Can you spend a December afternoon at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and stay on for the lights after dark? Not this season. From Nov. 20 through Jan. 3, the Arboretum closes its grounds at 3 p.m., clears everyone out, and reopens at 4:30 p.m. for a new evening event called Northern Lights.
Daytime visits need a general daily admission ticket. Northern Lights needs its own ticket. You can't stay on the grounds between the two. For about six and a half weeks, Chanhassen's best-known winter outing works like two places sharing one address, and each one has its own calendar.
The 3 p.m. line runs through every day of the season
The gap between the two halves is only 90 minutes, but it shapes everything else. Here's how one day at the Arboretum splits from Nov. 20 to Jan. 3:
| Daytime | Evening | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours on Northern Lights dates | Grounds close at 3 p.m. | 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. |
| Ticket | General daily admission | Northern Lights ticket, $25 members, $35 nonmembers |
| What it's built around | Holiday Sale, Winter Music Series, AppleHouse Holiday Boutique | 18 new light installations on a one-way route |
| Closed | Thanksgiving and Christmas Day | Nov. 26, Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 |
Before the lights open, the Arboretum keeps its regular winter schedule. From Nov. 1 through 18, the grounds are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the buildings 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those same hours return on Jan. 4, 2027. So if you want a long, unhurried afternoon, the last few days before Nov. 20 are the end of that kind of visit until January.
The evening half is a new event, not a renamed one
Winter Lights is gone. The Arboretum calls Northern Lights a "brand-new light display" built to put "majestic oaks and towering pine canopies" in the spotlight with "professional light projection, radiant uplighting and synchronized sound." There are 18 new interactive installations along what the Arboretum describes as a "curated, one-way path."
If you went last year, you'll notice three differences.
- The route is shorter. This year's tour is about three-quarters of a mile and starts near the Snyder Building. The Arboretum's retrospective on last season's Winter Lights describes a one-mile walking tour.
- Every night is the same show. In 2025 there were special themed nights. In 2026 every evening offers the same experience.
- The music is recorded. There's no live music during the show this year. Synchronized sound plays with the display instead.
The shorter route also leaves more time indoors. During Northern Lights, the Oswald Visitor Center and the Snyder Building stay open with the poinsettia tree, the Gift & Garden Store, the galleries, and food and drink. A warming tent and bar are planned about halfway along the route.
With no themed nights, pick your date by logistics
Last year, the theme could decide which night you went. This year every night is the same, so the choice comes down to tickets and timing. Here's what matters, in order:
- Buy ahead. The Arboretum calls Northern Lights "a brand new event to the Twin Cities this year" and expects its most popular times to sell out. When you reserve, you pick a date and a time.
- Expect to pay more at the gate. Gate tickets are sold only if space is available, cost $10 more per ticket than the online price for members and nonmembers alike, and are credit card only.
- Reserve a ticket for every child. Children through age 15 get in free, but each one still needs a ticket and has to come with a paying adult. If you're adding kids to an order the night before, try to do it before the time slot fills up.
- Check how many member discounts you get. Members save $10 per ticket when they buy in advance, but the discount only covers the number of people on their membership level. Members can buy more tickets than that at the regular price. You have to be signed in for the discount to show up.
- Bring the original email ticket. Printed tickets or the original email on your phone scan fine. Screenshots and saved photos of the barcode don't.
Parking is free for everyone, and tickets are sold per person, not per car. Inside, card and digital payments work at Rootstock, the food and drink stations and the Snyder Building merchandise. Those spots don't take cash. The Gift & Garden Store accepts both.
The event is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you're hosting family that week, the open nights are Wednesday, Nov. 25, and Friday, Nov. 27, on either side of Thanksgiving, and Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 around Christmas.
The daytime half has its own holiday calendar, and most of it is over by 3
The Rootstock Seasonal Teas run Nov. 12 through 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Snyder Building Tea Room, with seasonal savories and sweets. Those dates wrap up the week before Northern Lights opens.
The Winter Music Series starts the day after the lights open and runs weekends from Nov. 21 through Dec. 27, with performances in MacMillan Auditorium and Rootstock. It's included with general daily admission. This is where the Arboretum's live holiday music happens this year, during the day and not along the evening route.
The Arboretum Auxiliary Holiday Sale sells handmade seasonal gifts. It's open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 4 and 5 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 6, and it's included with general daily admission. The sale closes at the same hour the grounds do, so a Saturday trip has to wrap up by 3.
The AppleHouse Holiday Boutique runs Nov. 6 through Dec. 20, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with seasonal décor, gifts and gourmet items. Its 6 p.m. closing makes it the one listed holiday stop with hours that overlap the evening show.
A day built on the Arboretum's own schedule might look like this: music in MacMillan Auditorium, an hour at the Holiday Sale, and everyone off the grounds by 3. Northern Lights can be a separate trip on another night. You can also come back the same evening on a second ticket after the grounds have been cleared.
Getting in at night, with Highway 5 under construction
Highway 5 near the Arboretum is under construction. The Arboretum says its main entrance off Highway 5 will stay open the whole time and keeps a construction access map and update page for visitors. Check it before you leave on a December evening, when it's already dark by the time the gates open at 4:30.
The FAQ also covers a few arrival details:
- Rideshare drivers tell the gatehouse attendant they're picking up or dropping off. Riders get out in front of the Oswald Visitor Center and get picked up at the same spot.
- Accessible parking is closest to the event entrance, and there's a drop-off zone at the entrance building so guests can wait in the heated lobby while the driver parks.
- The route is mostly paved concrete or asphalt, with some brick pavers, stone and uneven sections. The path to and from the Roots of Life tree area is steeper and needs extra care in bad weather. Main pathways are shoveled, and wheelchairs can be borrowed for free at the Oswald Visitor Center Information Desk.
- Lighting effects include flashing and moving lights and a haze effect near the end of the display. There's no strobe lighting.
- Dogs aren't allowed, except for service dogs.
The route starts near the Snyder Building, close to parking, but the walk from your car adds some distance. The Arboretum suggests planning for an extended period of walking or rolling.
Holiday seasons like this one are part of why we love working in Chanhassen. If you're thinking about how places like the Arboretum fit into your next move around the southwest metro, Local Roots Real Estate is glad to talk it through. Request a free home valuation and neighborhood consultation, and we'll start with the parts of Chanhassen you already know.
