Austin, TX
Where can I see holiday lights in Central Texas?
AUSTIN, Texas – The 2025 holiday season is here and with it comes lighting displays, parades and events.
FOX 7 Austin has gathered a list of where you can go to enjoy holiday lights and celebrate with your friends and family.
The list is arranged by county, then city.
Travis County
Austin
Austin Trail of Lights
- When: Dec. 10-23 from 6-10 p.m. each night
- Where: Zilker Park
- What: Annual event hosted by the Trail of Lights Foundation, trail features more than 2 million lights, 90 lighted holiday trees and more than 70 other displays and lighted tunnels; event also features live music, local food trucks, holiday vendors, and an opportunity to meet Santa and Mrs Claus
- Cost: General admission ranges from $0–$8 depending on the night. ZIP passes range from $20-$35 and include early access, an exclusive entrance and a special lounge area. Platinum passes range from $85-$480 and include valet parking, early access, a shuttle, a special lounge area and drink and ride tickets.
- Website: https://austintrailoflights.org/
Zilker Holiday Tree
- When: Nov. 30–Jan. 1 from 6-10 p.m. (Drive up visitation nights: Dec. 2-6, Dec. 8-9, Dec. 24-Jan. 1)
- Where: Zilker Park
- What: The Zilker Holiday Tree stands 155 feet tall and is composed of 39 streamers, each with 81 multi-colored lights, totaling about 3,309 lights. The lights are hung from the Zilker Moontower, one of 17 original Austin moontowers. It has been lit almost every year since 1967 (excluding 1973)
- Website: Zilker Holiday Tree | AustinTexas.gov
Luminations
- When: Dec. 5-Jan. 3, closed Dec. 24-25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1
- Where: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- What: Guests can enjoy a canopy of twinkling lights, glowing garden paths, nightly live music, festive photo moments, and hot chocolate and churros.
- Cost: $30 for adults ($23 for members), $20 for kids age 3-12 ($13 for members), free for kids 2 and under
- Website: www.wildflower.org/luminations
Del Valle
Peppermint Parkway at COTA
- When: Now until Jan. 4, open Monday-Friday 5:30-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 3-10 p.m.
- Where: Circuit of the Americas, 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd
- What: Walk-thru trail with millions of twinkling lights, whimsical characters, and more, leading to a plaza filled with delicious seasonal treats, joyful rides, lively activities and more
- Cost: Admission starts at $8 per person, kids 2 and under get in free; additional costs for other events, rides and amusements
- Website: Peppermint Parkway
Lake Austin
Mozart’s 2025 Lake Austin Festival of Lights
- When: Nov. 11-Dec. 11 with showtimes at 7, 8, 9, and 10 p.m.; Dec. 21-Jan. 3 with showtimes at 7, 8, 9, and 10 p.m. (closed Christmas Day); Triple feature experience from Dec. 12-20
- Where: 3825 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin
- What: This year’s festival is themed “Heaven and Nature Sing,” and includes new and spectacular additions like a fire dancer waterfront battle from “The Nutcracker” and a limited-run Broadway-style Christmas concert. The Christmas village is also returning with hot chocolate and sweet treats. Millions of lights will also glow in the ever-expanding Lake Austin Nautical Light Show.
- Cost: General admission to the Holiday Village is $3; additional fees could apply for other parts of the event
- Website: www.mozartscoffee.com/pages/festival-of-lights
Pflugerville
Pfestival of Lights & Parade
- When: Saturday, Dec. 6 from 4-7:30 p.m.
- Where: Downtown Pflugerville
- What: Family friendly activities, hot cocoa, and festive performances behind City Hall; parade from Railroad Avenue to downtown starting at 5 p.m.; Santa arrives for tree lighting and photos at 6:30 p.m.
Menorah Lighting
- When: Sunday, Dec. 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Where: Downtown Pflugerville
- What: Third annual Menorah Lighting with Chabad of Round Rock/Pflugerville
Hays County
San Marcos
Lone Star Light Show
- When: Now until Dec. 31, open Sunday-Thursday 6-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6-11 p.m.
- Where: 6218 I-35 South frontage road, northeast of Old Bastrop Road
- What: Interactive drive-thru light show with seven immersive tunnels, an entirely LED nativity, thousands of light strands, a 50-foot-high Christmas tree and more.
- Cost: $25 general vehicle admission for weekdays; $30 general vehicle admission for weekends
- Website: www.lonestarlightshow.com
Wimberley
EmilyAnn Theatre’s Trail of Lights
- When: Now until Dec. 26, open Sunday-Thursday 6-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6-10 p.m. (except Dec 21-23, open from 6-10 p.m.)
- Where: EmilyAnn Theatre, 1101 FM 2325, Wimberley
- What: A walking trail through about 8 acres of lighted exhibits; live entertainment onstage near the yule log where guests can enjoy complimentary marshmallows and hot chocolate; several special event nights throughout the run of the trail; a concession stand and an entrance store
- Cost: Free, but donations accepted as this is a fundraiser for the theatre
- Website: www.emilyann.org/trailoflights.html
Bastrop County
Bastrop
Bastrop River of Lights
- When: Now until Jan. 5, from dusk to 10 p.m. every night
- Where: 601 Chestnut Street, Bastrop
- What: Attendees can stroll the half-mile June Hill Pape Riverwalk and enjoy hundreds of sparkling displays in festive holiday themes
Lost Pines Lighted Christmas Parade
- When: Saturday, Dec. 13 starting at 6 p.m.
- Where: Downtown Bastrop
- What: More than 150 dazzling entries of floats, fire trucks, unicycles, vintage cars and even Santa himself. Event will travel south down Main Street
Bexar County
San Antonio
Zoo Lights at the San Antonio Zoo
- When: Now until Jan. 4
- Where: 3903 N. St. Mary’s St., San Antonio
- What: Multiple realms of twinkling lights, festive music and whimsical displays; daily activities like Pick-A-Present, S’mores Pits and photos with Santa; weekend activities and meet-and-greets with the zoo’s mascots;
- Cost: Free for San Antonio Zoo members or with a standard admission ticket; day memberships start at $44.99; daily admissions start at $21.91; children under 3 get in free
- Website: Zoo Lights at the San Antonio Zoo
Holiday Lights on the San Antonio River Walk
- When: Now until Jan. 11, from sundown to sunrise
- Where: San Antonio River Walk in Downtown San Antonio
- What: About 200,000 lights draped across the bald cypress trees lining the downtown portion of the River Walk
- Cost: Free
- Website: Holiday Lights on the San Antonio River Walk
Blanco County
Johnson City
Lights Spectacular 2025
- When: Now until Jan. 4, from dusk (about 5:45 p.m.) to midnight
- Where: Located at various locations throughout downtown Johnson City; Memorial Park; Pedernales Electric Coop HQ
- What: Laser show and fun lighted ornaments at courthouse; over 1 million lights on oak trees and colorful themed displays at Memorial Park and PEC HQ; interactive displays, carriage rides
- Cost: Free
- Website: www.lightsspectacular.com
Burnet County
Marble Falls
Walkway of Lights
- When: Now until Jan. 3, from 6-10 p.m. (weather permitting)
- Where: Lakeside Park & Beach, 205 Buena Vista Drive
- What: Attendees can stroll past Christmas sculptures on Marble Falls Lake and enjoy many different events, like pictures with Santa, a boat parade, movies in the park and more. Concessions will also be available such as cookies, hot chocolate and coffee
- Cost: $2 per person
- Website: Walkway of Lights
Comal County
New Braunfels
Santa’s Ranch
- When: Now through Jan. 4, open Sundays through Thursdays 6-10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 6-11 p.m.
- Where: 9561 I-35 North in New Braunfels, just southwest of San Marcos
- What: A drive-thru mile-long light display with over 3 million lights, a concession stand with hot chocolate, kettle corn, snacks, souvenirs and more
- Cost: $37 plus tax for a single pass per vehicle; $74 plus tax for a season pass per vehicle
- Website: www.santasranch.com
Gillespie County
Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg Christmas Nights of Lights
- When: Now until Jan. 6, nightly beginning at 5 p.m. (closed on Dec. 5 and Dec. 31)
- Where: Marktplatz in Fredericksburg
- What: Each evening will feature holiday music starting at 5 p.m., followed by a 10-minute audio presentation on the history of Fredericksburg’s German heritage at 6 p.m., then a countdown to the lighting of Marktplatz. The music will end at 6:30 p.m. following the countdown.
- Cost: Free
- Website: Visit Fredericksburg
The Source: Information in this report comes from a variety of sources, including city and county websites and event pages for individual displays.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is getting its first major new national stock exchange in decades, and finance experts say it could create new opportunities for Austin’s tech companies and startups looking to grow.
The Texas Stock Exchange is launching this week in Dallas, with live trading expected to begin as early as Friday. The exchange began operations Monday, and it says all publicly traded stocks should be available on the platform by the end of the month. Thousands of publicly traded stocks are expected to be available by then.
Ray Perryman, President and CEO of the Perryman Group, said the launch signals Texas’ growing influence in the financial sector.
“It really lets the world know that Texas is indeed a major player in this industry,” Perryman said.
Gov. Greg Abbott called the exchange another sign of Texas’ expanding economic reach, saying, “This is another step that expands the financial might of Texas in the United States, and cements our economic power on the global stage.”
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Perryman said the exchange could provide another path for companies to go public and could help attract more growing companies to Austin and the rest of the state. He said the added access to capital could have ripple effects across the economy.
“It increases opportunities for firms in the area to expand, have access to capital, to be more profitable. That means they hire more people. That means they pay more taxes. That means they buy more things in their supply chains,” Perryman said.
Texas ranks second in the U.S. for Fortune 500 headquarters, behind California and ahead of New York. With the Texas Stock Exchange set to launch, experts say Austin’s startup community could see even more growth.
Perryman said Austin-area tech firms could benefit from having an in-state exchange option.
“They’ll now have a vehicle here in Texas that will be more efficient and less expensive to register on than the traditional exchanges,” Perryman said.
Perryman said the exchange’s success will depend on how many companies choose to list on it, how much investment it attracts, and how many additional companies decide to move to Texas.
Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturing company Tesla recently leased a 682,000-square-foot speculative industrial building in the Austin Hills Commerce Center.
The industrial building, which sits at 11801 Decker Lake Road, is set to be completed by January 2027. The project is helmed by Sansone Group and Principal Asset Management, and Musk’s Tesla is set to occupy the second phase of the development, according to reporting from the Austin Business Journal. The total size of the Austin Hills Commerce Center will be 1.4 million square feet when complete. It’s currently unclear what Tesla will utilize the space for.
The development highlights the increased demand for massive industrial buildings in the Austin area. According to the outlet, there are at least a dozen speculative buildings that span upwards of 400,000 square feet in various stages of development, from finished to the early planning phases.
Throughout the Austin Metro and across Texas, large swaths of real estate are rapidly becoming Musk’s playground. The world’s richest man has 2.2 million square feet of space around Austin on lease, and more than 10 million square feet that he owns and built.
The Musk company portfolio includes a reported 112,000-square-foot sublease at the Seaholm Power Plant in downtown for xAI and the airport-adjacent Gigafactory, which spans over 10 million square feet. A $20 billion Terafab campus, that would feature 2 million square feet for research and development, is in the planning stages.
Bastrop County is home to several Musk-owned business’ buildings, most of which are placed along country road FM 1209. Musk is also building an Optimus humanoid robot production facility near the Gigafactory. Musk’s companies have spanned the Austin area’s entire suburban space, from as far north as Taylor to as far south as Kyle.
Areas outside of Central Texas within the Musk companies include Cameron County, which is the home of Musk’s Starbase that functions as a manufacturing hub as well as the headquarters of SpaceX. The Starbase facility also includes the company’s primary launch site, which was recently relieved of local legal pressure centering around the company’s ability to shut down public Boca Chica Beach for launches.
— Hunter Cooke
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AUSTIN, Texas — THC products in Texas will once again be up for discussion during a hearing from state lawmakers today. The hearing will look at the health and public safety impacts of THC. This is the first step in deciding on potential changes to hemp laws when state lawmakers return to the Capitol in January. Currently, the state’s hemp industry remains in legal limbo. Retailers can legally sell many hemp-derived products, but the rules surrounding smokeable hemp like Delta-8 THC remain tied up in court.
Should Texas pass stricter or looser laws on THC products? ANSWER BELOW and see the results LIVE on CBS Austin This Morning from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.
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