In mid-December, the sun sets in Seattle at about 4:20 p.m., so you can see Christmas lights before dinner.
Seattle and Bellevue have five light shows this winter, and none of them have started yet. WildLanterns at the zoo opens first on November 13, and Candy Cane Lane opens last on December 5. Two of them charge for tickets and parking, so it helps to read the details before you go.
Garden d’Lights and Snowflake Lane in Bellevue
Garden d’Lights at Bellevue Botanical Garden started in 1994 and now has over 500,000 lights, set up as garden scenes with birds and waterfalls. It is open from November 28 to January 3, and tickets cost $10 for ages 11 and up, while children 10 and under get in free. Each ticket is for a 30-minute time slot and cannot be refunded.
Parking is the hard part, since the garden lot costs $5 and often fills up. Free parking is available at Wilburton Hill Park, about a quarter mile to the east, and rideshare cars can drop you at the garden entrance.
- Entry costs $5 from Monday to Thursday, from November 30 to December 3 and December 7 to 10.
- Tuesday, December 8 is a calmer night, meant for guests who prefer a relaxed visit.
- You can visit on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, but the garden is closed on December 25.
Snowflake Lane is free, and it is a 25-minute parade with lights, music, dancers and drummers that starts at 7 p.m. every night from November 27 to December 24. It takes place near Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square, where weekend crowds can reach the thousands and parking nearby is free.
Seattle Center And The Winter Train
Winterfest is at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street, from November 27 to December 31. Seattle Center says the Winter Train has been a yearly event for 50 years. It is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and you can work the controls from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Seattle Center is in Seattle, and Bellevue is on the other side of Lake Washington, so seeing both on one night means crossing the lake by bridge, which adds time. Garden tickets have a fixed time slot and Snowflake Lane starts at 7 p.m., so plan extra time for traffic and parking.
Booking a driver by the hour is one way to skip the parking search, because the car and driver stay with you from stop to stop. Operators like Galaxy Town Car Service, which has its office at 1700 Westlake Ave N #200, take bookings for private chauffeured transportation in Seattle by the hour.
Woodland Park Zoo And Its WildLanterns Trail
WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo is the first of the five shows to open, on November 13, and it stays open until January 17. Lanterns along the trail cover all seven continents and then go under the ocean.
Tickets are sold online only and cannot be refunded, rain or shine. Parking costs $10 in most lots and $15 in the Otter and Lion lots, and the zoo closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so check the calendar first.
Ravenna’s Candy Cane Lane On Park Road
Candy Cane Lane is a street in Ravenna with 23 houses built in the 1920s, and its six-foot candy canes were made decades ago from old pipes. Lights stay on from December 5 to January 1, every night from 4 to 9:30 p.m. and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
You can walk through or pass by car, but some nights are for walkers only, so check the street’s social media page before you go.
At the roundabout, there is a merry-go-round built in the 1960s by a neighbor and engineer named Bill Rehder, in what many call Seattle’s smallest public park. Entry is free, and bins at the end of the street collect food for the University District Food Bank.
Closing Dates To Write On Your Calendar
Shows end on different nights, so plan around these dates.
- Snowflake Lane ends first, with its last parade on December 24.
- Winterfest at Seattle Center ends on December 31, and Candy Cane Lane ends on January 1.
- Garden d’Lights ends on January 3, and WildLanterns ends on January 17.
Hotels decorate for the season too, and this roundup of festive hotels includes a London lobby that shows a designer Christmas tree every year.
For just one stop, pick Candy Cane Lane, since it is free. Galaxy Town Car Service says on its Bellevue page that its drivers know the loading zones around Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square, where Snowflake Lane takes place.
