Looking for a festive getaway this holiday season? Will two million lights get you into the holiday spirit?
The sunniest city in California shines bright at night, too. Especially during the holiday season. It’s hard to find a place more festive than the Redding Garden of Lights in Redding, California. Now in its 5th year, the event’s located at Turtle Bay’s McConnell Botanical Gardens.
You’ll be wowed before you even enter the festival. Just getting there requires a walk across the world-famous Sundial Bridge, which spans the Sacramento River.
Highlights of the Redding Garden of Lights include:
- Neon glowing swings
- Lighted lizards, turtles, and butterflies
- Model train town
- 200-feet of light tunnels
- 30-foot igloo
- Photo opportunities
- Hot chocolate and kettle corn stands, with special festive adult cocktails
The event runs Wednesday-Sundays through January 5th. Purchase your tickets in advance. Entries are timed, but you can spend as much time inside the festival as you like. Prices start at $20 for adults, and $13 for ages 4-15, kids 3 and under are free. We recommend planning to spend at least a few hours at the Redding Garden of Lights. We had so much fun that we attended two nights in a row, but you can see and do it all in a few hours.
While you’re in Redding, there’s plenty of other family-friendly activities. We squeezed in a lot into our 48-hour weekend adventure.
What to Do in Redding
Redding offers an array of activities for families that include culture, shopping, food, and the outdoors. With five national parks and recreation areas, as well as six state parks, Redding’s a great starting point for outdoor recreation.
Lake Shasta Cavern Tours
For a truly unique experience, we recommend touring the Lake Shasta Caverns (20359 Shasta Caverns Road in Lakehead, CA). It’s three adventures in the span of about two hours. Getting to the natural landmark requires a scenic boat ride across Lake Shasta, then visitors take a bus ride several hundred feet up the mountainside to the cave entrance.
A guide leads small groups into the caverns, pointing out the features of the cave – like fluted columns, stone draperies, stalactites, stalagmites, and other geological features. There are designated paths inside the caves. The tour of the caverns lasts about an hour.
How people ever discovered them is a wonder in itself. In November 1878, the first known white explorer wrote his name on the wall and it’s still visible today.
Lake Shasta Caverns are located less than 30 minutes from Redding, just off I-5. Parking is free. Temperatures in the caverns are 58 degrees year-round, but it feels more like 70 degrees due to the high humidity. A light jacket is a good idea because the boat ride can be chilly, especially in cooler months. Sneakers are smart, too, as the tour involves 600 steps. The pathways are wide, but we encountered some mud and puddles inside the caverns. There are several tours daily, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Prices are $42 for ages 16+, $26 for ages 7-15, $16 for ages 3-6.
New in 2025, visitors will be treated to even better views inside the caverns. A big lighting project takes place in early 2025. It will provide better opportunities to see the unique features of the caverns. We look forward to returning to check it out!
Shasta Dam & Visitors Center
Step foot on an amazing feat of engineering, at the Shasta Dam. It’s because of the dam, that beautiful Lake Shasta exists. The dam was completed in 1945, built for flood control and water storage. Visitors can walk across the dam which stretches 3,460 feet. While the dam itself is impressive, so are the surrounding views of Mt. Shasta and Shasta Lake.
Learn more about the construction of the dam through film and photographs found inside the visitors center. The Shasta Dam Visitors Center (16439 Shasta Dam Boulevard in Shasta Lake, CA) is open daily. Free dam tours are offered throughout the day. Tickets are only available at the Visitors Center. The tour takes visitors down to the 400 foot level (of the 602 foot dam), through a tunnel, and more.
Hit the Trails
Redding is known as the Trails Capital of California. There are over 220 miles of trails within a 15-mile radius of downtown. You’ll find a variety of trails ranging from short loops to day-long hikes. The trail along the Sacramento River stretches 17 miles from the Sundial Bridge to the Shasta Dam, perfect for e-biking.
KidTripster Tip: Pick up one of the free Redding, California Trail Guide brochures found in the airport and hotels. It lists hikes from easy to hard, as well as other points of interest.
Turtle Bay Exploration Park
The Turtle Bay Exploration Park (844 Sundial Bridge Drive) covers a lot of ground – it’s a museum, gardens, and play area. The family friendly museum covers some local history, as well as showcasing rotating science and art exhibits. We learned interesting information about two of the most significant structures in this area – the Shasta Dam and the Sundial Bridge.
If you’re traveling with preschool and elementary school aged children, do not miss Paul Bunyan’s Forest Camp and Wildlife Woods.You’ll get to the adventure playground by crossing a short footbridge from the museum. It’s a huge play area and it includes a separate area for the smallest kids. There’s a wildlife trail, too.
The McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens span over 200 acres. When the Redding Garden of Lights festival isn’t taking place here, this area is open for museum guests to explore.
Tickets cost $20 for adults ages 16+, and $16 for kids 4-15 and seniors 65+.
Shop Downtown
Traveling with a teen always seems to involve some shopping. We spent a few hours shopping in downtown Redding. The small downtown was very walkable.
Some of the cute shops we visited included Shop Around the Corner Books, Gather Downtown, Apricot Lane, Floranthropist Market, Fridays Vintage and Sketch & Press.
Where to Eat in Redding
Redding offers a wide variety of dining options. We asked the experts at Visit Redding for dining recommendations. Here are some family friendly spots they suggested:
Evergreen (2085 Pine Street) is a great stop for coffee and breakfast. We were excited to find gluten free waffles on the menu. In addition to great food and beverages, Evergreen also has a cute assortment of locally made gifts.
We had a tasty lunch at Taroko (1701 Pine Street). It serves up flavors inspired by Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Southeast Asian cuisines. Other Asian-inspired options include, RAW (2167 Hilltop Drive) which offers a fusion menu and Kobe (1300 Market Street) which serves teppanyaki and sushi.
We wanted to catch a nice sunset and heard that View 202 (202 Hemsted Drive) has the best patio in town. So we stopped here for happy hour beverages (wine for mom and a mocktail for the teen) and a dessert. We can confirm good views and good food.
Our dining adventure also took us to Whiskeytown BBQ (3657 Eureka Way). The restaurant sits in a strip mall on the outskirts of Redding. Don’t let Whiskeytown BBQ’s unassuming exterior fool you. It’s really good. This place serves Santa Maria-style barbecue which is a regional culinary style rooted in the Central Coast of California. It dates back to the mid-19th century. Be sure to try the Pinquito Beans. We should have ordered seconds of these.
Mosaic Restaurant (826 Sundial Bridge Drive) is part of the Sheraton Redding. This place is known for its stone oven pizzas. We definitely recommend the pizza, but we also tried the burgers and steak frites. Also, amazing! This restaurant is located next to the Sundial Bridge and Turtle Bay Exploration Park, making it a convenient spot to grab a meal. Mosaic serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Looking for another pizza option? We heard great things about the wood fired pizza at Cinders (1415 Market Street), located in the heart of downtown. It shares a space with Taste & See Creamery (1419 Market Street) which serves unique and seasonally flavored ice cream.
Where to Stay in Redding
The Sheraton Redding at Sundial Bridge (820 Sundial Bridge Drive) is the place to stay in Redding. For starters, it’s in a fantastic location. The hotel’s just a short walk from popular tourist stops including the Sundial Bridge, the Sacramento River Trail, and Turtle Bay Exploration Park.
KidTripster Tip: If traveling with kids, the hotel is located immediately next to the amazing Paul Bunyan Forest Camp playground at Turtle Bay Exploration Park. You can get between the two spaces through a gate by the hotel pool. Don’t miss this expansive play area!
The Sheraton Redding has a variety of room choices, with some rooms accommodating up to five guests. All rooms have mini-fridges and coffee makers.
Club level rooms have access to the Sheraton Club which serves a complimentary buffet breakfast, midday snacks, and an evening happy hour with snacks and beverages. The club is open from 7am-10pm with light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages available throughout the day.Â
In addition to a pool, the Sheraton Redding has a 24 hour fitness center. Parking at the hotel is free.
The Sheraton Redding at Sundial Bridge offers an overnight package for attendees of the festival. The Garden of Light package includes deluxe overnight accommodations and two adult tickets to the Garden of Lights experience.
How to Get to Redding
Redding is located in Northern California, off I-5. If driving here, it’s about 160 miles north of Sacramento, or 120 miles from the Oregon border.
Flying into Redding is also an option. There’s a small regional airport (RDD) with nonstop flights from several West Coast cities. If you arrive by air, consider renting a car so that you can enjoy some of the area’s natural attractions. Be sure to check the hours for the airport rental car offices. Because they were closed when we arrived, we utilized the car sharing service Turo.
As we previously mentioned, Redding’s the sunniest city in California. It’s the second sunniest city in the United States. The sun shone brightly during our December visit, a welcome respite from the dreary weather at home.
The author was hosted the Sheraton Redding Hotel and Visit Redding. All opinions are her own.
