Winter Lights at the Arboretum on Highway 5 ran for nine seasons. Northern Lights replaces it and opens Friday, Nov. 20. It is a new show with new pricing, and that pricing changes who gets the good deal.
The new show runs every evening from Nov. 20, 2026 through Jan. 3, 2027, from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. It is closed on Nov. 26, Dec. 24 and Dec. 25. The Arboretum calls it its inaugural exhibition. In practice, a December night there now works differently from the version Chanhassen has known since 2017.
Nine seasons of a walk that grew a little each year
The Arboretum's in-house light show started in 2017. A year earlier, the grounds hosted Bruce Munro: Winter Light by the British artist, and the Arboretum's own show followed it, as the Chanhassen Villager reported. CBS Minnesota counted seven exhibits in the Munro show. By 2020, Bring Me The News was calling Winter Lights a walking tour in its fourth year.
The show grew slowly. The Villager reported that the walk started at 0.25 mile in 2017, stretched to 0.5 mile and then 0.75 mile, and kept mostly the same layout from year to year with a few changes each season. The 2025 edition added an indoor forest of decorated evergreens, according to the Star Tribune's event listing.
For members, the price fit that kind of show. In 2025 a member adult paid $10, a nonmember adult paid $25, and kids were free. At $10, a member could treat a familiar walk as a routine December stop.
A rebuilt show at a new price
Hoodline described Northern Lights as a full overhaul built from scratch, not an update to the old show. The Arboretum is using professional light projection, uplighting and synchronized sound on its oaks and pine canopies. The show has 18 new interactive installations along a one-way route. String lights are gone. The Northern Lights FAQ describes high-tech lighting designed and installed for the site, on a self-guided walk with no drive-through option.
Two installations stand out. Shadow Play is a 60-foot interactive shadow wall. Geometric Gardens has five large geometric sculptures, as Hoodline reported. Twin Cities Family credits the five Geometric Gardens sculptures to HYBYCOZO.
Here is how the price of a ticket bought ahead of time has changed:
| Ticket | Winter Lights, 2025 | Northern Lights, 2026–27 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member adult | $10 | $25 | +$15 |
| Nonmember adult | $25 | $35 | +$10 |
| Ages 15 and under | Free | Free, ticket required | None |
| Member savings per ticket | $15 | $10 | Smaller |
Members take the biggest hit. Their ticket costs two and a half times what it did, and the member discount dropped from $15 to $10 per ticket. Nonmember tickets went up by 40%. Children through age 15 are still free, though each child needs a ticket and has to come with an adult who holds a paid ticket. The more kids in your group, the less the increase stings.
Using those prices, here is what a few groups would pay buying ahead of time:
- Two member adults and two kids: $20 in 2025, $50 this season.
- Two nonmember adults: $50 in 2025, $70 this season.
- One member adult and three kids: $10 in 2025, $25 this season.
If you wait and buy at the gate, every ticket costs another $10, whether or not you're a member. Gate tickets are sold only if space is left, and only by credit card. The member discount covers only the number of people included in your membership level. A member can still buy as many tickets as they like. Tickets are priced per person, not per car, and parking is free.
How the evening works now
With a $25 to $35 ticket, the night takes more planning than the old drop-in walk. The Arboretum treats Northern Lights as its own event. Daytime admission and free member admission don't include it. A daytime visit needs a separate ticket, and the grounds close at 3 p.m. before the lights open. So you can't stay on from an afternoon walk. You arrive for the evening.
Once you're there, the night runs in this order:
- Park in the free main visitor lots. The first row is for accessible parking, and the Snyder Building, where the route starts, is close by.
- Eat first if you want to. Visitors who want dinner before the lights are sent to Rootstock Cafe in the Oswald Visitor Center, which is open 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. The menu includes homestyle cottage pie, creamy vegetable hotdish, turkey wild rice soup, classic chili and porketta sandwiches.
- Start at Skol Square in the Snyder Building for a hot drink, a specialty cocktail or a seasonal snack to go. Skol Square, Lantern Lodge and the Warming Hut stay open 4:30 to 9 p.m.
- Walk the one-way route, about three-quarters of a mile. Walking to and from the parking lot adds a bit more.
- Warm up halfway through at the Warming Hut, with hot cocoa and s'mores.
Since Rootstock closes an hour before the lights go off, a late arrival works better with dinner beforehand. The route is accessible for wheelchairs, strollers and walkers. It is mostly concrete or asphalt, with some brick, stone and uneven spots and one steeper stretch near the Roots of Life tree area. A limited number of free wheelchairs are available at the Oswald Visitor Center Information Desk. If severe weather cancels a night, the Arboretum emails ticket holders and posts refund or rescheduling options online. Otherwise, sales are final.
The same stretch of Highway 5, mid-change
The Northern Lights FAQ mentions Highway 5 construction near the Arboretum. The main Highway 5 entrance stays open. The Arboretum is also building a new entrance of its own. Its Building a Better Arboretum page reported that project 65 to 70% complete as of August 2026 and on track to open in 2027. The Arboretum stays open during the work.
About 1.5 miles west of the main entrance, the AppleHouse is running as a Holiday Boutique through Dec. 20. It sells seasonal decorations, gifts and food for holiday meals, plus apples and Arboretum-grown squash while they last. This is likely the last winter in the current building. Betty's Apple House is going up just down the road and is scheduled to open for the 2027 apple season. In its summer 2026 update, the Arboretum said work on the new building's access road and parking was nearly done, and interior framing and drywall were underway. Betty's Apple House will be free to visit and will add programming and interpretive exhibits.
Next December, the Arboretum will have a new entrance and a new apple store. Northern Lights' first season is the one that runs while both are still under construction.
Chanhassen's free December starts Dec. 5
The Arboretum now charges more for its lights, but Chanhassen's own holiday lights are still free. They start on Saturday, Dec. 5. The city's holiday events page lists the Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5 p.m. at City Center Park, with reindeer, treats, bonfires, s'mores, carolers and Santa. Tour of Lights opens the same night and runs through Dec. 31 in Chanhassen neighborhoods, 5 to 9 p.m.
The day starts earlier. The Holiday Market runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chanhassen Recreation Center, 2310 Coulter Boulevard. It used to be called the Holiday Boutique, and it's free, with a nonperishable food donation requested. Gingerbread House Decorating Contest entries are due at City Hall Dec. 1 through 3, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Each entry costs $5.
Getting downtown should be easier this year than it was this fall. The city's Nov. 4 bulletin said all streets in the Market Boulevard project were open. Some lane closures remained while crews finished the traffic signal, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping, and the final layer of pavement was scheduled for Nov. 16 and 17. If you followed our September piece on downtown Chanhassen's detours, this is the reopening it described. For more of the town's year-round routines, see Everyday Life in Chanhassen.
Put together, the season has a free stretch and a paid stretch. Chanhassen's tree lighting and neighborhood lights are free and run Dec. 5 through Dec. 31. The Arboretum's ticketed show runs Nov. 20 through Jan. 3, and booking ahead saves $10 a ticket.
Our photographers shoot homes at twilight for the same reason the Arboretum built a show around dusk, because a house looks different once its lights come on. If you're thinking about selling this winter and want to see how your home photographs in December evening light, The Hancock Group can walk you through it, starting with a free home evaluation.
