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Seasonal Roundup · Holiday Lights 2026

Zoo Lights and Botanical Garden Light Shows 2026 by Region

Written by the USA Fest Bot team with AI help. · Published · Updated

Two glowing giraffe lanterns, an adult and a calf, standing on a dark lawn at night with smaller lanterns behind them
Giraffe lanterns at the Lightopia festival, Chiswick House and Gardens, London (not one of the events below). Photo: Robert Lamb, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.

Zoos and botanical gardens put on some of the best holiday light shows in the country. This guide lists 36 of them in 24 states and Washington, D.C., for 2026, from animal lantern walks to garden trails where the trees themselves are the show.

They are grouped by region and sorted by opening date, and each links to its listing and its own website. USA Fest Bot doesn’t sell tickets, so buy from the zoo or garden.

Dates can change, so check the event’s website before you go.

Northeast

Three of the Northeast’s shows are in New York. Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights fills the zoo with animal lanterns, light tunnels and ice carving, rain or shine. In Brooklyn, Lightscape is a trail of monumental light sculptures and music, with no strobe lighting. Syracuse’s Holiday Nights has fire pits, s’mores and carolers. Philadelphia Zoo’s LumiNature has 14 glowing stops, including a 40-foot penguin and the 110-foot Pherris Wheel, and Wild Lights at Elmwood Park Zoo adds Santa’s workshop and a carousel. Among the gardens, Night Lights strings half a million lights through its Fantastical Forest and opens with Diwali Lights, and Gardens Aglow in Boothbay follows a “Gather in Maine” theme, with stops on maple tapping and mushroom foraging.

South and Washington, D.C.

Little Rock’s GloWild opens first, with larger-than-life silk lanterns. In Washington, ZooLights at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo pairs animal lanterns and live music with one million LED lights. Garden shows are strong here: Norfolk’s Garden of Lights has been a tradition for more than 30 years, Brookside Gardens lays out a half-mile walk that goes on rain or shine, and Bellingrath Gardens fills a 65-acre estate with handcrafted displays. Garvan Woodland Gardens offers golf cart tours of its lights, and Daniel Stowe Conservancy, near Charlotte, has more than a million lights. Columbia’s Riverbanks Zoo & Garden sets out more than 60 wildlife lanterns with nightly snowfall. Oklahoma City’s Safari Lights has a drive-thru course and a walk-thru course, and Tulsa Botanic Garden brings carolers and Sunday jazz. In Louisiana, Zoo Lights at BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo is a trail of twinkling lights, and the indoor BELIEVE! Lights the Night gives each guest a wand that brings Santa to life inside the shark tank.

A Victorian glasshouse washed in purple and pink light at night, with lit fountains in front of it
The Palm House on the Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens, London, 2014 (not an event in this guide). Photo: Mark from Brighton, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Midwest

Lincoln Park Zoo has more than 3 million lights and a Ferris wheel with skyline views. Holiday Magic has run at Brookfield Zoo Chicago for more than 40 years, with light tunnels and roast-your-own s’mores. Illumination at The Morton Arboretum is a trail of color, light and sound through the trees. Christmas at the Zoo in Indianapolis passes red pandas and penguins on the way to Santa’s Magic Cottage. Dome for the Holidays fills a tropical conservatory with lights: “all the glow without the snow.” Powell Gardens pairs an outdoor light path with a model train village, and Topeka Zoo Lights adds a gingerbread house contest.

A starburst light sculpture of pink rays beside a tree lit deep red in a dark garden
A light sculpture and lit trees on the Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens, London, 2014 (not an event in this guide). Photo: Mark from Brighton, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

West

The biggest light count in the West belongs to ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo: five million lights over more than two miles of trail. Colorado has two. Blossoms of Light lights Denver Botanic Gardens entirely with LEDs, and Electric Safari at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has more than 85 light sculptures. Washington has three: WildLanterns is a lantern walk across seven continents, Tacoma’s Zoolights has more than 1.5 million lights and a giant Pacific octopus, and Bellevue’s Garden d’Lights shapes half a million lights into plants and birds. ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo lines its train route with life-size animal lanterns. Near Las Vegas, the Ethel M Holiday Cactus Garden wraps cactus in a million lights, and Santa Fe’s La Luz de las Noches adds farolitos and fire pits. In Billings, Holiday Nights at ZooMontana rents heated private igloos for groups.

Before you go

Tickets and timing

Most of these shows sell timed or date-specific tickets, so book ahead. Electric Safari has no walk-up sales, and Garvan Woodland Gardens needs a ticket for a specific night. If the weather is uncertain, Lincoln Park Zoo, The Morton Arboretum and Daniel Stowe sell flexible tickets good on other dates.

Animals, weather and special nights

Most animals are not on view during the shows at Phoenix, Oregon and Point Defiance. In cold or wet weather, the Des Moines conservatory and the Shreveport Aquarium are indoors. Point Defiance, Morton Arboretum and Elmwood Park Zoo hold dog nights, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Morton Arboretum, the Indianapolis Zoo, New England Botanic Garden, Woodland Park Zoo and Bellevue list sensory-friendly or low-sensory nights.

More holiday lights

Planning by city? See events in New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Denver, Phoenix, Seattle, Oklahoma City and Boston. Our November state guides cover more zoo and garden lights in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, California, Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Also browse holiday lights, Christmas events, Christmas markets, Thanksgiving events and events this weekend, or read our Christmas markets and tree lightings guides. Running a light show? Submit a listing.

Quick answers

When do zoo lights open in 2026?

GloWild at the Little Rock Zoo opens first, on October 29, 2026. Most others open between November 13 and November 28.

Which light shows run into January 2027?

Most of them. WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo runs latest, to January 17, 2027, followed by ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo (January 15) and Blossoms of Light (January 10).

Can you see the animals at zoo lights?

Usually only a few, since many animals are inside at night. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo keeps some animal buildings open during Electric Safari, and the Shreveport Aquarium walk passes sharks and stingrays.

USA Fest Bot is not affiliated with any event in this guide and does not sell tickets. Found a date that has changed? Send a correction.

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