ZooLights tickets went on sale October 6. The 2026 season at Lincoln Park Zoo runs from Friday, November 20 through January 3, 2027, with more than 3 million lights, the light tunnel on the Main Mall, and the narrated show on the South Lawn. The light displays are the same every night. What a visit costs depends on how you arrive and when you buy.
Under the zoo's current ticket and parking rules, a same-day ticket costs almost three times the cheapest advance ticket, and the parking lot can cost more than the tickets. For anyone who lives within walking distance of the zoo, both of those charges are easy to avoid. Lincoln Park neighbors can get the cheapest version of ZooLights, and some nights it's free.
The ticket math, priced out for one household
ZooLights has charged for admission since 2020, when Block Club Chicago reported it was the zoo's first paid admission in 20 years. The 2026 price list sets a different price for each level of commitment.
| Ticket type |
Price per person |
The catch |
| Fixed Date, bought in advance |
$7 to $12, depending on the date |
No date changes |
| Fixed Date, bought same day |
$20 |
Gate tickets may be limited |
| Flexible Admission |
$20 |
Good for any night of the season |
| Free Admission Monday |
$0 |
Registration required; tickets released one week ahead at 11 a.m. CT |
| Sensory-Friendly Night, Nov. 24 |
$7 |
One specific night |
Here's what that means for two adults. Buying a fixed date ahead of time costs $14 to $24, and walking over adds nothing. Deciding that afternoon and driving in costs $40 in tickets, and once the free first half hour runs out, the zoo lot adds $35 to $45. That's $75 to $85 for the same lights before anyone buys a hot chocolate. ZooLights runs in all weather and tickets are nonrefundable, so the zoo prices Flexible Admission at $20 for people who'd rather pay to keep their options open. The zoo pitches the flexible ticket as a way to avoid sellouts and bad weather.
Zoo members get two to eight free ZooLights tickets, depending on membership level, plus discounts on parking, ride tickets and event tickets. For a household that already goes to the zoo during the year, that changes the math more than any single ticket choice.
Four free Mondays, and the morning each one unlocks
The zoo's October 6 release lists four free Mondays this season. Every guest needs a ticket, infants included, and the tickets are released one week before each date at 11 a.m. CT. Counting back from each date gives the release schedule:
- Monday, November 23: tickets release Monday, November 16, at 11 a.m.
- Monday, November 30: tickets release Monday, November 23, at 11 a.m.
- Monday, December 7: tickets release Monday, November 30, at 11 a.m.
- Monday, December 14: tickets release Monday, December 7, at 11 a.m.
The last two Mondays of the season, December 21 and 28, are not free. Free nights keep regular hours. Rides and other ticketed attractions still cost extra, and food and drinks are for sale as usual.
Three of those release mornings fall on a free night itself. If you're on the zoo's site at 11 a.m. on November 23, November 30 or December 7, you can book next Monday's free tickets and walk over that same evening for another free night.
The rest of the weekly calendar matters too. ZooLights is open 4:30 to 9 p.m., and the zoo's event page lists 8 p.m. as last entry. It's closed on Tuesdays except December 22 and 29. It's also closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
The car is the most expensive ticket in the zoo
The zoo's only lot is on Cannon Drive. Its entrance is at Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive, at 2400 N. Cannon Drive. Parking is free for the first half hour and $35 to $45 per day after that, taxes included. The lot doesn't take cash and has no attendant at the exit, and the zoo says the rates can change. Half an hour isn't enough time to walk the light tunnel, so anyone who drives pays the full rate.
The zoo's own ZooLights page tells Friday and Saturday visitors to plan their parking because traffic and parking can be difficult those nights. It also warns of high crowds, recommends buying tickets ahead, and says tickets at the gate may be limited. A weekend night by car is the costliest version of the evening, and walking over on a weeknight with a ticket booked ahead is the cheapest.
For anyone not walking over, the zoo lists other options:
- CTA buses: the 22, 36, 151 and 156 stop along the zoo's western edge.
- Trains: the Red Line's Fullerton station and the Brown and Purple Lines' Armitage station are both accessible and about a mile west of the zoo.
- Rideshare and taxis: pickups and drop-offs go to West Gate, near Stockton Drive and Webster Avenue.
Neighbors who live east of Clark can just walk over on foot. Either way, the money saved on parking covers dinner.
Dinner on Fullerton or Webster
The zoo's two practical entry points line up with two neighborhood corridors, and each got a notable newcomer this fall.
On the Fullerton side, Piccadilly Market opened September 10 at 444 W. Fullerton Pkwy., the longtime home of Emilio's Tapas at Clark and Fullerton. That's the same Fullerton Parkway that runs to the zoo lot's Cannon Drive entrance. Block Club Chicago described the 5,200-square-foot space as an all-day sandwich café, coffee program, wine shop, bar and lounge, and local grocery, with an 80-person outdoor courtyard called Piccadilly Square. Chef Mark Mendez, formerly of the West Loop wine bar Vera, runs the kitchen. His menu includes house-made English muffins, focaccia, Roman-style pizza and rotating cheese and charcuterie. The bar pours three wines and five beers or ciders on draft. The market also sources from Chicago producers including Metric Coffee, Publican Quality Bread, Pretty Cool Ice Cream and Rare Tea Cellar, and Phase Three Brewing is making a beer just for the market. A coffee and a sandwich before a 4:30 entry, or a glass of wine after an 8 p.m. last entry, fits easily at Clark and Fullerton.
Webster Avenue starts at the zoo's West Gate rideshare point at Stockton Drive and runs west to Osteria Gilberto at 1224 W. Webster Ave. Chicago Food Magazine reported that the 56-seat Italian restaurant opened in September with pasta made fresh daily, a 16-layer Lasagna di Gilberto, six-hour braised Short Rib Brasato and an all-Italian wine list. Executive Chef Sergio Ornelas runs the kitchen. It's a long sit-down dinner, which works best on a night with a reserved fixed-date ticket rather than a flexible one you might use or skip.
A few doors down, Paulo Atelier is planned for 1205 W. Webster Ave. as a café serving coffee, tea, hot chocolate, pastries and gelato. When WTTW reported on it in September, the timing was "this fall or possibly winter," so it may or may not be open by ZooLights season.
The nights that need a fixed date
Flexible Admission makes sense for an ordinary night. Most of the season's special events are tied to a single date, so they're where advance fixed-date tickets earn their price. The ticket page lists them:
- Member Preview Night, Thursday, November 19
- Sensory-Friendly Night, Tuesday, November 24. Moving lights stay still or slow way down, music plays at lower volume, and tickets are $7.
- The Chris White Jazz Trio Tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas, Sunday, December 6
- Adults Night Out: Sugar and Spice, 21+, Thursday, December 10
- New Year's Eve at ZooLights, Thursday, December 31
- New Year's ReZoolutions, Saturday, January 2, with tickets on sale November 9
ReZoolutions is the one new event named for 2026. It includes yoga, sound meditation, nonalcoholic drink samples for guests 21 and older, and early ZooLights access. The rides are back too. The Endangered Species Carousel, the Lionel Train Adventure and the holiday VR experience take one $4.50 ticket each. The Ferris Wheel and Gorilla Trek take two, or $9. Gorilla Trek isn't new this year. It's one of the zoo's Wild Explorer VR experiences and was already running in 2025. If you ride the Ferris Wheel on a free Monday, you'll still spend $9 per person.
Between now and November 20
The zoo is already open for fall evenings. Fall Fest is free on Fridays through Sundays through November 1, and it's open today, Monday, October 12, too. Rides and other attractions cost extra. Spooky Zoo, a free Halloween event with trick-or-treating, is Saturday, October 17. Zoo Brews: Howls and Growls, a new 21+ night with beer and cider sampling and a costume contest, runs October 23 and 24.
So the next few weeks set up ZooLights season. Choose your free Monday, set a reminder for its 11 a.m. release a week earlier, and buy advance fixed-date tickets for any special night you don't want to miss. Then pick Fullerton or Webster for dinner and walk over.
Luke Sandler follows Lincoln Park at this level all year, from ticket release mornings to the newest openings on Fullerton and Webster. Sign up to receive exclusive listings, and that neighborhood intel comes with them.
