Save time and avoid traffic to the popular holiday festival in Riverside
ORANGE –Metrolink will provide additional trains this year to take passengers to the 25th anniversary of the Mission Inn and Spa’s Festival of Lights in downtown Riverside.
Metrolink will operate the special train service to the Festival of Lights on Fridays and Saturdays, beginning Nov. 24. The trains from Orange County begin running at 3 p.m. from Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and make stops at Irvine, Tustin, Santa Ana, Orange and Anaheim Canyon before heading into Corona and Riverside. Return trains leave Riverside beginning at 8:45 p.m. The service runs on Nov. 24 and 25 and on Dec. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16.
The adult fare is $7 roundtrip and ages 18 and under ride free.
The Mission Inn Hotel and Spa’s Festival of Lights includes more than 400 animated figures, including angels, holiday elves and Dickens carolers. The festival was named the “Best Public Lights Display in the Nation” by USA Today.
Those who wish to hop aboard a Metrolink train to the festivities can ride the 91/Perris Valley line and the Inland Empire/Orange County line to the Downtown Riverside station. The routes to Riverside begin in Los Angeles, Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo, and Perris, with the normal station stops for each route along the way.
In addition, the returning trains on the Inland Empire/Orange County Line will stop at each of the regular stations and then continue south to Oceanside.
The Riverside Transit Agency will operate free shuttles from the Riverside Metrolink station to the Mission Inn.
The first night of the festival on Friday, Nov. 24, will include a lighting ceremony of nearly 5 million lights and a fireworks show, starting at 4:30 p.m. The festival also includes horse carriages, a carousel, a Ferris wheel, a visit from Santa Claus and more.
The special service is made possible by funding from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee.
Tickets are available on the Metrolink mobile app or from ticket vending machines at Metrolink stations. A full list of train schedules can be found at www.MetrolinkTrains.com/FOL.
