Santa Clara's Holiday Tree Lighting returns to Central Park on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. This year the park hosting it is in the middle of two City construction projects. One is rebuilding the Pavilion parking lot and the park entrance at Kiely Boulevard and Kaiser Drive. The other is rebuilding the George F. Haines International Swim Center. Both run into 2027.
That changes how a regular Central Park visit works. The entrance most people use is the part being rebuilt. The routes that stay steady through 2027 are at the edges: the Community Recreation Center lot, Patricia Drive, and the Creek Trail on foot. For the next year, those are the reliable ways in. The tree lighting is the first night that puts it to the test.
Two projects with different finish lines
The first is the City's Central Park Entrance, Accessibility & Parking Improvements Project at 909 Kiely Blvd. Its scope includes a new entrance, upgrades to the traffic signal, ADA-compliant concrete pathways and new electric vehicle charging stations. Nuvis Landscape Architects is the consultant.
The City split the work into two phases. Phase 1 covers the Pavilion parking lot and the pathways. The September 2026 City Hall News said it was nearing completion and expected to wrap up by the end of September, and that the Pavilion lot would reopen once it was done. Phase 2 has already started. It focuses on the new entrance and the signal at Kiely Boulevard and Kaiser Drive and is expected to finish in summer 2027.
The second project is the swim center. In December 2025, the City Council awarded a $24,680,981 contract to International Swim Center LLC, a joint venture between Adams Pool Solutions and Mark Scott Construction. The City held a groundbreaking on May 12, 2026. According to the City's swim center updates page, Phase 1 is on track to finish in mid-to-late 2027. It rehabilitates three pools used for diving and artistic swimming, competition and training. It also adds a new dive tower, a mechanical building and outdoor showers, and demolishes the old administrative building. The Silicon Valley Voice reported the same summer 2027 target when work began in May.
The swim center work doesn't stop in 2027. On Aug. 18, the City Council approved an agreement with Group 4 Architecture to design Phase 2. That phase is a new administrative building of 10,000 to 12,000 square feet. Staff will also study the bleachers, canopy structures and other buildings next to the spectator seating. Design was expected to start in fall 2026, with construction documents due by spring 2028.
So the entrance project ends around summer 2027 and the swim center's first phase ends around the same time. The swim center's second phase is still being designed. Even when the entrance fencing comes down, parts of the park will stay under construction.
What's open, as the City's latest notices describe it
The project page, last updated Sept. 3, lists which parts of the park were open while Phase 1 finished and Phase 2 got going.
| Part of the park | Status in the City's September notices |
|---|---|
| Magical Bridge Playground | Open, and stays open through Phase 2 |
| Kids' playground | Closed during Phase 1 |
| Basketball courts | Open through Phase 2 |
| Creek Trail pedestrian access | Open through Phase 2 |
| Pavilion parking lot | Closed until Phase 1 is complete |
| Pavilion picnic area and restrooms | Closed; public restrooms available near the Lawn Bowl facility |
| Arbor picnic area and restrooms | Open but limited, reached from the Kiely Boulevard side |
| Pavilion and Arbor reservations | Not being accepted |
| CRC lot | Listed as the parking option during Phase 2 |
Two lines in that table are easy to mix up. Magical Bridge and the kids' playground are separate playgrounds, and the City treated them differently. Magical Bridge stayed open while the kids' playground was closed. Before you promise a toddler the slides, check which playground you're heading to.
The reservation line matters if you're planning a birthday party. The City's reservations and rentals page, last updated June 25, says it won't take Arbor or Pavilion picnic reservations until construction is finished.
The construction schedule also helps with timing. The City lists construction hours as Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding City holidays. Weekends and weekday evenings fall outside that window, and so does the tree lighting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday.
The lot that matters most on Dec. 4
The City's Holiday Tree Lighting page, last updated in May before the construction notices, lists these parking options:
- Free parking: Central Park Pavilion Parking Lot, 909 Kiely Blvd., and Patricia Drive, 2625 Patricia Drive
- Permit parking: Community Recreation Center lot, 969 Kiely Blvd., with no drop-offs in that lot
- ADA parking: at all three locations
- Rideshare drop-off: Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Rd.
The first item on that list is the Pavilion lot, the same lot the City's September bulletin said would reopen only after Phase 1 was finished. If Phase 1 ended on schedule, the lot should be available by early December. If it ran late, the event's main free parking will be smaller than the event page suggests. The City posts project updates at SantaClaraCA.gov/ParkProjects, and the tree-lighting page says more details for this year's event are still to come. Check both the week of the event.
Patricia Drive and the library drop-off at 2635 Homestead Rd. don't depend on the construction. The CRC lot is the one the City named for park visitors during Phase 2, but on tree-lighting night it requires a permit and doesn't allow drop-offs.
What the evening holds
The tree lighting is older than almost anything else on Santa Clara's civic calendar. The City described the 2025 event as its 114th anniversary. Each year the City names an Honorary Holiday Tree Lighter, and the Parks & Recreation Commission put the 2026 nomination on its Oct. 19 agenda.
The City calendar lists Santa, food, holiday music, local performances, booths, children's activities and the tree lighting. The event page adds these details:
- Santa's Photo Express. Free tickets go out starting at 5:30 p.m., first come, first served. Photos run from 6 to 8 p.m. City staff take them on your own device, with one pose per family. Children get a teddy bear and candy cane while supplies last.
- Holiday Market. Local artisans selling gifts.
- Holiday Crafts. Festive decorations to make with kids.
- Holiday Stage. Entertainment through the evening, with the lineup to be announced.
- City department and sponsor booths.
The photo tickets are the one part of the night that rewards arriving early. Distribution starts the same minute the event opens, and it's first come, first served. So the time you spend finding parking is time other families spend in the ticket line.
Planning the night around the construction
Here's the order that makes sense for Dec. 4, based on the City's own guidance:
- Check the Park Projects page that week. It's the only place that will say whether the Pavilion lot reopened.
- Choose a parking option that doesn't depend on Phase 1. Patricia Drive at 2625 Patricia Drive is free. If you have a permit, the CRC lot at 969 Kiely Blvd. works, but plan to park there because it doesn't allow drop-offs.
- Use the library for rideshare drop-off. Central Park Library at 2635 Homestead Rd. is the designated spot.
- Arrive by 5:30 p.m. if you want a Santa photo ticket.
- Expect ADA parking at all three lots. That includes the Pavilion lot once it's open.
If you live close enough to walk, the Creek Trail stays open to pedestrians through Phase 2, according to the City.
What the park looks like when the fences come down
Once the entrance project is done in summer 2027, the park will have a new entrance and an upgraded signal at Kiely Boulevard and Kaiser Drive, ADA-compliant pathways and EV charging stations. If the swim center's first phase stays on schedule, its three rebuilt pools and new dive tower should open around the same time. Its administrative building will still be in design. City staff have been meeting with aquatic user groups to plan how the shared facility will run.
Other work is moving more slowly in the background. A City bond-program update dated May 14 says restroom, access-control, lighting-control and entry-door work at Central Park Library was in scoping or assessment, and that design for the Saratoga Creek Trail rehabilitation began in April 2026. Neither has a construction date yet. That means the trail and library you use to get around the park this winter are likely to have their own construction phases after the current fencing is gone.
For now, the two phases of the entrance project are the ones to watch. The Pavilion lot reopening is the near-term change that matters most, and the new Kiely and Kaiser entrance is the one that will change how people get into Central Park after 2027.
If you live near Central Park and wonder how next year's new entrance, rebuilt pools and finished pathways might affect your home's value, Oliveira Properties can walk you through it whenever it suits you, before or after the tree lighting. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
