Will Main Street in Columbia be busier at 11 in the morning or at 5:30 in the evening this December? It depends on which weekend you go. The 2026 holiday season at Columbia State Historic Park is spread over three weekends, and each one happens at a different time of day. The first runs after dark, the second takes up a whole Sunday, and the third fits into three afternoon hours. If you live a few minutes away, the start time matters as much as the date. Main Street's restaurants keep fixed hours, and the park has no rooms to stay in overnight.
The three weekends, by the clock
| Weekend | Event | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri.–Sat., Dec. 4–5 | Lamplight Tours | Tours from 6:30 p.m. Fri., 5:30 p.m. Sat. | $30 ages 16+, $10 ages 10–15 |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Columbia All Equestrian Parade | 11 a.m. | Free to watch |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Las Posadas Nativity Procession | 5:30 p.m. | Free |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 19–20 | Miners Christmas | Noon–3 p.m. | Free |
Sierra Repertory Theatre's Shrek The Musical at the Fallon House runs across all three weekends, from Nov. 20 to Dec. 20. The park's exhibits keep winter hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and close on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The events above happen on Main Street, so they don't depend on museum hours. Your meals do depend on restaurant hours, and that's where this year looks different.
One team now runs both Main Street restaurants
This is the first holiday season with the City Hotel and the Bella Union under the same concessionaires. The Union Democrat reported that Christina and Nate Lint signed the City Hotel concession agreement with California State Parks on Feb. 17 and reopened the restaurant on March 9. Christina Lint had already run the Bella Union, the former Columbia House, for more than five years. Lint told the paper how fast the City Hotel deal came together:
"Yes, it all came at lightning speed. But it's working."
The two restaurants divide the day. According to the Union Democrat, the Bella Union serves breakfast and lunch and the City Hotel serves lunch and dinner, with the City Hotel the more upscale of the two. Drinks at the City Hotel come from the What Cheer Saloon. The City Hotel serves about 60 meals a day and the more casual Bella Union about 150, and together they employ nearly 25 people. The Bella Union's own site lists hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday through Monday.
That 3 p.m. close shapes all three weekends. Of the five event days, only the Miners Christmas afternoons and the morning equestrian parade happen while the Bella Union is serving. Every evening event in December starts after it closes, so a dinner nearby means the City Hotel.
Lint also wants to reopen the City Hotel and the Fallon Hotel as places to stay. The two buildings have nearly 25 unused rooms, both have been vacant for most of three years, and right now nobody can stay overnight inside the park. The Union Democrat reported that the park's concessionaire specialist is working on a possible deal, and Lint estimated the rooms could open sometime early next year. So for December 2026, everyone at a Lamplight Tour or Las Posadas drives in and drives home afterward.
Dec. 4 and 5: a new story and a 15-minute schedule
The 41st annual Lamplight Tours, presented by Friends of Columbia State Historic Park, have a new script. Last year's production was "A Miners' Christmas Carol," on Dec. 5 and 6, 2025. This year's play is "Stone Soup." It's set in Columbia in the winter of 1858, when, in the Friends' description, "the diggins were played out, the miners were starving, and the townspeople had hearts of stone." Lantern-carrying guides lead groups through town after dark while the miners hunt for the ingredients. At the end, everyone tastes the soup and keeps a souvenir mug.
The details that matter most:
- Where to meet: the Columbia Museum.
- Friday, Dec. 4: six tours, starting at 6:30 p.m., every 15 minutes.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: nine tours, starting at 5:30 p.m., every 15 minutes.
- Price: $30 for ages 16 and older, $10 for ages 10 to 15.
- Younger kids: not recommended for children under 10.
With six Friday slots 15 minutes apart, the last Friday tour leaves at 7:45 p.m. Saturday has three more slots and starts an hour earlier, so the last tour leaves at 7:30. If you're planning around a City Hotel dinner, Saturday's earlier start gives you more options.
Friday the 4th has another event on it. The Jamestown School District calendar lists the Jamestown Tree Lighting from 5 to 6 p.m. that evening. It ends half an hour before the first Friday Lamplight tour, so households in Jamestown can make both: the tree lighting first, then a later Friday tour slot in Columbia. The same evening, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park has THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride departures at 4:30, 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. That run started Nov. 27 and goes Fridays through Sundays until Dec. 20, and coach tickets are $85.
Dec. 13: two events on one Sunday, six and a half hours apart
The middle weekend fits into one day, and the same street gets used twice. Here's the order, as California State Parks lists it:
- 11 a.m., Columbia All Equestrian Parade. It's a judged parade on Main Street, open to riders, drivers and mounted groups of all ages. Watching is free, and entering costs $25 per participant. Participants can earn points toward the California State Horsemen's Association Parade High Point Program. Everyone is encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy for the toy drive benefiting ATCAA's Housing Families Program.
- Between the two events, the Bella Union. On a Sunday it's open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., so a late breakfast or lunch fits between the parade and the evening.
- 5:30 p.m., Las Posadas Nativity Procession. It's free and coordinated by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
Columbia has staged its own version of Las Posadas every December since 1983, with an 1850s setting. Las Posadas is a Spanish tradition that reenacts Mary and Joseph's search for shelter in Bethlehem. In Columbia's version, Mary and Joseph and their donkey are joined by the three Wise Men, a tax collector, an innkeeper, miners, musicians and other townspeople in period costume. Luminarias light the way along Main Street, which is decorated for Christmas, and the people watching hold candles and sing carols. The Chamber's contact information is on its site, visitcolumbiacalifornia.com.
If you bring a toy in the morning and a candle in the evening, you can do both events on one Sunday. Both happen on Main Street, and both are free to attend.
Dec. 19 and 20: an afternoon finish, and three runs that end the same Sunday
The last weekend is the only one that happens entirely in daylight. Miners Christmas, produced by Friends of Columbia State Historic Park, runs from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19, and Sunday, Dec. 20, and it's free. Visit Tuolumne County's listing includes old-time miners' stories, chestnut roasting, crafts, hot cider and historic decorations, and some activities depend on the weather. Those three hours are the only stretch of the season when the event and the Bella Union's lunch service fully overlap. The restaurant opens at 8 a.m. on both days and closes at 3, when the event ends.
Sunday, Dec. 20, is the last day for more than Miners Christmas. Sierra Rep's Shrek The Musical closes at the Fallon House that day. The show is rated G and runs about two hours with an intermission. Railtown's Polar Express run also ends Dec. 20. Three different holiday runs end on that one Sunday in Columbia and Jamestown, five days before Christmas.
If December fills up, the week of publication is when to plan. As of Thursday, Nov. 12, Shrek opens in eight days. The Lamplight Tours are three weeks out, and the Polar Express ticket sale opened back in September. The free events don't need any planning. You just need to know which hour to be on Main Street.
When family arrives for Lamplight weekend and nobody can stay inside the park, the conversation sometimes turns to what it would take to own a place close enough to walk to Main Street. I'm Yana Vass, and I've spent years walking older Columbia and Jamestown homes with buyers and sellers, looking closely at their condition and what they'd need. If that conversation has started at your table, Vass Haus RE can help you figure out what a nearby home is worth today. Schedule a Free Home Valuation & Consultation, and we'll talk it through over coffee, maybe at the Bella Union before it closes at 3.
