Dana Point IlluminOcean

For a public FREE light display, this is a pretty cool thing to see if you’re local.
Free parking on the street.
You can pick up the 3D glasses, which I recommend if you want to see a bunch of floating whales everywhere, at one of the shops located at the beginning of the light display. It starts at the greeting santa crab display. They give you a map of where to walk and what you’ll see, but you don’t really need it. You just follow the lights in a straight path. To see the whole thing takes about 30 mins depending on how your pace and the crowd. There is holiday music and the shops are open for drinks and snacks.
It’s a nice thing for the kids to see.

First of all, this place was hard to find! The address they used on the site lead is to a Dana Point campground and it was almost pitch black… We drove back out to the Main Street and followed what appeared to be an increasing amount of Christmas lights to find the actual place.
The pictures I’ve seen of this place had me thinking it was a huge event, but upon attending, it was just Dana Point harbor decked out in aquatic-​themed lights. It’s definitely a nice 10-​minute walk, I just expected more. It’s a place with some cool photo ops and worth checking out if you’re in the area!

This is a super fun thing to do during the holidays! It’s free, family (and dog) friendly, and just really pretty.
The whole harbor is decorated with holiday lights, sea creatures, some have bubbles. There’s holiday music being piped in through the lighted tunnels.
We didn’t know what to expect so we just drove up, looked at lights, and then came home. Next year, we’ll make more of an evening out of it. Plenty of restaurants around!
Worth checking it out. :)

I went for the third time here. It’s a nice walk around the wharf. It gets really cold when the wind picks up. You don’t really need the 3d glasses. We had a nice walk and then dinner here. The Coffee Importers is a great place to grab a cup of something warm before you walk. It’s not Disneyland amazing. its just a real pleasant time lights and people.

Light decorations and kinetic scuptures displayed allalong DP Harbor. Chrrismas music and Holiday spirit, great for kids and the whole family. Have a couple drinks and some food at local restaurants, pick up your «3D» glasses and then walk it off while taking pictures of all the light displays. It seems like they want to start a tradition with this, take a stroll on the waterfront at night and enjoy.