Where to See the Best Christmas Lights in Sacramento
We light around 3,500 homes a year across the Sacramento region, so we spend December driving these streets. This is our honest local guide to the Sacramento Christmas lights and Christmas displays worth the trip — where they are, the best night to go, and how to string a few together into one evening.
Displays are put on by private residents and volunteers, so streets, hours and start dates change from year to year. Most Sacramento-area neighbourhood displays switch on around the first week of December and run nightly through New Year's — check locally before you drive out.
Five areas worth the drive.
From the famous Fab 40s in East Sacramento to the Dovewood Court Christmas display in Orangevale, these are the Sacramento-area Christmas light displays locals come back to every December — each with its own guide below.
2 spots SacramentoFab 40s (East Sacramento)
The region's most famous holiday street display, set among East Sac's historic homes.
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1 spot OrangevaleDovewood Court (Orangevale)
A whole cul-de-sac that decorates together — the region's most intense single street.
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3 spots FolsomFolsom
Cul-de-sac displays plus Historic Folsom's decorated main street.
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3 spots Elk GroveElk Grove
Wide newer streets where whole blocks decorate together.
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3 spots RosevilleRoseville
Court displays plus the Placer County subdivisions that decorate as a block.
Read the guide“These guys made our house the talk of the street last Christmas. Already booked them again for this year!”
See three of them in one night.
Drive them in this order and you spend the evening looking at lights instead of sitting in traffic.
- 1
5:30pm — Dovewood Court, Orangevale
Get there as the lights come on and before the crowd builds. Park on a surrounding street and walk in.
- 2
7:00pm — Historic Folsom, then a Folsom court display
Sutter Street for dinner and decorated shopfronts, then a short hop to a residential court while the kids still have energy.
- 3
8:30pm — Fab 40s, East Sacramento
Finish where the displays are biggest. Later in the evening the walking traffic thins out noticeably.
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How to be a good visitor.
- These are people's homes, paid for and built by the residents. Stay on the footpath and off lawns unless a display is clearly walk-through.
- Keep driveways clear when you park, and don't idle outside a house with headlights in the windows.
- Go Sunday to Thursday if you can. The week before Christmas on a Friday night is the worst traffic of the year.
- Many streets collect for local charities — a few dollars goes a long way toward next year's display.
- Sacramento evenings drop into the 30s and 40s in December. Coats, even for a drive.
Homes we lit around the region.
Every street on this list started with one house.
If you've ever driven home from the Fab 40s wishing your own place looked like that, we do this for a living — design, install, maintenance, takedown and storage, all included. Christmas lighting starts at $799. Nearby cities we cover: see all service areas.
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