San Diego Botanic Garden is closed all day on Thanksgiving, and Coastal Roots Farm on Saxony Road is closed too. At 5 p.m. that Thursday, Lightscape opens on the garden's grounds and stays lit until 9. Christmas follows the same pattern. Through the rest of the season, the inland Encinitas corridor between Quail Gardens Drive and Saxony Road keeps a separate daytime schedule and nighttime schedule, and the holidays the daytime calendar takes off are the nights the night calendar is open.
If you live a few minutes away, it helps to know where the two schedules overlap and where they don't. A Tuesday visit, a Thursday coffee and a family night out over the holidays each run on a different set of hours.
Three Calendars Sharing One Corridor
Three schedules run along these streets, and each one has its own days off.
- San Diego Botanic Garden, by day: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week, with walk-up tickets ending at 4 p.m. It is closed every Tuesday and on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The rest of the year it is open most holidays.
- Coastal Roots Farm, 441 Saxony Road: The Pay-What-You-Can Farm Stand runs Thursdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A coffee cart operates Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon, and Nature Play runs the same three days from 9 a.m. to noon.
- Lightscape, by night: From November 20 through January 3, Thursday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It does not run Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tuesday is the quietest day here, with the garden closed and no farm stand or Lightscape. Monday and Wednesday are garden-only days. From Thursday through Sunday, the corridor runs close to 13 hours a day once Lightscape starts.
The Next Two Weeks Run on Daytime Hours
Lightscape doesn't open until Friday, November 20, so the first half of the month belongs to the daytime calendar, and both institutions have a full one.
The garden is preparing for its night run while it is still open. Its admissions page says some sections may be closed to visitors on select days through November 17 while crews set up for Lightscape. The Dickinson Family Education Conservatory closes at noon on November 7 for a private event. The daytime programs continue around that work. The garden has listed succulent-wreath workshops on November 12 and 14, Sips & Science on November 12, and a members-only field trip on November 7. If you want the full garden without any set-up underway, the window runs from November 18 until Lightscape opens.
On Saxony Road, November is the farm's busiest month of the season. Coastal Roots Farm has listed a Green Art Labs Nature Play popup for Friday, November 6, from 9 a.m. to noon, and its monthly farm tour for Sunday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to noon. The next tour is Sunday, December 13, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
The farm's biggest November date is State of the Farm, on Sunday, November 15, from 4 to 7 p.m. It is also the first big public gathering under new leadership. In July, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the farm's board had named Kesha Dorsey chief executive officer. She had served as interim CEO since April, after Javier Guerrero left, and has been with the farm for eight years in roles that include running its Education Department and serving as chief strategy officer. The same report says she helped grow the organization from a $1.5 million budget to more than $4 million.
The Union-Tribune's October 31 report on the event describes it as an evening of seasonal bites from the farm's fields, with Dorsey and farm leaders speaking about where the organization is going. It quotes her directly:
"This evolution comes at a moment when our work is especially needed. As food insecurity rises in the wake of SNAP cuts and many in our community are seeking deeper connection and belonging, the Farm's role is more vital than ever."
The paper lists tickets at $180 general admission and $540 for Farm Friends. The Farm Stand is the everyday version of the same mission. The farm describes it as pay-what-you-can, with free produce for neighbors facing food insecurity.
November 20, the Night Schedule Starts
When Lightscape opens, the corridor stays busy after dark for the first time this season. This is the event's fifth season at the garden, with a mile-long lit trail and more than 20 new installations alongside some returning ones. San Diego Botanic Garden's Lightscape page lists music, seasonal food and holiday cocktails along the route. KPBS's event listing names Haze Arches and a field of Bluebonnets among the new pieces, and the Winter Cathedral among the returning ones.
The practical details:
- Tickets: General admission starts at $28 for adults and $18 for children. Ages 2 and under are free, and prices vary by date. Anytime Access tickets are sold at a flat rate.
- Members: SDBG's page lists 20% off standard tickets for the whole season. Anytime Access tickets are not eligible for the member discount.
- Parking: $15 per vehicle if bought in advance. On-site parking is limited and costs $20 when available.
- Where to enter: Lightscape's visitor information lists parking entrances at both 230 and 300 Quail Gardens Drive and suggests that groups coming in several cars travel together.
- Changing plans: Tickets are sold through the Fever website or app. All sales are final, and exchanges are allowed up to 48 hours before your visit, with fees.
Lightscape runs 27 nights in all, and every one of them is Thursday through Sunday. SDBG notes that dates sell out quickly, so if you have guests coming for a specific weekend, check that date early.
Thursday Carries All Three
All of this comes together on Thursday. It is the first day each week that has the farm's coffee cart, Nature Play and Farm Stand, regular garden admission, and a Lightscape evening.
On an ordinary Thursday between November 20 and the end of December, the coffee cart opens at 8 a.m., Nature Play starts at 9, and the garden opens at the same hour. The Farm Stand runs from 10 to 3. The garden's daytime hours end at 5, and Lightscape opens at 5. Lightscape is ticketed separately from daytime admission, and there is no gap between the two.
Sunday follows the same pattern with one difference. The farm runs its coffee cart, Nature Play and Farm Stand that day as well, the garden is open, and Lightscape follows in the evening. Friday has the coffee cart and Nature Play but no Farm Stand. Saturday is garden by day and Lightscape at night. That makes Thursday and Sunday the full days. They are also the two days the holiday calendar disrupts most.
How the Holiday Weeks Shift
Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve all fall on Thursdays this year, and Christmas Day falls on a Friday. Every one of those dates is a Lightscape night. Most of them are also days when the garden or the farm takes time off.
| Date | Garden, by day | Coastal Roots Farm | Lightscape, 5 to 9 p.m. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Closed for Thanksgiving | Closed | Open |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Open | Closed | Open |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Open | Closed | Open |
| Fri., Dec. 25 | Closed for Christmas | No Farm Stand on Fridays | Open |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | Open | Closed | Open |
Apart from its regular Tuesday closures, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only days the garden is closed to daytime visitors, and Lightscape still opens that evening on both. The farm closes on four days, Thanksgiving, the day after, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and Lightscape runs on all four. Three of those closures fall on Thursdays, so the Farm Stand misses three of its regular Thursdays between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Its Sunday hours aren't affected by any of the posted closures.
For anyone planning a holiday week with family in town, that adds up to a simple rule. Plan Farm Stand produce runs for Sundays, because three of the six Thursdays from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve are farm closures. Plan a daytime garden walk for any day except a Tuesday, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. On the two holidays themselves, the corridor is open only at night. Lightscape's final weekend runs New Year's Day through Sunday, January 3, and the garden's daytime hours are scheduled as usual that Friday, since its only holiday closures are Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If you're working out the holidays with guests flying in and a Lightscape night on the list, I'm happy to share how I'd fit Quail Gardens Drive around everything else happening in inland Encinitas this season. Amy Green is always glad to hear from neighbors. Let's Connect.
