Downtown Idaho Falls lights its own Christmas tree on Saturday, Nov. 21. Fifteen days earlier, on a Friday evening in a library parking lot, the city gets a different tree. That one is a 76-foot Engelmann spruce strapped to a truck, on its way to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
Most years the season here would start with the downtown lighting. This year it starts on Nov. 6, and that moves the whole calendar. Between the two trees, and running through Thanksgiving weekend, the city has stacked most of its dated holiday programming: a Festival of Trees in its 60th year, two separate Nutcracker productions in three days, and Saturday horse-drawn trolley rides. By December, most of the dated events have already happened.
Idaho Falls Is the Tree's Last Stop in Idaho
The 2026 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree comes from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, which makes this an Idaho tree from the stump up. The official tour route, announced Oct. 1, takes it through north Idaho first. It stops in Grangeville on Oct. 29, Lewiston on Oct. 30, Moscow on Oct. 31, and Orofino and Kamiah on Nov. 1. After a stop in Lolo, Montana, it comes back south through Salmon on Nov. 4, then Craters of the Moon National Monument and Twin Falls on Nov. 5.
Idaho Falls comes next, on Friday, Nov. 6. The following day the tree is in Gardiner, Montana, and from there it heads east through Wyoming, South Dakota and the Midwest. No other Idaho community appears on the route after Idaho Falls. For anyone in Bonneville County or farther south, that makes Capital Avenue the closest and last chance to see the tree before it leaves the state.
The tradition goes back more than five decades, and each year a different national forest supplies the tree. Idaho's turn is a big deal, and it comes with a local tie. The local Caribou-Targhee National Forest, which takes in a lot of the high country east and north of town, is one of the Forest Service partners on the Idaho Falls stop.
What Happens on Capital Avenue on Nov. 6
The city calls the event "From the Forest to the Falls." It runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Idaho Falls Public Library parking lot and along Capital Avenue, and it's free. The City of Idaho Falls, Idaho Falls Power and the Idaho Falls Public Library are hosting, working with the U.S. Forest Service and the Society of American Foresters, the tour's nonprofit partner.
The city's announcement, posted Oct. 6, lists:
- The 76-foot Engelmann spruce itself, in person
- Live music, winter crafts and stories
- Handmade ornament-making
- Booths on Idaho's national forests and the people who care for them
- Winter treats from Idaho Falls Power
The tour organizers say stops along the route usually let visitors take pictures with the tree and the truck, sign the banner and buy official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree merchandise. The city says more details about the Idaho Falls stop will come closer to the date.
Families with crafty kids should know one timing detail. The official ornament drive asked Idahoans for 10,000 handmade ornaments: 3,500 weatherproof, 9-to-12-inch pieces for the outdoor tree and 6,500 smaller ones, 4 to 9 inches, for indoor trees. The submission deadline was Sept. 1, 2026. The city's release mentions making ornaments "for the tree's journey to Washington, D.C." at the Nov. 6 event, but it doesn't say whether ornaments made that night will hang on the Capitol tree itself. If that's the main reason your family is going, it's worth a call to the city first. The release lists public information officer Hayli Egbert as the contact.
The Thursday before, Nov. 5, the Museum of Idaho is showing Monty Python & the Holy Grail with expert commentary, according to the downtown events calendar. That makes for a two-night start to the month that has nothing to do with shopping.
The Fifteen Days Between Two Trees
The morning after the Capitol tree leaves, the Idaho Falls Farmers Market moves indoors for the winter. Its winter markets run the first Saturday of each month from November through April at the Bonneville County Fairgrounds, so the first one falls on Saturday, Nov. 7. The market hasn't posted hours for it yet.
The next week is mostly theater. The Idaho Falls Arts Council has Anastasia The Musical at the Frontier Center Nov. 13 through 18, and Not the Right Mom at the Colonial Theater on Nov. 13. Neither is a holiday show. Both still help fill those middle weekends downtown.
Then comes the Festival of Trees. DWI's 60th annual Festival of Trees, themed "Timeless Traditions," runs Nov. 16 through 20 at the Elks Lodge, 640 E. Elva St. Sixty years is a long run for any local event, and this one falls on the Monday-through-Friday just before downtown's lighting. DWI still lists hours and 2026 ticket prices as coming soon, so check its page before you go.
On Saturday, Nov. 21, the season moves downtown. The Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation lists its Tree Lighting & Holiday Market that day at Broadway Plaza and Memorial Drive. Hours haven't been posted. With the Snake River right off Memorial Drive, that's the city's own tree going up 15 days after the national one went through.
Thanksgiving Week Puts Holiday Shows on Two Stages
Most of the season's holiday programming falls in the five days around Thanksgiving, which is Nov. 26 this year. According to the Idaho Falls Arts Council calendar, that stretch looks like this:
| Date | Show | Venue | Time listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 25 | NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet | Colonial Theater | 7 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | World Ballet Company: The Nutcracker | Frontier Center | Not yet posted |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | The Forgotten Carols Musical | Frontier Center | Not yet posted |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | A Celtic Christmas by A Taste of Ireland | Frontier Center | 3 p.m. |
That's two different Nutcracker productions two days apart, one on the night before Thanksgiving and one on Black Friday. A family hosting relatives for the holiday could pick by night and venue. The Colonial show works for anyone who wants to be out before the cooking starts, and the Frontier Center show works for anyone who'd rather go after the leftovers.
Saturday, Nov. 28 also starts one of downtown's longest-running holiday routines. Horse-drawn trolley rides leave from Civitan Plaza at Park Avenue and B Street from 1 to 3 p.m. every Saturday starting that day and continuing until Christmas. That puts four Saturday afternoons of trolley rides before Dec. 25: Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 12 and 19.
What Remains After the Trolleys Start
Compared with November, the confirmed December calendar is short. Evie Clair Christmas plays the Colonial Theater on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. The Idaho Falls Symphony's The Search Series III: Classically Christmas is Saturday, Dec. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts. The symphony concert and the last trolley Saturday fall on the same day, so you could ride a trolley that afternoon and catch the orchestra that night.
Some December traditions don't have 2026 dates yet. As of Oct. 7 we couldn't find a published 2026 schedule for ice skating at Tautphaus Park, holiday lights along the Snake River Greenbelt, or the Idaho Falls Zoo's last day of the season. The zoo opened its new Islands exhibit on Sept. 3, with new animal habitats and an interactive playground, so a fall visit before it closes is worth fitting in if you haven't seen it. Check the zoo's own channels for the closing date.
Here's how the confirmed season adds up. Counting from the Capitol tree on Nov. 6 through Evie Clair on Dec. 1, the calendar has a national tree stop, the first winter market, a 60-year-old Festival of Trees, a downtown tree lighting and holiday market, four Thanksgiving-weekend holiday shows, and the first trolley Saturday, all within 26 days. December so far has two dated shows and three more trolley Saturdays. Anyone who waits for December to start their holiday plans will miss most of the dated events.
Before November: Two Downtown Nights in October
Downtown has two October events before any of this. Halloween Craft Night is Oct. 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at 549 Park Avenue. Two days later, on Oct. 24, Crawl-O-Ween runs 5 to 10 p.m. Registration is at the former Ferrell's Building, 417 W. Broadway, with a spook alley at 447 Park Avenue and a costume contest at Civitan Plaza. Civitan Plaza hosts the costume contest in October and the trolley rides from late November, so it gets plenty of use this fall.
If your family's November calendar has you wondering which part of Idaho Falls would put you a walk from Capital Avenue, the Colonial Theater and Civitan Plaza, that's a conversation Marek Davis enjoys having. Reach out to Living Idaho Real Estate and schedule a consultation. We'll talk through how different parts of town fit the way you like to spend a season like this one.
