.

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