The free candlelit walk along the Snohomish River Trail dates back to 2006, but there was no walk in 2025. It is scheduled to return on Monday, December 21, 2026, from 4 to 7 p.m. The plan the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association filed with the city has changed a lot from what neighbors may remember. It expects about 2,000 walkers, uses battery-powered candles, and runs on a dozen volunteers.
That gap between a small neighborhood tradition and a planned civic event is the story of this year's walk. It also explains what you'll see on the trail that night.
The Year the Lights Stayed in the Boxes
On December 14, 2025, HDSA posted an update about the walk. It said the trail was expected to stay closed for damage assessment and cleanup before visitors could return, so the walk would not go ahead as planned. The listing for the canceled event put it more simply: most of the trail was still closed to the public, and HDSA said it looked forward to seeing everyone in 2026.
HDSA's permit application confirms the gap. It lists December 21, 2024 as the most recent walk. That 2024 walk was on the city calendar for 4 to 7 p.m. along the Riverfront Trail.
The trail has been back in use for months. A Washington Trails Association trip report from January 11, 2026 described mud and debris on the paved Riverfront Trail but nothing blocking it or damaged. By August 10, an Everett Herald photographer had photographed people walking along the Riverfront Trail past Kla Ha Ya Park. We haven't found a formal reopening notice from the city. Still, people are clearly walking the trail again, and that matters a lot for an event that depends on nothing else.
What the Walk Was Built On
The walk began with two people. In 2018 the Herald reported that Karen Guzak and her partner Warner Blake had launched it and were still organizing it, with help from about 30 volunteers. That year it drew hundreds of people to 500 luminaries set along the river.
"It's a family-friendly, no-charge celebration of this dark day and the turning of the planets." Karen Guzak, speaking to the Everett Herald in 2018
The Herald's photos from those years show how hands-on it was. A 2009 picture shows Christina Deierling of Snohomish lighting candles one by one along the Riverfront Trail, while her small dog, Bella, looked nervous about the flame in the bag. Another from 2006 shows Steve Erie walking east with a walking stick past the candles between Cady Park and Avenue D, two minutes before the solstice.
The 2018 article also marked a handoff. It was Guzak and Blake's last year as organizers. Emily Collins, a manager at the Snohomish Bakery, and her husband Brennan Collins agreed to run the next year's walk. Both had volunteered at the walk for the previous three years. The bakery stayed involved. The 2025 event page listed the walk as sponsored by Snohomish Bakery. The business now operates as First & Union Kitchen at 101 Union Ave.
Then and Now, From the Paperwork
HDSA's 2026 special events permit application was filed by Katie Waltemyer and signed September 22. It reads like a plan for an event that has outgrown its founders' version. Set beside the 2018 account, the change is easy to see.
| 2018, per the Everett Herald | 2026, per HDSA's permit application | |
|---|---|---|
| Organizers | Karen Guzak and Warner Blake | Historic Downtown Snohomish Association |
| Volunteers | About 30 | 12 |
| Attendance | Hundreds | Estimated 2,000 |
| Light source | 500 luminaries, lit by hand in earlier years | LED candle in an open paper bag |
| Route | Near Avenue D to Cady Park, 40 Maple Ave | Cady Landing, up the hill by Kla Ha Ya Park, and up the bridge to Avenue D |
The route covers a short stretch of river. The city lists the Riverfront Trail as a 0.3-mile paved path from Avenue D to Cady Park. In 2018 the Herald noted that the paved trail was ADA accessible. Fitting about 2,000 people onto that length of path over three hours explains much of what the application covers. It names Cady Landing as the command post and rally point, with a fire department first aid responder stationed there. It adds a second first aid kit and reunification point at Kla Ha Ya Park, and sets up a safety team with walkie-talkies to watch the trail.
The LED candles fit the same pattern. Twelve volunteers can't relight hundreds of flames in December rain. Instead, monitors walk the line, look for dud candles, and swap them out.
How the Day Unfolds
The application lays out the day by the hour. Here is how it lines up with the sky on December 21, 2026:
- Noon. Volunteers meet at Cady Landing to assemble luminaries. They place them on both sides of the trail, two paces apart.
- 3:30 p.m. Lighting starts from either end of the trail. The safety team checks in with the fire department at Cady Landing.
- 4:00 p.m. The walk officially opens.
- 4:18 p.m. Sunset in Snohomish.
- 4:54 p.m. Civil twilight ends, and the bags glow against a dark sky.
- 7:00 p.m. The walk ends. Volunteers meet behind Andy's Fish House to take down and pack up the luminaries.
HDSA's own listing points to the same choice: come early for sunset, come later to see the lanterns in full darkness, or stay for both. There is no formal program and no fixed meeting spot. You can start anywhere along the River Front Trail and follow the lights.
The trail map in the application also shows how close the walk sits to First Street. It marks Cathouse Place near First Street and Avenue D, then Fred's Rivertown Alehouse, The Repp, Andy's Fish House, and The Oxford Saloon along the stretch toward the Riverfront Gazebo and Cady Landing. General monitors are assigned to the public restrooms and trash cans on First Street during the event.
The One Open Item
As of early October, the city's calendar still marks the 2026 walk "PERMIT PENDING." The application is a renewal for an event the city has permitted before. The 2025 cancellation was posted on HDSA's event page a week ahead of the date, and that update pointed readers to the event page and HDSA's social media for further news. Those are the places to check for updates this year too.
Where It Falls in the Season
The walk is the last of downtown's December events. Before it come three dates that are already set or partly set:
- Holiday Open House: Friday, November 6, 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, November 7, noon to 8 p.m. Participating shops and performers are still to be announced.
- Snohomish Tree Lighting: Saturday, November 28, at the Carnegie. Santa photos start at 3 p.m. inside the building, the countdown begins on Carnegie Plaza at 4:45 p.m., and the tree is lit at 5 p.m. The Carnegie at 105 Cedar Ave. was built in 1910 as the town's library.
- Winterfest: listed on HDSA's calendar for Friday, December 11. Ticketed events go on sale November 1, and the 2026 schedule hasn't been posted yet.
The tree lighting and Winterfest center on storefronts, the Carnegie, and First Street. The solstice walk is the one that moves down to the river, on the year's longest night, once the shops have had their turn. In 2018 Wendy Poischbeg, then the city's economic development director, told the Herald she valued having something nature-inspired along the riverfront alongside the holiday Christmas lights. On December 21, the walk runs from 4 to 7 p.m. between Cady Landing and the Avenue D bridge.
Some of Snohomish's historic homes have watched this walk from a few blocks away since 2006. If yours is one of them and you've started wondering what a sale would look like, Kathie Salvadalena would love to hear its story over coffee downtown. Request a free seller consultation and home valuation, and we'll talk about what makes your home special and how to present it.
