Horseshoe Bay's Holiday Season Has a Guest List. Here's What's Open to Everyone.

Horseshoe Bay Resort's 2026 holiday calendar runs from the Thanksgiving weekend into the first week of December. It includes a 50-foot tree lighting, a lighted cruise on Lake LBJ, two themed breakfasts and a concert that the resort's March lineup release says will feature a 10-piece band. Most of these events are limited to resort guests and members of The Club at Horseshoe Bay. If you live here without a Club membership, you can buy into two resort events this fall. The rest of your season comes from a free community calendar that gets much less promotion. The key date is Tuesday, Dec. 1.

The table below sorts the season by who can get in, using the wording each event page publishes as of October 2026.

How the Resort Sorts Its Own Calendar

The resort's holiday page says the Winter Wonderland evening on Nov. 28 is "complimentary for resort guests and members of The Club at Horseshoe Bay." That evening includes Santa's arrival, the lighting of the 50-foot tree, carolers from VocaLibre, and horse-drawn carriage and train rides on Live Oak Lawn and Palm Pavilion. In its March announcement, the resort described the Wine Expo that night as more than 30 wineries plus a holiday retail market. Expo tickets are listed at $55 for resort guests and $44 for members, with no price for the general public.

The Jingle Bell Express Breakfast, the Charlie Brown Christmas Breakfast and the Christmas Cruise on the Lady Bird II all carry the same line: "exclusive to resort guests and members of The Club at Horseshoe Bay." The resort's dining FAQ applies a similar limit to its restaurants and explains it this way: "This way we keep the resort private and quiet for guests and their families."

A resort's press release lists both kinds of events side by side, so the gating is easy to miss. The March 2026 lineup announcement describes the whole holiday stretch as one celebration and doesn't say who can attend. The resort's own pages also disagree on the dates of the season. The holiday page says Nov. 27 to Dec. 6, the events index says Nov. 27 to Dec. 7, and the March release says Nov. 26 to Dec. 6. The dates for individual events are consistent, so the table above uses those. The one exception is the Charlie Brown breakfast. The March release put it on Dec. 5, and the current holiday page lists it for Sunday, Dec. 6.

The Two Resort Events Open to Everyone

Wine, Dine & Jazz, Saturday, Nov. 7. The resort's 21st Annual Wine, Dine & Jazz Festival is the only resort event this fall whose page says outright that you don't need to stay there. The Saturday Day Pass covers the celebrity chef cooking demonstrations and the Wine, Dine & Jazz Stroll, and it carries the line "Everyone Welcome | Resort Stay Not Required." On the resort's Ticketbud page, the adult pass is $99 plus a $6.32 fee, or $105.32 total. A child pass is $41.25 plus a $3.42 fee. The lineup includes saxophonists Paul Taylor and Michael Paulo, guitarist and vocalist Steve Oliver, Grammy-winning keyboardist Gregg Karukas, and soul singer B. Valentine, with Land Richards on drums and Darryl Williams on bass. The Friday five-course chef dinner is presented on the festival page alongside hotel packages, and no standalone public ticket price is shown. For a local, the Saturday pass is the way in.

Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26. The 30th Annual Turkey Trot invites "friends, family, and all runners" to a 5K or 10K run, a 5K walk or the Tot Trot. Registration is priced in tiers.

• Members and members' guests: $40 advance, $45 race day
• Overnight resort guests: $50 advance, $55 race day
• General public: $55 advance, $65 race day
• Children: $25
• Tot Trot, ages 3 to 8: free

The public pays $15 more than members if registering in advance and $20 more on race day. Registering early saves a public runner $10. A portion of each registration goes to the Ark of the Highland Lakes. The resort's announcement says the "Rock the Flock" pet parade returns after the race, with awards for best costume, tiniest pet and biggest pet.

Christmas on the Lawn and the Pickleball Classic

Christmas on the Lawn runs Friday, Dec. 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. The resort's March lineup release describes carolers, kids' karaoke, s'mores and photos with Santa. The event's own page calls it "Complimentary" and doesn't say who is eligible. The holiday overview, meanwhile, limits complimentary access to resort guests and Club members. Until the resort clarifies, assume you need guest or member status. The first Holiday Pickleball Classic, Dec. 4 to 6, works the same way. It is presented as a package with two hotel nights, and its page shows no public registration.

The Free Calendar, Built Around Dec. 1

The holiday event built for residents comes from the community. The City of Horseshoe Bay calendar lists Holidaze on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cost is listed as free. The Horseshoe Bay Business Alliance describes it as free to the public with complimentary food and beverage, and asks attendees to RSVP.

The 2026 listing doesn't give a venue or mention a tree lighting. In past years the event was held on the commercial stretch of FM 2147. The city's 2024 notice put Holidaze in front of Bay Pharmacy on FM 2147, with the tree lighting at dusk. In 2021, the tree lighting was in the parking area between Tall Texan Bar and Grill and Bay Pharmacy. Those are past locations. The Business Alliance RSVP page is the place to watch for this year's details.

Here is how the free events fall across the rest of the season.

1. Nov. 29 through Jan. 2. Marble Falls' Walkway of Lights opens at Lakeside Park & Beach, 305 Buena Vista Drive. It is free and runs nightly from 6 to 10 p.m., weather permitting, according to Visit Marble Falls.
2. Dec. 1. Holidaze in Horseshoe Bay, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
3. Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. Photos With Santa in Granite Shoals, 5 to 6:30 p.m. at 2221 N Phillips Ranch Rd, as listed by Visit Granite Shoals.
4. Dec. 12. Breakfast With Santa in Granite Shoals, 10 a.m. at 1208 N Phillips Ranch Rd.

The Granite Shoals page puts 2026 entries under a "Christmas Events Calendar 2025" heading, so confirm with the host before you go.

Where a Non-Member Can Sit Down at the Resort

The resort dining room works on the same tiers as the calendar. According to the resort's dining FAQ, the public can eat at J's Restaurant and Bar, Waterfront Bar & Grill, and The Market. Other restaurants require an overnight stay, and Yacht Club and Cap Rock are for members only. J's, at 200 Hi Circle North, is listed as open to the public, serving breakfast from 6:30 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. These dining pages were written before this season, so check current hours before planning around them. Dinner at J's after Turkey Trot packet pickup, or the night of the Nov. 7 jazz stroll, is a way to spend an evening at the resort without a room key.

Morning coffee may also change before the holidays end. DailyTrib reported that Kynda Coffee closed its Cottonwood Shores location on Sunday, Sept. 27, and is moving to 4909 RM 2147 in Horseshoe Bay. The owners had no firm reopening date and expect it may be ready by winter.

Access is a quiet issue in Horseshoe Bay, and it affects property as much as holiday events. A home's tie to a club, a marina or a shoreline can matter as much as the home itself. If you want to know how membership and community access affect value on Lake LBJ, Hall Realty Group handles those conversations privately. Request Private Access.