The Trail of Lights

Beginning in 1965, Austinites have made the trek to and through the Trail of Lights, one of USA Today’s Top 10 Holiday Light Displays. The festival was started as the Yule Feast by Mrs. Alden Mabel Davis and Beverly Sheffield as a holiday gift to the City of Austin, its citizens, and the visitors.

What started as a simple “Twelve Days of Christmas” display is now a 1.25 mile long stretch of 41 lighted scenes. In addition to the lit scenes, there are a number of special features that provide goodies for all. Santa’s House, Santa’s Post Box, a huge Yule Log, crafts fair, food stands, a train ride, and two stages for entertainment are just some of the key parts of the Trail.

To kick off the Festival, the City of Austin lights up the Zilker Tree. The Zilker Tree is a 155 foot tall, 180 feet wide man-made tree made of 39 streamers of lights that are all strung from the Moonlight Tower. The individual that gets to flip the switch for the tree changes from year to year. Since 1987, the winner of the city-wide tree coloring contest has been given the honor. Typically, this ceremony takes place the first Sunday in December.

The first festival was a mere four days long. It consisted of a candlelight path, numerous dance performances, a live nativity scene, and the Yule log. Two years into the tradition, the Zilker Tree made its first appearance at the festival. The Zilker Tree has the distinction of being the “World’s Largest Man-Made Tree.”

Contact an Austin Realtor

For more information on the traditions and celebrations of Austin, contact the expert Austin real estate agents of The Carvajal Group at 512-419-7770.