One gate, 49 nights
The Holiday Festival of Lights opens November 13, 2026 and closes December 31. James Island County Park holds it at 871 Riverland Drive. The gate runs 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is charged per vehicle. The festival stays open on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Step one: pick the night
Charleston County Parks grades each night green, yellow or red from expected attendance. The grade sets the price.
Green night — $15 online, $25 at the gate. A vehicle of 16 to 30 people pays $50. A vehicle of 31 or more pays $150.
Yellow night — $25 online, $35 at the gate. A vehicle of 16 to 30 people pays $75. A vehicle of 31 or more pays $175.
Red night — $30 online, $45 at the gate. The two larger bands match yellow.
The gap between a green ticket online and a red ticket at the gate is $30. The calendar decides which one a guest pays.
Ten nights grade red: December 6, December 13, December 14, December 19 through December 24, and December 27.
Fifteen grade yellow: November 25 through November 29, then December 7, December 12, December 15 through December 18, December 25, December 26, December 28 and December 31.
The other 23 nights grade green. Seventeen of them fall on a Sunday through Thursday.
The ticket store prints no online cell for November 13, the opening night. The park office answers at 843-406-6990 for that date.
Step two: buy ahead of the gate
Advance purchase saves $10 on a green night, $10 on a yellow night and $15 on a red night.
Admission covers one vehicle entry on the booked date. The ticket is void on any other night. The park refunds no advance purchase.
Step three: gift passes for a stay that spans several nights
Gift passes sell in four bands: 1 to 9 passes at $25 each, 10 to 50 at $24, 51 to 250 at $23, and 251 or more at $22. Each pass admits 1 to 15 guests per vehicle.
Customer Relations takes the order at 843-795-4386. Processing takes three business days. Payment falls due when the order is placed, and the passes must reach the group before arrival. Unused passes carry no refund.
A $24 pass beats the $25 online ticket on a yellow night by $1 and the $30 online ticket on a red night by $6. On a green night the $15 online ticket beats the $24 pass by $9.
A hotel that hands passes to arriving guests matches the band to the nights in use. A Christmas-week stack undercuts the $45 gate by $21 a vehicle. A midweek November stack costs $9 more than the online ticket for the same vehicle.
The gift-pass page prints no date and no grade against a pass. Confirm the night rule with Customer Relations before buying a stack.
What the vehicle ticket leaves out
The three-mile driving tour sits inside the price. Santa's Village attractions carry their own tickets.
The Festival Express train runs 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at $5 a person. Children two and under ride free on an adult lap. The carousel starts at 6 p.m. and costs $2 a ride. Two climbs on the wall cost $4. Sales for all three end at 9:40 p.m.
Santa visits from November 13 to December 23, 6 p.m. to closing. The visit is free. A virtual queue texts the family when its turn approaches, and digital photo packages run $16.99 to $41.99.
The park takes cash and cards and runs no ATM on site. Marshmallows and roasting sticks can come from home.
Getting to the gate
From Folly Road, turn onto George L. Griffith Boulevard or Grimball Road, turn right onto Riverland Drive, then turn left into the festival.
A larger vehicle takes Folly Road to Camp Road to Riverland Drive. The park recommends that route for low branches and tight turns. A tour bus calls the park office at 843-406-6990 before arrival and uses the middle lane at the gatehouse.
Santa's Village parking sits off the left driving lane. Pedestrians and bicycles cannot enter at any hour. The driving tour allows no stopping and no exit from the vehicle.
A guest who wants the train, the carousel and the wall arrives by 9 p.m. Ticket sales close at 9:40 p.m. and the gate closes at 10 p.m.
Where the room fits
A party that arrives in several vehicles books rooms and passes on one calendar.
A hotelhuddle request reaches 50+ hotels in the destination, and hotels reply within 24 to 72 hours. Most hotels offer group rates at 10 or more rooms a night, and some quote from five depending on the season. Submitting the request costs nothing, the guest pays the hotel directly, and the rate carries no markup.
A room request for December 19 to December 26 belongs out early. That block holds six red nights and the heaviest traffic of the run.
The order in one pass
Take the night from the color calendar. Buy the ticket online at that grade's advance price. Add the train and the wall only for an arrival before 9:40 p.m. Match any gift-pass band to the nights in use. Send the room request for the December block before it fills.