Chicago holiday lights 2026: ZooLights, Lightscape, Navy Pier and more

The short version

• Best value and easiest without a car: ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo (November 20, 2026 to January 3, 2027): $7–$12 booked ahead, $20 on the day or for a flexible ticket, and free on Mondays November 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14 with a reservation.
• Most spectacular: Lightscape in Glencoe (November 13, 2026 to January 3, 2027; demand-based pricing, with many dates under $30) and Illumination at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle (November 14, 2026 to January 2, 2027). Both are more art installation than Christmas decoration, and both are a suburban trip.
• Free and walkable: the City of Chicago Christmas Tree in Millennium Park, the lights on the Magnificent Mile's trees, Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza (November 20 to December 24), Macy's State Street windows and Great Tree, and Navy Pier's free Saturday fireworks.

If you'd rather go with a guide, the three-hour holiday food and walking tour of festive sites ($85) covers the decorated Loop and includes VIP entry to the Christkindlmarket. It's rated 4.8/5 but from only 19 reviews, so read the recent ones and check that its dates match yours. The calendar shows live availability.

Chicago holiday lights 2026 at a glance

Lincoln Park ZooLights 2026

ZooLights is Chicago's classic. Lincoln Park Zoo's October 6, 2026 announcement promises "more than 3 million lights across zoo grounds," a few minutes from the Gold Coast hotels, and CBS Chicago notes that the show began in 1995 with 100,000 lights. It's the cheapest of the big shows and the easiest to reach without a car.

Dates and hours: Friday, November 20, 2026 through Sunday, January 3, 2027, 4:30–9 PM, with last entry at 8 PM. It's closed on Thanksgiving (November 26), on Tuesdays December 1, 8 and 15, and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It's open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Tickets: everyone needs one, infants included.

• Fixed-date tickets bought in advance cost $7–$12, depending on the night. They can't be refunded or moved to another date, but you can pass them to someone else.
• The same ticket bought on the day costs $20.
• A $20 Flexible Admission ticket is good on any regular night.
• Free Mondays are November 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14. The free tickets are released online a week ahead at 11 AM CT. December 21 and 28 are not free.
• Special ticketed nights: a sensory-friendly evening on November 24 and a 21+ night on December 10.

Tickets are sold on the zoo's website (lpzoo.org).

Tips:

• Book a cheap fixed date as soon as your trip is set. The show runs in rain or snow, and there are no refunds.
• The zoo's own parking lot (entrance at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive) is paid, fills up, and isn't included in your ticket. The zoo recommends transit or a rideshare.
• Rides and the Light Maze have cost extra in past years. Whether there's ice skating this year wasn't confirmed when we checked, so check before you go.

Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden 2026

Lightscape feels like a gallery show set outdoors. A 1.3-mile trail loops around the Garden's main island, with lights choreographed to music. This is its eighth season, and new pieces the Garden has previewed include a walk-in, larger-than-life snow globe and a "ballerina of light" that dances across the landscape.

Dates and hours: November 13, 2026 to January 3, 2027, on selected dates. Most nights run 4:30–10:30 PM with last entry at 8:45 PM; on early-close nights it ends at 9:30 PM with last entry at 7:45 PM. Entry is timed in 15-minute slots, and you'll spend 45–75 minutes on the trail.

Special nights: Sensory Night on December 2, Family (Jingle Jam) Nights on December 9 and 16, and 21+ Nights on December 10 and January 1. Strollers aren't allowed on 21+ nights.

Tickets: Lightscape uses plan-ahead, demand-based pricing. The Garden says many dates are "currently available for under $30," while Saturdays and nights near the holidays cost more. Each paid nonmember ticket carries a $3 service fee. You can exchange tickets up to 72 hours ahead for a $10 fee per transaction. Tickets are sold on chicagobotanic.org.

Parking and transit: nonmembers pay $18 per car to park if they buy ahead, or $25 at the gate, and advance buyers can use the members' lane. Rideshare drop-offs don't pay. Without a car, take Metra's Union Pacific North line from Ogilvie to Braeside, then walk about 0.8 miles to the Garden. You'll walk back in the dark, so check the evening train times first.

Tips: choose a weeknight in mid-November or early December, and buy parking with your tickets. Tripods and drones aren't allowed.

Morton Arboretum Illumination 2026

Now in its 14th season, Illumination turns 50 acres of the Arboretum's trees (per its Illumination page) into a light-and-music show on a one-mile, ADA-accessible trail. This year's headliner is a canopy inspired by the aurora borealis that stretches more than 400 feet. Amy Scott, the Arboretum's head of exhibitions, told the Daily Herald that "as of right now, Northern Lights will be here for just one year." Three more new installations join it: a tunnel of moving chrome spheres, a hillside of glowing orbs and a fairy-and-mushroom glade, for 22 displays in all.

Dates and hours: Saturday, November 14, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027, with timed entry from late afternoon. Check the entry times and any holiday closures when you book.

Tickets: adults start at $22, or $17.60 for members, who always get 20% off. Prices rise as dates fill, so the earlier you buy, the less you pay. Public sales opened October 15, 2026, and you can rebook up to your original start time. Tickets are sold on mortonarb.org.

Extras:

• IllumiBrew, a 21+ preview with beer tastings: Friday, November 13, 5:30–10 PM. Tickets are $95 for nonmembers ($50 for designated drivers).
• Pine Whistle Railroad: a new model train exhibit with nearly 1,000 feet of track; add-on tickets are $9 ($7 for members).
• Dog Admission Nights: December 2, 9 and 16 and January 1. Dogs need their own $10 ticket.
• Sensory Night: November 17.
• IllumiDome rentals: heated private domes, from November 27.

Getting there: the Arboretum is at 4100 Illinois Route 53 in Lisle, about 25 miles west of the Loop. Plan on driving or a rideshare, since transit to the gate after dark isn't practical.

Brookfield Zoo Chicago Holiday Magic 2026

Holiday Magic has run since 1982, according to Brookfield Zoo PR director Julianne Olivo. The zoo advertises light tunnels, a maze, s'mores fire pits, heated igloos you can rent and visits with Santa. It's the one big show you can walk into in daylight (it opens at 3 PM) and watch go dark, which makes it a good choice for small children.

Dates and hours: November 21–25 and 27–29; December 3–6, 10–13, 17–23 and 26–31; and January 1–3, 2027, from 3 to 9 PM. Some third-party calendars leave out November 23–25, so confirm those dates on the zoo's site. Sensory Friendly Holiday Magic is on December 3.

Tickets: from $29.95, and free for Brookfield members, North Gate parking included. South Gate entry needs advance admission and parking reservations. Tickets are sold on brookfieldzoo.org.

Our take: for most visitors staying downtown, ZooLights is closer and much cheaper. Brookfield makes sense if you're a member, staying in the western suburbs, or pairing it with Illumination on a car day.

Navy Pier: Wintrust Winter WonderFest and free fireworks

Is Light Up the Lake back? Not under that name. Light Up the Lake was Navy Pier's 2024–25 holiday event, and for 2026–27 the pier is running the indoor Wintrust Winter WonderFest plus free Saturday fireworks.

Wintrust Winter WonderFest: November 27, 2026 to January 3, 2027, inside the 170,000-square-foot Festival Hall. Ice skating is included; Navy Pier lists the other indoor attractions on its WonderFest page.

• It opens at 10 AM and stays open until 10 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 PM on Sundays, with shorter hours on some weekdays (Thursday, December 3 closes at 5 PM).
• It's closed on Christmas Day, with holiday hours on December 24 and 31. November 30 to December 2 aren't on the public schedule, so check before you go.
• Tickets are $27 bought online at least 24 hours ahead, or $32 within 24 hours or at the door. Skating is included, and children 2 and under get in free. A Centennial Wheel ride is a $10 add-on. Tickets are sold on navypier.org.

Free winter fireworks: Saturdays at 8 PM from November 28 to December 26 (November 28 and December 5, 12, 19 and 26). The best free views are from the east end of the pier or the lakefront path. Navy Pier also lists New Year's Eve fireworks at 11:59 PM on December 31.

Free downtown holiday lights walk (about 2 miles)

This route covers Chicago's free holiday icons in about 90 minutes of walking, plus your stops. Start around dusk, between 4:30 and 5 PM.

1. Macy's on State Street (111 N. State St.). Start with the animated holiday windows, then ride up to the 7th-floor Marshall Field's Walnut Room for a look at the 45-foot Great Tree. The tree usually stays up from early November into January, but reported 2026 end dates differ (January 10 or January 17), so check before you go if you're visiting in January. Dining needs a reservation.
2. Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington St.). It's the market's 30th year on the plaza, open daily November 20 to December 24, 11 AM–8 PM Sunday to Thursday and 11 AM–9 PM Friday and Saturday, with an early 4 PM close on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Weekend evenings get crowded, so come on a weekday afternoon. Our Christkindlmarket 2026 guide has more.
3. City of Chicago Christmas Tree (Michigan Ave and Washington St.). It's lit at the free 113th tree lighting on Friday, November 20, with the program starting at 6 PM. The tree stays lit through January 10, 2027, and the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink is next door.
4. Chicago Riverwalk and the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Take in the skyline on your way north.
5. The Magnificent Mile. The Magnificent Mile Association says one million lights cover more than 200 trees along North Michigan Avenue. They're switched on during the 35th Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival on Saturday, November 21: Lights Festival Lane runs 11 AM–4 PM at Pioneer Court, the parade starts at 5:30 PM, and fireworks over the river follow at about 7:30 PM. Our Lights Festival 2026 guide has the route and the closures.
6. Finish at Water Tower Place, or warm up in a hotel lobby or bar. Several Michigan Avenue hotels traditionally put up big lobby trees, but which ones changes from year to year.

For the view of all this from above, 360 CHICAGO on the Mag Mile is open until 11 PM ($27 online, 4.4/5 from 3,884 reviews).

Suburban and drive-thru displays

• Light of Christmas Drive-Thru (Rate Field, 3326 S. Wentworth Ave). A light show synchronized to music that you watch from your car, in Rate Field's Lot A. Its 2026 dates and prices weren't posted when we checked; the 2025 season ran November 20 to January 4, 5–9 PM. Last year the operator also sold a trolley package to Christkindlmarket, so check before you go.
• Willow Hill Lights (1350 Willow Rd., Northbrook). A 2.5-mile drive-thru route with more than a million lights, three tunnels and a 30-foot tree, open nightly from 5 PM, November 13 to January 3. It costs $40 per car booked online or $50 at the gate.
• Neighborhood displays. In the city, Beverly, Roscoe Village and Sauganash are known for competitive home decorating; in the suburbs, Naperville and Tinley Park are popular. These are informal and change every year.
• Six Flags Great America (Gurnee): Holiday in the Park is no longer held there. It was discontinued because of low attendance, and the 2026 revival covers only Six Flags parks in New Jersey and Georgia.

CTA Holiday Train and Holiday Bus 2026

The Allstate CTA Holiday Fleet has run every year since 1992: a train decorated with lights, plus an open flatcar carrying Santa and his reindeer, and you ride it for a normal CTA fare. The CTA hadn't announced the 2026 schedule when we checked. Last year it came out in mid-November, with the train running November 28 to December 22 on all eight "L" lines and the bus November 25 to December 20 on 19 routes. Expect a similar pattern this year, and check before you go. On operating days, look for the candy-cane icon in CTA Train Tracker.

Holiday lights tours

If you'd like someone else to drive, there are three kinds of tour:

• BYOB holiday lights rides: one operator runs 3-hour BYOB tours on a vintage trolley, scheduled November 27 to December 23, 2026, with 4 PM and 7 PM departures and festive stops. On GetYourGuide, the BYOB holiday lights tour on a double-decker bus (from $30) is a different, shorter ride past the Mag Mile trees and the Millennium Park tree. It's a new listing with no reviews yet, so check the route and dates before you book.
• Heated trolley or motorcoach tours (60–90 minutes): several operators run these past the Mag Mile, ZooLights and the downtown trees, sometimes with a Christkindlmarket stop. Reviews vary a lot, so read recent ones.
• Walking tours: Inside Chicago Walking Tours runs a 2-hour Christmas Tree Crawl past the downtown trees and windows ($35, or $30 for ages 5+ and seniors), well reviewed and refunded if the weather cancels it. The holiday food and walking tour of festive sites ($85, three hours, 4.8/5 from 19 reviews) adds food tastings and VIP entry to the Christkindlmarket.

How to plan: city vs. suburbs

• No car: stay downtown. Do ZooLights by bus, the free downtown walk, Navy Pier, and Lightscape by Metra on a weeknight. For cold-weather days, see our guide to the best indoor things to do in Chicago in winter.
• One car day: pair the Morton Arboretum with Brookfield Zoo, both west of the city and about 20 minutes apart, or pair Lightscape with Willow Hill, both on the North Shore. You need wheels for Illumination and the drive-thrus.
• Bundling attractions: if you're also seeing museums and observation decks, a city pass can cut your daytime costs, although light shows usually aren't included. The Chicago CityPASS costs $144 (4.7/5 from 1,028 reviews), and our Chicago CityPASS vs Go City comparison shows when a pass pays off.
• Best nights: Sunday to Thursday in late November and the first half of December. Avoid Saturdays and December 26–30 if you can; Lightscape and Illumination both say Saturdays and holiday-week dates are their busiest and most expensive.

What to wear

December evenings in Chicago often drop below freezing, and the wind off the lake makes it feel colder. Every major show except WonderFest is outdoors, runs in rain or snow, and means a walk of 1 to 1.3 miles. Wear:

• a windproof insulated coat and thermal base layers
• waterproof boots with good grip
• a hat that covers your ears, and touchscreen gloves or mittens
• hand warmers, plus a power bank, since cold drains phone batteries

Our Chicago winter packing list covers the rest.

Where to stay for the holiday lights

• Magnificent Mile and Streeterville: walk to the Mag Mile lights and Navy Pier, with a short bus or rideshare to ZooLights. See hotels on the Magnificent Mile.
• The Loop: next to Millennium Park, Macy's and Christkindlmarket, and the easiest base for Metra's Ogilvie station. See hotels in the Loop.
• Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast: the quietest base for ZooLights. See hotels in Lincoln Park.
• Western suburbs (Lisle and Oak Brook): good for a car-based trip to Illumination and Brookfield. See hotels near the Morton Arboretum.

Sample 2-night holiday lights plan

Day 1 (Friday)

Arrive and check in downtown. In the afternoon, see Macy's windows and the Great Tree, then have mulled wine at Christkindlmarket. At dusk, see the Millennium Park tree, and in the evening take the bus to ZooLights (book a 6 PM entry).

Day 2 (Saturday)

Pick up a rental car in the morning and spend the afternoon at Brookfield Zoo's Holiday Magic from 3 PM. Have an early dinner in the western suburbs, then take a 7 PM Illumination slot. Drive back downtown, or stay in Lisle. Without a car, swap this day for Navy Pier's WonderFest and the 8 PM Saturday fireworks.

Day 3 (Sunday)

Have brunch, then walk the Magnificent Mile and the Riverwalk. If you're leaving late, take Metra to Lightscape for an early entry. Visiting earlier in the season? See our guide to Chicago in November 2026, and our 1, 2 and 3-day Chicago itineraries fill in the daytime.

Chicago holiday lights 2026 FAQ

What is the best holiday light show in Chicago in 2026?

For value and convenience, ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo ($7–$12 booked ahead, with four free Mondays). For pure spectacle, Lightscape at the Chicago Botanic Garden or Illumination at the Morton Arboretum, which adds a 400-foot aurora canopy this year.

When does ZooLights 2026 start?

Friday, November 20, 2026. It runs through January 3, 2027, 4:30–9 PM, with last entry at 8 PM. It's closed November 26, December 1, 8, 15, 24 and 25.

Is ZooLights free?

Only on Mondays November 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14. You still need a free ticket, released online a week ahead at 11 AM CT.

How much are Lightscape tickets in 2026?

Prices change with demand and date. The Garden says many dates are under $30, and Saturdays and holiday dates cost more. Nonmembers pay a $3 fee per ticket and $18–$25 for parking.

Can I get to the holiday lights without a car?

Yes for ZooLights, the downtown trees, Navy Pier and Christkindlmarket (by CTA), and for Lightscape (Metra UP-North to Braeside). You'll want a car or a rideshare for the Morton Arboretum and the drive-thru shows.

When is the Chicago Christmas tree lighting in 2026?

Friday, November 20, 2026, in Millennium Park. The program starts at 6 PM, and the tree stays lit through January 10, 2027.

Is Navy Pier's Light Up the Lake happening in 2026?

No. For 2026–27 Navy Pier is running the indoor Wintrust Winter WonderFest (November 27 to January 3, $27–$32) plus free Saturday fireworks.

When will the CTA Holiday Train run in 2026?

The CTA hadn't released the 2026 schedule when we checked. It usually runs from Thanksgiving weekend until just before Christmas, and you ride it for a normal fare.

The bottom line

Chicago's holiday lights season runs from mid-November to early January. Book ZooLights fixed dates and the suburban timed tickets early, since the cheapest nights go first, then fill the gaps with the free downtown trees, the market and the Saturday fireworks. Go on a weeknight, dress for the wind, and add one car day if you want to see the suburban gardens.