Santa Rosa Avenue in Altadena runs nearly a mile under deodar cedars. For about a month each winter, more than 20,000 lights hang from them. The volunteers who string those lights also publish instructions for seeing them, and the instructions are for drivers. The Christmas Tree Lane Association says the Lane is "primarily designed to be enjoyed by car" during the lighting season. It's a residential street with no sidewalks.
On December 5, the 106th lighting ceremony and the Winterfest arts and crafts festival take over the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Mariposa Street from 3 to 9 p.m. Both are free. It's the one night the association programs as a festival on foot. Walking is allowed on other evenings, single file along the shoulder, but the season's visitor guidance is built around a slow drive north. Plan two visits, one on foot and one by car, and each will show you something the other can't.
The house rules are written for a windshield
The association's visitor page sets out the drive in a few steps, and they don't change across the season:
- Turn onto Santa Rosa Avenue from Woodbury Avenue and head north toward Altadena Drive.
- Drive slowly, and expect traffic on peak evenings and weekends.
- Turn on your hazard lights so other drivers know you're there for the lights and not in a hurry.
- Don't stop or park in the middle of the Lane.
Parking is part of the same picture. Street parking on the nearby residential roads is limited, and the association asks visitors not to block driveways or park on the Lane itself. Walking is allowed, but the guidance is cautious: walk single file along the shoulder, wear light or reflective clothing, and keep children and pets close, because visibility is low at night.
Those rules suit a quiet weeknight. They also make December 5 stand out.
December 5 gives the corner to people on foot
On December 5, Winterfest "transforms the Lane into a festive holiday marketplace," in the association's own words, and it's set up for walking. The events page lists artisan and craft vendors, food trucks and holiday treats, live music and roaming performers, kids' activities, photos with Santa, and booths from community groups and local nonprofits. The lighting ceremony takes place at the same corner and adds performances by local choirs, marching bands and musicians, plus special guests and community speakers.
The order of the day matters, because the trees aren't lit until the ceremony.
| Time on Saturday, Dec. 5 | What's happening at Santa Rosa & Mariposa |
|---|---|
| 3 p.m. | Winterfest opens with vendors, food trucks, live music, kids' activities and photos with Santa |
| 6 p.m. | Lighting ceremony, timed for "just after dark" |
| 9 p.m. | Winterfest closes |
If you arrive at 3, you get the market in daylight and can claim a spot before the 6 p.m. countdown. If you arrive at 6:30, you see the Lane already lit and still have most of the festival's last stretch. In either case, the no-sidewalk guidance still applies once you leave the festival corner, so bring the reflective layer even if you plan to stay near the booths.
Check christmastreelane.net the week of the event for parking and street details before you leave home.
Why the event happens at this corner, and why people keep coming back
The Lane began as a sales event. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports that the tradition started in 1920, when a local department store owner organized a tree lighting to bring in shoppers. Over time the decorations grew to more than 100 trees. The Christmas Tree Lane Association formed after Pasadena ended its involvement in 1956, the year Altadena voters rejected annexation into Pasadena. The Lane is a designated California State Historic Landmark and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990.
The association is still all volunteers. Its members string the lights, care for the trees, and pay the utility and organizing costs.
Last December's ceremony carried more weight than usual. The Eaton fire destroyed homes in the surrounding neighborhood, and the Tribune reports that the trees took wind damage but escaped the flames. Altadena Now reported before the 2025 season that the association's post-fire assessment found the Lane could be lit again, that volunteers were commuting back to string lights, and that Disney provided funding for materials and hosted volunteer sessions. The 105th lighting took place on Saturday, December 6, 2025. The Pasadena Star-News described more than 20,000 lights returning along nearly a mile of Santa Rosa Avenue, a moment of silence for the 19 people killed in the fire, longtime volunteer families and survivors helping flip the switch, and a Disney donation that funded thousands of additional lights.
This year's ceremony, the 106th, is the first one since that return.
Dinner is already on Mariposa, a few steps from the ceremony
The streets around the ceremony corner have their own recovery story, and it's easy to taste on December 5. The Pasadena Star-News placed Betsy near Mariposa Junction and El Patrón on Lake Avenue in its January 2026 reporting on businesses working to bring customers back.
On Mariposa itself, two doors carry the same name:
- Betsy, 875 E. Mariposa St. Chef Tyler Wells relaunched his restaurant as Betsy in September 2025, according to the Los Angeles Times. It's a dinner restaurant that draws nearly all its ingredients from local and independent farms.
- Bar Betsy, 871 E. Mariposa St. Next door, Wells opened Bar Betsy in April 2026 as a cafe by day and a wine bar by night. The Times lists hearth-fired pecan cinnamon buns and roast-carrot sandwiches during the day, and cheese, charcuterie and tuna crudo once the wine list takes over. The Pasadena Star-News reviewed it in July, built around a bigeye tuna take on salade Niçoise.
A cafe-and-wine-bar on the ceremony corner fits the December 5 schedule well. Come for coffee and a cinnamon bun at 3 when Winterfest opens, and stay for a glass after the trees light up.
Lake Avenue and Altadena Drive are a short drive or a longer walk away, and they're better for dinner on a night you're driving the Lane:
- Miya, 2470 Lake Ave. Pasadena-area local news reported in May 2026 that the owner had restored the restaurant's neon sign. Miya's own site lists Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- El Patrón, 2555 Lake Ave. It was a stop on a spring 2026 tour of Altadena's restaurant comeback published by Local News Pasadena.
- Nancy's Greek Cafe, 763 E. Altadena Dr. Local News Pasadena singled out the lamb and listed hours of Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cafe sits on Altadena Drive, the street where the driving route ends.
For daytime coffee before you head up, Bevel Coffee opened a permanent cafe at 1866 N. Allen Ave. this year. Pasadena Now called it one of the first new storefronts since the fire and gave its hours as 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those hours rule it out for an evening visit but make it a good first stop for a Winterfest afternoon. Hours at small restaurants change with the season, so call ahead before you build an evening around any of them.
The second visit is the drive, before early January
After December 5, the festival booths are gone and the drive takes over. The association says the lights stay on through "approximately the first week of January" and that the best time to come is after dark. That gives you about a month of evenings to drive it, and the drive shows what the festival can't: all nearly-a-mile of lit deodars, seen in order, from Woodbury Avenue north to Altadena Drive.
A weeknight drive tends to be calmer than the weekend crowds the association warns about. Turn on your hazards, keep it slow, and end at Altadena Drive, a short drive from Nancy's Greek Cafe if you timed the evening for dinner.
The trees are worth a stop outside the season too. The association notes that the deodars and the historic landmark plaque are there year-round, with or without lights. The Lane runs on donations as well as volunteer hours. The association's membership page takes one-time gifts toward equipment, operating costs and maintenance, which keeps more than a hundred trees lit each winter.
Christmas Tree Lane is one of those foothill traditions that makes central Pasadena an easy home base for the season, with a market and a lighting ceremony on one Saturday and a slow drive under the deodars any night after. If you'd like to see how that winter calendar looks from a rooftop in the Playhouse District, Dina Gonzalez - Main Site can show you around MW Lofts. Register for Your Visit.
