Dana Point Holidays At The Harbor is one of the best free Christmas light displays in Southern California. The harbor area becomes a winter wonderland with a large Christmas whale, walk-through candy cane lanes, and a popular “Merry Kiss Me” Instagram spot. It is up there with Mission Inn for the best free light displays in the area. Here is all the information.

Details

• Free
• Parking is available in the large lot but can fill on the weekends
• Location: Near 34505 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, CA 92629
• You can find the map here

Getting There

The lights area is in the Dana Point Marina. You can get directions to the marina, and as you get closer, you will see lights on the trees and the harbor lights right next to the water. It is hard to miss, especially at night time. 

Dana Point Harbor Lights

After parking, you can explore the many different Christmas light displays; use the above map to find them all. It is very walkable, and there are places to get food or buy coffee. Here are some of the best displays.

Harbor Lights Sign

You will see this large sign right by the parking area as you enter. It is a popular photo spot, lit up with many different colors.

Blue Whales

Next to the Harbor Lights Sign are the two blue whales. The bigger of the whales allows people to enter into its belly for photos. There was an extensive line for this, so I didn’t get a chance to do it. The smaller whale didn’t have the photo area, but it was also fun to see. On the way to the harbor from the first two spots, you will see a lane of Christmas Trees that you walk along as well.

Surfing Santas

As you get to the harbor, you will see Surfing Santa, which welcomes you to the rest of the lights display. He is pretty fun and a popular spot for family photos.

There is also a well-lit-up tree next to Surfing Santa.

Merry Kiss Me

As you walk down to the harbor, you will see the Merry Kiss Me sign, which had the longest photo line of any exhibit here. It was a fun spot but prepare for a long wait if you want to take a photo with it.

Candy Cane Tunnels

I don’t know if these are specifically candy canes, but that is what the lights on the tunnel reminded me of. There are multiple tunnels with red and white lights on the columns and then light up stars above you as you walk through them. 

These are the main attractions at Dana Point Holiday at the Harbor in 2021, and it is a fun spot to visit that I highly recommend. Again, it is free, so it is pretty hard to beat with all the expensive light-up displays around Southern California. You can find more holiday spots here, and let me know what you think in the comments.