The Lone Star Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 12, runs on what the City of Montgomery's parade entry form calls a "New Parade Route & Staging Plan." It leaves the narrow downtown blocks and loops along Highway 105, Highway 149 and Clepper Street. Spectators are directed to park at the stadium and take a shuttle in. That evening, the Montgomery Historical Society's 49th Candlelight Home Tour opens every home at Fernland Historical Park. Two years ago, only one of those homes stayed open after dark.
Between them, the two changes push the parade crowd out to the highways and give the historic buildings more of the evening. If you live on the west side of Lake Conroe, in Walden, April Sound or anywhere along the 105 corridor, how you plan to arrive matters this year.
The parade moved from Liberty Street to the highways
The 2024 parade, then called the Holiday Parade, started on Liberty Street, crossed Eva Street heading north and wound through downtown, according to Montgomery County News. The 2026 route on the city's map is larger and follows the main roads:
- It starts at CB Stuart.
- It heads west on Highway 105.
- It turns north on Highway 149.
- It comes back east on Clepper Street toward CB Stuart.
The parade runs from 10 a.m. to noon, and it's presented by the City of Montgomery. Entries are capped at 100, accepted first come, first served. Registration closes October 31 or as soon as the cap fills, whichever comes first. That deadline is this Saturday. If your business, church, scout troop or HOA has been talking about building a float, now is the time.
The entry form still lists the new route and staging plan as "coming soon," even though the route map is already posted. Treat the route above as what the city has published so far, and check the city's parade page before you head out.
Parking moved out of downtown along with the parade
The route map marks spectator parking at the stadium. MISD buses run a shuttle from there to downtown, stopping at Brookshire Brothers every 10 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The shuttle window tells you a lot about the day. It opens 90 minutes before the parade and stops two and a half hours after the last float. That covers the parade and the midday marketplace, but not the candlelit tour that starts at 4 p.m. If you want both the parade and the tour, you have two options. You can stay downtown from morning to evening, or you can go home after lunch and drive back in for the tour.
The evening tour got bigger
The Montgomery Historical Society, founded in 1954, runs Christmas in Historic Montgomery as its main fundraiser. Proceeds go toward the seven historic buildings it owns and toward scholarships, as Montgomery County News reported ahead of the 2024 event. The 2024 coverage also described Fernland's buildings as open only until 3 p.m. The Arnold-Simonton Home, which the Society owns, was the one exception that stayed open for the evening tour.
This year the Society's 2026 press release says that "all of the homes at Fernland Historical Park will be open for the tour." Visit Montgomery describes Fernland as a downtown park built around early Texas architecture, with log homes and cabins that rank among the oldest surviving structures in the state. The city lists it at 770 Clepper Drive. That's the same Clepper name as the parade's last leg, so the morning and evening crowds end up on the same road, about six hours apart.
The tour runs from 4 to 7 p.m. along a walking route of historic churches, homes and landmarks, all decorated for the holidays, with luminarias lighting the way between stops. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students, and children four and under get in free, with details at mhs-tx.org. Sunset in mid-December arrives during the tour, and that's when the luminarias matter most. Arriving close to 4 p.m. gives you some daylight at the cabins before the candlelight takes over.
December 12, hour by hour
The city and the Historical Society describe the day as a joint effort, but each event has its own organizer and its own registration. The parade, Cookie Walk and home tour also shared a single Saturday last year, on December 13, 2025, according to Montgomery County News. So the one-day format isn't new. The route and the size of the evening tour are.
| Time | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Parade shuttle every 10 minutes | Stadium parking to Brookshire Brothers | Not listed |
| 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Holiday Marketplace Arts & Crafts Sale | Grounds of the Old Community Center, 14420 Liberty St. | Not listed |
| 10 a.m. to noon | Lone Star Christmas Parade | CB Stuart, Hwy 105, Hwy 149, Clepper St. | Not listed |
| 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 36th Annual Cookie Walk | Inside the Old Community Center, Liberty and College streets | $10 per pound |
| 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. | 49th Annual Candlelight Home Tour | Historic district and Fernland Historical Park | $15 adults, $5 students, 4 and under free |
Put the Cookie Walk early on your list. It runs "until all cookies and candies are sold," and the Montgomery Monarchs Chapter of the National Charity League spends days decorating and staging it ahead of time. It opens at 11, while the parade is still on the highway loop. If you take the shuttle in at 9, you can browse the marketplace, watch the parade and be at the Community Center door soon after the cookie tables open.
A week earlier, Cedar Brake Park lights up
Light Up the Park on Saturday, December 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., is the first event of the season. It's back after the 2025 edition, so it isn't new. This year it carries the same Lone Star Christmas theme as the parade. According to the city's pole reservation form, the setup works like this:
- Location: Cedar Brake Park, 900 Eva Street.
- The contest: 47 light poles for local residents and businesses to decorate. 19 premium poles cost $25 and 28 standard poles are free. Each pole comes with an outlet and one strand of clear lights.
- Signage: Businesses and organizations may put a small sign next to their pole.
- City decorations: Public Works puts up the park's own lights, garland and Christmas trees before decorating starts on November 9.
- On the night: Mayor Sara Countryman announces the winners, with photos with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, entertainment, and hot cocoa and cookies from H-E-B Montgomery.
- Deadline: Reservations close October 31, the same day as parade registration, or sooner if all the poles are taken.
The form says judging starts November 30, and the city's news page says December 1. Either way, the decorated poles go up well before the event. Decorations can stay up until January 4, 2027, and the park lights switch on automatically at dusk. For about five weeks, Cedar Brake Park makes an easy evening walk.
Where to eat between the halves
The time between the parade and the tour is the easiest place for a meal. Two recently opened spots fit the day:
Benny & Hash opened July 14 at 15260 TX-105, Suite 160, serving breakfast and lunch, according to Community Impact. It's on 105, the road the parade uses, so plan to go before the parade or once the route clears.
Highland Pine Coffee Company at 21123 Eva St., Suite 110, serves espresso drinks, matcha, pastries and light bites. It opened in August 2025, per Community Impact.
Closer to the historic core, H-Wines on Liberty Street, The Meating Place BBQ at 22016 Eva St. and Cozy Grape have all served downtown visitors. Call ahead about Saturday hours before you build your evening around any of them.
Robin knows these Montgomery Saturdays the way her neighbors do: which roads fill up first and when the cookie tables run low. If you're thinking about a move closer to the lake, or to a house where you could walk to the parade, Robin Bailey will tell you plainly what each street on the west side is like in December. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and let's talk before the lights come down in January.
