Like the last two editions, the 2026 tour starts at the Sanford Museum on First Street. From there it heads somewhere none of the earlier tours went. The Sanford Historic Trust's 37th Annual Holiday Tour of Homes, on Saturday, December 5, adds the Silver Lake Residential District "for the first time ever," and calls it one of Sanford's oldest neighborhoods.

The route changes in two ways. Last year's tour, held December 6, 2025, covered Sanford Heights, Mayfair and the Historic District. This year's lineup is Sanford Heights, the Historic District and Silver Lake. Mayfair is not on the 2026 list. The tour now reaches into a part of Sanford organized around three lakes and a tree canopy, outside the downtown grid most residents picture when they think of the tour.

Silver Lake isn't on the historic district map

Sanford has four local historic districts: Downtown Commercial, Sanford Residential, Sanford Avenue and Georgetown Residential. All four are regulated under Schedule S of the city's Land Development Regulations. Three of them, Downtown Commercial, Sanford Residential and Georgetown, are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Silver Lake isn't on either list, as the City of Sanford's historic preservation page shows. We covered how differently those four districts work in what Sanford's historic district premium actually buys you.

In city records, the name Silver Lake Residential District comes from planning work. In June 2021, during a City Commission work session on the East Lake Mary Boulevard Small Area Study, consultants laid out several sub-districts. One was the Silver Lake Residential District. They described it as "the established residential neighborhoods around Silver Lake, Lake Onora and Golden Lake," with Mellonville Avenue, Onora Street, Ohio Avenue and Marquette Avenue as its key roads. The same presentation suggested single-family estates of up to two units per acre for the area. It also called for protecting the existing mature tree canopy and keeping Marquette Avenue open to local traffic but not airport traffic, with sidewalks added. The June 14, 2021 work session minutes record those recommendations.

That outline tells you what kind of homes the Trust is bringing onto the tour this year. The setting is lakes and mature trees off Mellonville and Onora, in an area the city's planners saw as suited to single-family estates. The minutes also describe a neighboring frontage district along the north side of East Lake Mary Boulevard, between Mellonville and Ohio, that "backs up to Silver Lake." That frontage gives a rough sense of how far the tour now reaches from First Street.

Why the Trust says to drive

The new geography explains how the Trust wrote its visitor instructions. The 2026 event page calls the tour a self-guided driving tour, with the word in bold. It says walking between homes and neighborhoods "is not advised due to distance" and that no public transportation is provided this year. Golf carts are welcome in designated areas, and parking will be available near each stop. Picture the route as a loop from the Sanford Museum at 520 E. 1st Street through the Historic District and Sanford Heights, then out to the lakes around Mellonville Avenue and back. That's a car trip.

Here is how to plan the day, based on the Trust's published details:

1. Pick up your wristband first. Every ticket holder gets a wristband, a tour map and a program at the Sanford Museum before visiting any home. Check-in opens at 11:45 a.m.
2. Check the clock against the route. Homes are open from noon to 9 p.m. The last check-in is at 8 p.m., and homes close promptly at 9. An 8 p.m. arrival leaves one hour to cover three neighborhoods by car.
3. Buy tickets before the day. Adult tickets are $30 online in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets for children ages 6 to 12 are $15. The 2025 listing showed a single $30 adult price.
4. Plan for steps and weather. The Trust notes that not all homes are accessible, that many have steps and stairs, and that the tour runs rain or shine.
5. Watch for the map. In late October, the Trust's page still listed the tour map as "TBA." Updates go out on the tour's Facebook page.

All event details are on the Sanford Historic Trust's 2026 event page.

The weekend is built around downtown, and the tour leaves it

The route reaches further out this year, but the rest of the weekend stays in Magnolia Square. That makes timing the main decision on Saturday.

Weekend plans start Friday night. Light Up Sanford, the city's tree lighting ceremony, promises holiday entertainment and a visit from Ol' Saint Nick and his helpers. The city's event page also links to a road closure notice, so check it before driving downtown that evening.

Saturday's schedule favors an early start. The Holiday Market closes at 4 p.m., and the Trust's page suggests starting the day there for local artisan goods, holiday finds and treats. Visitors who arrive at the museum when check-in opens can shop the market, then drive to Silver Lake while it's still light out to see the lakes. Visitors who want the decorated homes after dark can see the downtown homes at night and still reach Magnolia Square before the Back Yard Session ends at 9. The Sanford Main Street calendar describes it as a monthly evening jam, not a holiday program. The Back Yard Session ends at the same time the tour homes close, and the Silver Lake homes are the stops farthest from the square.

The market's organizer has changed over the years too. Project Sanford started as the Historic Sanford Welcome Center, incorporated as a nonprofit, and took the Project Sanford name in 2019. Some readers may remember Project Sanford's Alive After 5 from our Sanford summer almanac. It's no longer a regularly scheduled monthly event. Project Sanford says special Alive After 5 editions may still happen for select holidays, festivals and community celebrations. Project Sanford's Alive After 5 page is where any holiday edition would be announced.

One week later, the route goes back downtown

The 2026 Parade of Lights is Saturday, December 12, from 6 to 8 p.m., on a one-mile route through downtown. City of Sanford Parks and Recreation is the organizer. Last year's parade was on December 13, 2025. It keeps the same Saturday evening slot and moves one day earlier on the calendar.

The two Saturdays use very different maps. The parade sticks to a mile of downtown streets. The tour now runs from First Street to the lakes off Mellonville and Onora. The Holiday Tour of Homes is the only event on either weekend's calendar that goes out to Silver Lake.

We're interested in every house on this year's route, from the downtown cottages to the Silver Lake homes the Trust is featuring for the first time. If the tour leaves you with questions about one of Sanford's historic or lakeside neighborhoods, The Mel Bernstein Team is happy to talk about them. Let's Connect.