2026 Santa House Visits - Downtown Crystal Lake

We’re excited to welcome Santa to the newly renovated Depot Park in Downtown Crystal Lake, and we look forward to providing a magical experience for your children and family!

LOCATION & PARKING: Navigate to the Crystal Lake Metra Station. You can find parking in either of the Metra Station lots on (Grant and Woodstock), on Williams Street or in the Brink Street Market parking lot (the Raue Center/Starbucks parking lot)!

RESERVATIONS: To decrease wait times, we are now providing a reservation system. This worked very well last year! Each time slot is 5 minutes. Please be respectful of everyone's time and stick to your reserved time slot. While you might still experience a short wait, you can enjoy strolling the downtown and getting some holiday shopping done instead of holding a spot in line! Please note: the last weekend (12/19 & 12/20) of Santa House visits will be WALK-UP ONLY.

WAITLIST: We are using a new platform this year that offers automatic waitlist options. Once you delete your signup, the next person in the queue will automatically be signed up for the first open slot.

ACCESSIBILITY: To help make the experience joyful for everyone in our community, we’re also offering dedicated times designed to better support individuals with disabilities and their families. These dedicated times are slightly longer, and the first available of each day (to decrease the possibility of wait times). We will not have music playing during this time, to create a more peaceful environment. While our Santa House is not outfitted with a ramp (due to its height), Santa welcomes the opportunity to get some fresh air and move his chair outside of the house to visit with wheelchair users. If there are any other accommodations we can provide, please email [email protected] ahead of your scheduled visit.

To make sure all families have the experience that’s best for them, we ask that those without specific sensory or accessibility needs reserve their visit outside of these dedicated hours. We appreciate your understanding and support to be sure that downtown Crystal Lake Santa visits are inclusive for all!

for all things holidays, please visit: downtowncl.org/holidays