This winter the Lincoln Park Conservatory closes at 4:30 p.m., the same minute ZooLights opens. The neighborhood's two big holiday shows are a short walk apart in the park, and their hours meet at dusk. Their days off don't line up, though. The Conservatory closes on Mondays and Tuesdays. ZooLights closes on most Tuesdays and is free on four Mondays. So the season works on a weekly pattern, and that pattern decides which nights hold the whole loop of flowers, lights and a late dinner.
The week, day by day
ZooLights runs November 20 through January 3, 2027, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. The Conservatory's "Frosty and Bright" Winter Flower Show at 2391 N. Stockton Dr. runs November 25 through January 3, 2027, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Both shows close on the same Sunday. Here is how a normal week of the overlap looks, with two of the newer dinner spots nearby added in:
| Day | Conservatory, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. | ZooLights, 4:30–9 p.m. | Lolo y Lola | Ezankaya Bann Suan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Open, free on four dates | Closed | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Closed | Closed, except Nov. 24 Sensory-Friendly Night and Dec. 22 and 29 | 3–11 p.m. | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Open | Open | 3–11 p.m. | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| Thursday | Open | Open | 3–11 p.m. | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| Friday | Open | Open | 3 p.m.–midnight | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| Saturday | Open | Open | 3 p.m.–midnight | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
| Sunday | Open | Open | 3–10 p.m. | 11 a.m.–10 p.m. |
Wednesday through Sunday are the only days when you can see the flowers in the afternoon, walk to the lights at 4:30 and eat dinner afterward. ZooLights also closes on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so the holiday weeks are shorter.
Monday is free at the zoo and closed next door
ZooLights admission is free on Mondays, November 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14. Every guest needs a registered ticket, infants included. The zoo releases each Monday's tickets one week ahead at 11 a.m. CT. Counting back from those dates, the releases come on Monday, Nov. 16, for Nov. 23; Monday, Nov. 23, for Nov. 30; Monday, Nov. 30, for Dec. 7; and Monday, Dec. 7, for Dec. 14. The zoo's event page says the two Mondays left, December 21 and 28, are not free.
The free nights fall on a Conservatory closing day, so a free-Monday visit is lights only. Dinner choices shrink too. Lolo y Lola, the walk-in pintxos bar at 2580 N. Lincoln Ave., is closed Mondays. Ezankaya Bann Suan, at 2453 N. Halsted St., lists daily hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and takes reservations for its Lincoln Park location. That leaves time after the lights for khao soi or sushi from a Thai menu with Japanese influences.
What the ZooLights price rewards
Free Mondays get the most attention, but the paid tickets have the bigger price gap. Fixed-date tickets cost $7 to $12, depending on the date, when you buy ahead. The same ticket costs $20 on the day of your visit. Buying early can cut the price by more than half, but the zoo's terms are strict. Tickets are nonrefundable, and you can't change the date after you buy. The event also goes ahead in rain, snow or shine.
The Flexible Admission ticket costs the same $20 as a day-of ticket and works on any date in the season. The zoo pitches it as protection against sellouts and bad weather. In a Chicago December, that flexibility may be worth the extra money. Depending on level, zoo members get two to eight free fixed-date tickets.
Rides cost extra. Most attractions take one $4.50 ticket per guest. The Ferris wheel and Gorilla Trek take two tickets, or $9. For a family of four, one Ferris wheel ride costs $36, more than four advance admissions on a $7 night.
The Conservatory side costs little. Entry is free with a timed ticket, and the Lincoln Park Conservancy suggests a $10 donation for adults and $5 for children. Arrive no more than 30 minutes after your ticket start time. Food and open drinks are not allowed inside. Save the zoo's hot chocolate for after the flowers.
Thanksgiving week runs on its own schedule
The week around Thanksgiving puts a Tuesday opening and a Thursday closure within three days:
- Thursday, Nov. 19. Member Preview Night, with free train and carousel rides and 20% off at the gift shop.
- Friday, Nov. 20. ZooLights opens to the public.
- Monday, Nov. 23. The first free Monday. Tickets for Nov. 30 release at 11 a.m. CT the same day.
- Tuesday, Nov. 24. Sensory-Friendly Night breaks the usual Tuesday closure. Moving lights stay still or slow way down, music plays at a lower volume, and tickets cost $7.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25. "Frosty and Bright" opens at the Conservatory. This is the first day you can see both shows on the same day.
- Thursday, Nov. 26. ZooLights is closed for Thanksgiving.
So Wednesday, Nov. 25, is the first chance at the full afternoon-to-evening loop. Thanksgiving weekend, from Friday through Sunday, is the first full stretch of it.
Where the evening ends: Fullerton, Lincoln and Halsted
Several places that opened near the park this fall make the walk home part of the plan. Their schedules differ as much as the two shows do.
Piccadilly Market, at 444 W. Fullerton Pkwy. at Clark, is a 5,200-square-foot market. Block Club Chicago reported it includes an all-day sandwich cafe, coffee, a wine shop, a bar and lounge, and an 80-person courtyard. The menu Block Club described runs from breakfast sandwiches and focaccia to Roman-style pizza, cheese and charcuterie, with wine, beer, cider and cocktails to drink. Of the four, it is the closest to the park's southwest edge.
Lolo y Lola, at 2580 N. Lincoln Ave., was among the fall openings in WTTW's restaurant roundup. Its own site describes a first-come, first-served neighborhood bar that takes no reservations. It opens at 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. It opens before the Conservatory closes, which makes it the easiest late-afternoon stop between the two shows.
Gunny's Pub, at 2642 N. Lincoln Ave., takes online reservations and calls itself an all-day pub. According to its FAQ, lunch currently runs Thursday through Sunday, and the pub switches to dinner and cocktails after 5 p.m. The menu is Midwestern-inspired pub food with seasonal produce and regional game. On a weekend, you can have lunch at Gunny's, see the flowers, then walk to the lights.
Ezankaya Bann Suan, the Halsted Street location of a Thai restaurant with Japanese influences, is the only one of the four with Monday hours.
The special nights and the last weekend
A few dated events change the usual schedule, so check them before you buy a fixed-date ticket:
- Sunday, Dec. 6. The Chris White Trio returns to Café Brauer with a jazz tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas. The day includes a matinee with Santa and Snoopy, a kid-friendly evening show, and, new this year, an 18+ evening show.
- Thursday, Dec. 10. Adults Night Out: Sugar and Spice is for guests 21 and older. It starts at 6:30 p.m., tickets start at $20, and it includes a DJ and unlimited rides on the carousel and Ferris wheel.
- Thursday, Dec. 31. New Year's Eve at ZooLights holds countdowns every hour, so families can ring in the year on their own schedule.
- Saturday, Jan. 2. The new New Year's ReZoolutions event offers yoga, sound meditation and nonalcoholic drink samples for guests 21 and older. It also includes time at ZooLights before it opens to the public.
ZooLights is open on New Year's Day. Both shows end on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027. That final Sunday is the last day you can see the flowers and then walk to the lights at 4:30.
If you're curious how the streets around Stockton Drive and Lincoln Avenue factor into what your own home is worth, NiKo Collaborative can walk you through it block by block. Request a Home Valuation, and our team will bring the neighborhood detail along with the numbers.
