Holiday Lights returns to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday, November 21, and this year the night includes live animals as well as lanterns. For the first time the event opens the Children's Zoo Farmyard as part of the night, so visitors can stand with donkeys, sheep, goats and alpacas between the lantern trails. The season runs on select nights through Sunday, January 3, 2027, and every ticket must be reserved in advance.

What is new for 2026

The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the zoo, lists three additions on the event page. The Children's Zoo Farmyard opens at 3 p.m. on event nights, with feeding starting at that hour. The World of Darkness, home to the zoo's nocturnal animals, and the World of Reptiles both stay open through the evening, which gives families two indoor places to warm up and a chance to see a sloth and the lizards after sunset. And each Holiday Lights ticket now doubles as a day pass: guests can arrive at 1 p.m., visit the snow leopards, tigers and bears while the outdoor exhibits are still open, and stay on as the park switches over to the lights.

Timing matters on that second visit. Most animal exhibits close at 4 p.m., and the lantern trails open and the lights go on at 4:30 p.m., so the half hour in between is when the park changes from a zoo into a light show.

The lantern trails and the rest of the night

The center of the event is a set of six walking trails, each built around a part of the world where the society works: Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America, the ocean, and a trail called the Forest of Color. Together they hold hundreds of animal lanterns. At Astor Court, a holiday tree runs synchronized light shows set to music, and walk-through light tunnels are spread around the park.

Dancing Crane Plaza has interactive glowing walls, light-up flowers and colored stepping stones, and illuminated costumed performers work the crowd at Astor Court. Fountain Circle is where the kids' Holiday Train runs, at $4 a ride or $3 for members. Giraffe Corner has a Freeze Zone with a snowtube slide and virtual snowballs, ice carvers turn blocks of ice into wildlife at Grizzly Corner, and the Wildlife Theater stages short shows with performers and puppets at the Dancing Crane Pavilion. The Bug Carousel, the Dancing Crane Cafe and the zoo store stay open from the daytime into the night.

Food and drink are sold throughout the park: hot chocolate, warm apple cider, eggnog, cookies, peppermint bark, pumpkin pie and s'mores. Adults can add Irish cream, Kahlúa, whiskey or rum to a seasonal drink.

Dates

Public nights in 2026 are November 21 and 22; November 27 through 29; December 3 through 6, 10 through 13 and 17 through 23; and December 26 through 31. The season closes on January 2 and 3, 2027. December 3 is a Sensory Friendly Night, with some of the experiences adjusted. Members-only preview nights, November 18 through 20, are already sold out.

The event goes ahead rain or shine. Date-specific tickets can be upgraded to an Any-Night ticket, which allows one visit on any public date, for $5 per general or member ticket while the supply lasts. Members get 25 percent off tickets on all event dates, and Conservation-level members can reserve free tickets. On December 13 and 20, members can book Cookies and Cocoa with Santa for $50 per household, a new member event that requires its own reservation as well as Holiday Lights tickets.

How to go

The Bronx Zoo is at 2300 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx. Tickets are sold only in advance through the zoo's Holiday Lights page, which also has a map, the full schedule and the answers to common questions. For changes to general tickets, the zoo's reservations line is 800-433-4149; members call Member Services at 718-220-5112. To make the most of a ticket, arrive by early afternoon for the animals, then head for the farmyard at 3 p.m. and the trails at 4:30 p.m.

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