The City of Lake Forest’s annual residential holiday lights competition with a public tour map — a free drive-around the city’s neighborhoods each December, with addresses and a suggested order.
The City of Lake Forest’s Holiday Lights Competition is the citywide official drive-around — Lake Forest homeowners enter their residential holiday light displays, the city’s committee judges and selects winners, and the city publishes a tour map with addresses and a suggested order on lakeforestca.gov in mid-December each year. The contest’s framing is communal: “to spread joy and excitement throughout the community by showcasing stunning light displays in one convenient location.”
Families use the map as a self-guided evening drive across Lake Forest — the winning displays are spread through the historic El Toro district and the newer planned neighborhoods of Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills, Lake Forest Sun & Sail, and Baker Ranch. The suggested route ties the addresses into a continuous loop rather than scattered stops. Lights run from after Thanksgiving through early January, and individual homeowners set their own evening hours.
The contest pairs naturally with the Lake Forest Tree Lighting at Market Square earlier in December — Market Square is the civic plaza evening; the Lights Competition is the drive-around homework. Heritage Hill’s Candlelight Walk and Holiday Lights weekends round out a full three-landmark December for Lake Forest families.
The City of Lake Forest publishes the tour map on lakeforestca.gov — typically on the Holiday Lights Competition page or under City news. The Lake Forest Patch and city Facebook also link the map when it’s released. The contest is run by the Community Services department from City Hall at 100 Civic Center Drive.
The City of Lake Forest typically releases the tour map in mid-December each year (around December 12). The lit displays themselves run from after Thanksgiving through early January, with most homes lit roughly 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM nightly.
Yes — entirely free. The tour map is a free download from the City of Lake Forest site, the residential streets are public, and the drive itself has no fee, gate, or ticket.
Three distinct Lake Forest landmarks across three formats: the Market Square Tree Lighting earlier in December is the city’s civic plaza ceremony; the Heritage Hill Candlelight Walk and Holiday Lights weekends run the OC Parks historic-park evenings; and the Lights Competition map is the citywide residential drive-around for the rest of the month. Together they give Lake Forest families a layered December across civic, historic-park, and neighborhood experiences.
Winners come from across the city, so the map typically spreads through the historic El Toro district and the newer planned neighborhoods of Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills, Lake Forest Sun & Sail, and Baker Ranch. The suggested route ties the addresses into a continuous loop — a single evening route typically covers all the listed homes.
Lake Forest is a South Orange County city of about 86,000 residents tucked at the foot of the Santa Ana Mountains, with master-planned neighborhoods spreading from the historic El Toro district out through Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills, Lake Forest Sun & Sail, and Baker Ranch. The city’s contest is run from City Hall at 100 Civic Center Drive by the Community Services / Parks & Recreation departments — the same office that runs the Market Square tree lighting.
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