The Christmas Ships fleet is out for most of December, but in 2026 it comes past the Vancouver Waterfront on only three evenings: Thursday, December 3, Friday, December 11, and Wednesday, December 16. There is also a short late-afternoon pass on Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, when the boats escort Santa's tugboat to the City Dock.
On each of those evening dates the schedule lists 7:00 PM. That is when the boats assemble on the Portland side of the Columbia. The fleet is expected at Grant Street Pier about fifty minutes later.
Date | Day | Fleet | Listed time | Waterfront timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov. 27 | Friday | Combined fleet | 4:00 to 5:00 PM | Sneak peek and Santa escort to the City Dock |
Dec. 3 | Thursday | Combined fleet | 7:00 PM assembly | Grant Street Pier estimated 7:50 PM |
Dec. 11 | Friday | Columbia Fleet | 7:00 PM assembly | Grant Street Pier estimated 7:50 PM |
Dec. 16 | Wednesday | Columbia Fleet | 7:00 PM assembly | Grant Street Pier estimated 7:50 PM |
The 7 p.m. on the schedule happens in Portland
All three Waterfront evenings follow the same route. The boats gather in front of the M. James Gleason Boat Ramp at 43rd and NE Marine Drive in Portland. They cross to the Washington side near Tidewater Cove, then head downriver toward the I-5 Bridge. The route page gives these estimated viewing times:
- Surprise Beach, about 7:30 PM
- Grant Street Pier, about 7:50 PM
- Holiday Inn, about 8:15 PM
- Hayden Bay, about 8:30 PM
That order matters if you live along SE Columbia Way. Someone who walks to Grant Street Pier at 7:00 will likely wait close to an hour in December air. Someone heading toward Hayden Bay can leave later still. The fleet is out for about two hours and can be seen from both banks. The organizers say plainly that they can't give exact times at any one spot, because weather, debris in the river and commercial river traffic can all shift the schedule.
So a good plan is to be in place by about 7:40 for Grant Street Pier, with a warm drink in hand and some room to wait. On a calm night that means you catch the lead boats as they come into view and leave only the tail end of the fleet for the walk home.
December 3 has the most boats
The three evenings are not the same parade. The Christmas Ships organization keeps separate Columbia and Willamette River schedules, and the two fleets sail together only on certain nights. December 3 is one of those combined-fleet nights. December 11 and December 16 are listed as Columbia Fleet only.
The organization says about 80 boats take part over the whole season. It doesn't publish a count for each fleet or each night, so no one can promise a number of boats for a given evening. What the schedule does show is that the Thursday at the start of December is the one Waterfront evening when both fleets pass together.
The tradition began in 1954 with a single decorated sailboat. It is now run by a volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit and calls itself the longest continuously operating illuminated boat parade in the United States.
November 27 runs on afternoon time
The sneak peek is the one Waterfront appearance timed around a land event. The Christmas Ships schedule lists a 4:00 to 5:00 PM combined-fleet pass at Grant Street Pier, 115 SE Columbia Way. The boats escort Santa and Mrs. Claus, riding a tugboat, to the Vancouver City Dock, where they head to the Rotary Club of Vancouver's Community Tree Lighting at Esther Short Park.
The Rotary Community Tree Lighting site posts this sequence for the Waterfront part of the evening:
- 4:00 PM Youth musicians from The School of Rock play at the southwest corner of the AC Marriott, and the Rotary Club serves hot chocolate and cookies.
- 5:00 PM The Christmas Ships escort the tugboat along the Waterfront toward the city dock.
- 5:45 PM Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in front of the AC Marriott.
- 6:00 PM The Waste Connections Light Parade leaves the AC Marriott and travels up Grant Street to 6th Street and around Esther Short Park.
- 6:30 PM Santa lights the tree at Esther Short Park.
That page doesn't give a year, so treat its times as provisional until the 2026 program comes out. One example: Visit Vancouver WA's 2026 listing for the same event puts the tree lighting at 6 p.m. Either way, the route is set up so people can walk with the light parade from the river up to the park. The Rotary page lists park activities from 3:00 to 7:30 PM, food on 6th Street, a holiday market in the Hilton, and city lots near Esther Short Park that ask for a $5 parking donation.
From the Waterfront, you can see the boats in late-afternoon light, then walk uphill with the parade instead of driving to the park.
Where to watch along the Waterfront
The Christmas Ships route page for the Waterfront evenings names a few nearby places for watching from indoors. On the Washington side, it lists Hotel Indigo Vancouver at 550 Waterfront Way, The Cove at 5731 SE Columbia Way, and McMenamins on the Columbia at 1801 SE Columbia River Dr. Visit Vancouver WA adds WildFin American Grill, Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar, Oswego Grill, DOSALAS Latin Kitchen + Tequila Bar and Waterfront Taphouse as river-view options.
The parade organization's general advice is that restaurants and hotels along the route can book up months ahead. If you want a window table on December 3, call in October or November rather than the week of.
Outdoors, Vancouver Waterfront Park at 695 Waterfront Way, Grant Street Pier and the Waterfront Renaissance Trail are the main open views of the river, and the trail lets you follow the fleet west on foot. The route page also lists Rotary Way, west of I-5, as an outdoor viewing spot. For anyone who wants to see the boats gather, the M. James Gleason Boat Ramp in Portland keeps its gate open from about 6:45 to 7:05 PM, with $5 parking.
The other December nights go elsewhere
Plenty of December dates don't bring the fleet past Grant Street Pier at all, and a few widely shared calendars list those dates differently than the official schedule. The 2026 Columbia River schedule PDF lists these destinations:
- Dec. 4, 9 and 15: North Portland Harbor
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6:00 PM: Camas, Washougal and Steamboat Landing Park, combined fleet
- Dec. 7 and 18: Washington Shores, Wintler Park and the I-5 Bridge area
- Dec. 8 and 17: I-205, Steamboat Landing and 164th Ave
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 6:00 PM: St. Helens, Columbia City and the Washington shoreline, combined fleet
- Dec. 6, 10 and 14: no parade
The date most likely to cause confusion is December 12. At least one regional events page lists it as a Friday at Grant Street Pier. The official schedule lists it as a Saturday at the St. Helens City Docks, with a 6 p.m. start. The Wintler Park nights on December 7 and 18 are the nearest backups if a Waterfront night gets rained out or doesn't fit your week.
If you go on December 3, 11 or 16, plan to be at Grant Street Pier around 7:50, not 7:00. If you'd like to see the fleet in late-afternoon light on the way to the tree lighting, go on November 27.
If you live at the Waterfront or are thinking about it, the river views are a real part of living here. You can read more about the district on our Vancouver Waterfront neighborhood page, and our guide to what locals do in Vancouver in October covers the weeks before the boats arrive. When you're ready to talk about a home with a view of the parade route, David Merrick is glad to help. Let's Connect.