The Bronx Zoo's Holiday Lights returns on Saturday, Nov. 21, and for the first time the zoo is keeping some of its animals in the evening program. The Children's Zoo Farmyard, the World of Darkness and the World of Reptiles will stay open after dark on Holiday Lights nights, so a visit that used to be about lanterns now includes goats, alpacas, sloths and crocodiles. The season runs on select nights through Jan. 3, 2027.

The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the zoo at 2300 Southern Boulevard, announced the changes for the 2026 to 2027 season along with a second one: a Holiday Lights ticket now gets you into the park from 1 p.m., so a family can spend the afternoon with the snow leopards, tigers and bears and then stay on as the lanterns come up at 4:30 p.m.

What is new this year

The Children's Zoo Farmyard is the main addition. On Holiday Lights nights visitors can pet and feed farmyard animals there, including donkeys, sheep, goats and alpacas. Feeding starts at 3 p.m., according to the zoo.

Two indoor exhibits are staying open as well, which also gives visitors a place to warm up. The World of Darkness runs on a reversed light cycle, so its nocturnal animals, from sloths to sand cats, are active while visitors are there. The World of Reptiles holds crocodiles, anacondas and giant river turtles, among others.

Somba Village has a new music wall and a set of instruments for children to play.

The lights themselves

The core of the event is unchanged. More than 400 wildlife lanterns are set out along six lantern trails, each themed to a part of the world. A tall holiday tree runs light shows synchronized to music, and a walk-through Light Tunnel is back. Around the trails are the Holiday Train, a Freeze Zone with a snow tube slide and an ice-themed throne, ice carving demonstrations, illuminated performers and puppet shows at the Wildlife Theater. The Patio serves s'mores along with other seasonal food and drink.

Con Edison is the presenting sponsor and Stonyfield Organic the supporting sponsor.

The nights it runs

Holiday Lights is not nightly. The 2026 to 2027 dates are:

  • November: 21, 22, 27, 28 and 29
  • December: 3 to 6, 10 to 13, 17 to 23, and 26 to 31
  • January: 2 and 3

Members of the Wildlife Conservation Society get free preview nights on Nov. 19 and 20; the zoo lists the Nov. 20 preview as sold out. A Sensory Inclusive Night is scheduled for Dec. 3.

Tickets and hours

Tickets are required for every visitor and must be booked in advance through the zoo's Holiday Lights page. There are no walk-up sales. Tickets are sold for a specific date, or as an Any-Night ticket that lets a family choose its evening later. Park entry opens at 1 p.m. on event days, the lights come on at 4:30 p.m., and the last entry is at 8 p.m.

Getting there from Belmont and beyond

The zoo sits on the east side of Southern Boulevard, a short walk from the Arthur Avenue blocks of Belmont, which makes an early dinner in the neighborhood and a late walk through the lantern trails an easy pairing. By subway, the 2 and 5 trains stop at West Farms Square-East Tremont Avenue, near the zoo's Southern Boulevard side, and the Bx9 bus runs along Southern Boulevard. The zoo's own visitor pages have parking details for drivers.

Holiday Lights opens Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2300 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx. Reserve a date or an Any-Night ticket at BronxZoo.com before you go; the season ends Sunday, Jan. 3.

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