Denver Holiday Lights 2026, Ranked by How Far Ahead to Plan
By Gil Tabor, November 7, 2026
Every big holiday light show around Denver for 2026, from the ones that sell out on Saturdays to the free trees you can see tonight.
1. How this works
Every light show in town promises a magical evening, and every one of them is a magical evening right up until you are circling a full parking lot with two kids who have stopped believing in Santa as of this minute. So these are ranked by the one thing that decides whether your night goes well: how far ahead you have to plan. The top of the list needs a dated ticket, picked early. The bottom needs a coat. Prices are this season's, as posted by each show.
2. Blossoms of Light, Denver Botanic Gardens
The hardest ticket on the list, at 1007 York St, November 20 through January 10, 4:30 to 9 PM, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tickets run $19 to $45 depending on the date and time, and the price climbs as nights fill, so the early buyer pays less for the same lights. Entry is timed and they want you inside within 30 minutes of your slot. Saturdays and the days around the holidays sell out. The garage is free but small and fills fast, and the neighborhood streets want a permit, so the 24 or 10 bus is the smart move. Buy only from the Gardens' own site.
Festivals3. Zoo Lights, Denver Zoo
Select nights from November 23 through January 3, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas, 4:30 to 9 PM Sunday through Thursday and until 10 on Fridays and Saturdays. Here is the fee math. Adults pay $29.95 on the zoo's busier pricing nights and $25.95 on its value nights, kids $22.95 or $18.95, so a family of four saves $16 by picking a Tuesday. Same lights. Same elephants, asleep. Tickets are dated, kids under 2 are free, and members get 10 percent off.
4. Trail of Lights, Chatfield Farms
The country cousin, at 8500 W Deer Creek Canyon Rd in Littleton, November 21 through January 3, 5 to 8:30 PM for last entry. It is dark on Thanksgiving, November 30, December 1, 7, 8 and Christmas, so check the calendar before you promise anybody. Tickets are $13.50 to $30 with the same buy-early pricing as Blossoms, arrival is staggered by ticket time, and parking is free and plentiful, which after York Street feels like a spa day.
5. ICE! at Gaylord Rockies
This year the resort out by the airport carves The Nightmare Before Christmas into ice, November 20 through January 3. Ticket prices were not posted when we checked, and resort parking is its own line item, so price the whole night before you commit. It is the one on this list that comes with a parka, which is either a selling point or a warning.
6. The Mile High Tree and the drones, Auraria
Free, and the best deal on this page. The Mile High Tree on the Tivoli Quad runs a light and music show every 15 minutes, 5 to 10 PM nightly, November 20 through December 31, with a countdown at 9 PM on New Year's Eve. The Mile High Drone Shows go up at 7 PM nightly over the same stretch, and the Christkindlmarket fills the quad through December 23, so you can bring a mug home. Campus parking runs $10 on the surface lots, $15 in the 5th and 7th Street garages and $30 in the Tivoli garage.
Mile High Tree
Ongoing · check opening days · Tivoli Quad, Auraria Campus
The Mile High Tree, Denver's giant holiday tree, lights up the Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus nightly from November 20 through December 31, 2026, 5 to 10 PM, free to walk into.
Denver Christkindlmarket at Auraria
Fri, Nov 20 · Tivoli Quad, Auraria Campus
The Denver Christkindlmarket returns to the Tivoli Quad at Auraria November 20 through December 23, 2026, free and open daily.
7. The tree lightings: free, one night each
No tickets, just a date and a crowd. Cherry Creek Shopping Center lights its tree Saturday, November 14, with a holiday bazaar from 2 PM. Belmar lights its tree in Lakewood Friday, November 20, from 5 to 8 PM, with the ceremony at 6. Castle Rock's Starlighting is Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 6 PM in Wilcox Square, with fireworks if the weather allows and a free shuttle. Lakewood Lights at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park is Thursday, December 3. The 9News Parade of Lights rolls through downtown in early December. Get there early for the countdown, because the countdown is the whole show and it lasts ten seconds.
Cherry Creek Tree Lighting Holiday BAZAAR
Sat, Nov 14 · Cherry Creek Shopping Center
Holiday BAZAAR fills Cherry Creek Shopping Center with Colorado makers on Saturday, November 14, free from 2 to 7 PM, in the hours before the annual Cherry Creek tree lighting.
Belmar Holiday Tree Lighting
Fri, Nov 20 · The Plaza at Belmar
Belmar's annual Holiday Tree Lighting takes place in the Lakewood plaza on November 20, 2026.
Candlelight Walk in Downtown Littleton
Fri, Nov 27 · Historic Downtown Littleton
The Candlelight Walk lights up Main Street in Historic Downtown Littleton on Friday, November 27, 2026, a free evening of holiday lights, cider, music and reindeer.
McGregor Skate Grand Opening & Holiday Tree Lighting
Fri, Nov 27 · McGregor Square
McGregor Square opens its ice rink for the season and lights its holiday tree at halftime of the Broncos broadcast on its 66-foot screen, Friday, November 27, 2026, from 1 to 8 PM, free to attend.
Olde Town Arvada Tree Lighting 2026
Sat, Nov 28 · Olde Town Square, Arvada
Guerrilla Fanfare leads a brass-band march through Olde Town Arvada at 5 PM before Mayor Lauren Simpson lights the holiday tree in Olde Town Square at 6 PM, November 28, 2026.
Lakewood Lights Holiday Celebration
Thu, Dec 3 · Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park
Lakewood Lights kicks off the city's holiday season December 3, 2026 with a free evening of lights, music, and Santa at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park.
9NEWS Parade of Lights
Sat, Dec 5 · Downtown Denver
The 52nd annual 9NEWS Parade of Lights rolls through downtown Denver on Saturday, December 5, 2026, free to watch from the curb, with Grandstand and VIP seats sold separately.
Saturday Night Lights
Sat, Dec 12 · Cherry Creek North (district-wide)
Cherry Creek North's free, all-ages Saturday Night Lights turns the district into an outdoor holiday party with about one million lights, music and dancing on Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 5 to 8 PM.
8. The desk's call
One ticketed show and one free night is the right ratio. Book Blossoms or Zoo Lights for a weeknight now, while the cheap nights are still open, and do the Mile High Tree on a whim when it finally snows. The Stub ran this exact advice in 2009, and readers who took it had a better December than the ones who bought Saturdays. (Gil)
Quick answers
- Which Denver holiday lights need tickets in advance?
- Blossoms of Light, Zoo Lights, Trail of Lights and ICE! at Gaylord Rockies are ticketed by date. Blossoms is timed, and its Saturdays sell out first. The Mile High Tree and the tree lightings are free.
- What is the cheapest holiday lights night in Denver?
- The Mile High Tree on the Auraria campus is free every night from November 20 through December 31, with drone shows at 7 PM. Among the ticketed shows, Trail of Lights starts at $13.50.
- When do Denver holiday light shows end?
- The Mile High Tree runs through December 31, Zoo Lights, Trail of Lights and ICE! through January 3, and Blossoms of Light through January 10.
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