ZooLights opens to the public on Friday, November 20, and runs through January 3, 2027. This season its regular hours are the same every night: 4:30 to 9 p.m., with last entry at 8. Saturday night now ends at the same time as Monday night. The lights still hold the early part of the evening. The later part has moved to a run of restaurants and bars that opened in Lincoln Park during 2026, and several of them are on the walk out of the zoo.
Saturday Ends at 9 Now
Lincoln Park Zoo's announcement for the 2026 season says plainly that ZooLights runs from 4:30 to 9 p.m. every night. That's a change from recent seasons.
| Season | Weeknight close | Friday and Saturday close | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 p.m. | 10 p.m., also premium nights | Lincoln Park Zoo's 2024 guide |
| 2025 | 9 p.m. | 10 p.m. | Chicago on the Cheap listing |
| 2026 | 9 p.m. | 9 p.m. | Lincoln Park Zoo press release |
Last entry is 8 p.m., so a visitor who arrives at 7:45 on a December Saturday gets a little over an hour among the lights. The rest of the schedule follows a familiar pattern. General ZooLights nights skip Tuesdays except December 22 and 29, with the ticketed Sensory-Friendly Night on Tuesday, November 24, as the one special-event exception, and ZooLights is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It is open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Tickets depend on how firmly you can commit to a date. Advance fixed-date tickets cost $7 to $12 depending on the night. Same-day fixed-date tickets and flexible tickets, which work on any night of the season, cost $20. The zoo pitches the flexible ticket as a way to avoid sellouts and bad weather. Admission is free on four Mondays: November 23 and 30, and December 7 and 14. Even on those nights a ticket is required for every guest, infants included, and tickets are released one week ahead at 11 a.m.
The Zoo Is Fitting Adult Programming Into the Shorter Night
With the closing time pulled in, the zoo has added more events for adults around its regular hours. Senior Event Manager Meg Hein described this year's range in the zoo's release as running from "annual photos with Santa" to "a festive 21+ night out." Three items on this season's calendar are aimed at adults:
- An 18+ Charlie Brown Christmas show at Café Brauer, Sunday, December 6, 8 p.m. The Chris White Jazz Trio's tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas returns with three performances. The 8 p.m. show at Café Brauer is new and limited to guests 18 and older. Tickets are $30.40 for members and $38 for nonmembers, or $42.40 and $53 for VIP. ZooLights admission is not included.
- Adults Night Out: Sugar and Spice, Thursday, December 10. This 21+ evening runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m., an hour past regular closing, with a DJ, holiday cocktails, s'mores, animal chats, free caricatures, and unlimited rides on the Endangered Species Carousel and Ferris Wheel. Tickets start at $20.
- New Year's ReZoolutions, Saturday, January 2, 2 to 4 p.m. This event is new for 2026. It includes nonalcoholic drink samples for guests 21 and older, yoga and sound meditation, and access to ZooLights before the public opening. Tickets go on sale November 9.
On regular nights, Levy, the zoo's hospitality partner, runs a holiday pop-up bar with seasonal cocktails, hot drinks and fire pits for s'mores. The Light Lounge at Foreman Pavilion pairs interactive light toys for kids with a lounge area serving food and drinks with what the zoo calls "a more adult vibe."
Apart from that one Thursday, the ZooLights evening still ends at 9 p.m. The 3 p.m. Charlie Brown matinee is the only event that bundles ZooLights entry, along with Santa and a cocoa and cookie bar, at $50.40 for members and $63 for nonmembers. For anyone at the 8 p.m. show or leaving the grounds at closing, dinner and a nightcap happen elsewhere.
The First Stop Is Clark and Fullerton
The closest new option to the zoo also fits a 9 p.m. exit best. Piccadilly Market opened in September at 444 W. Fullerton Pkwy., at Clark and Fullerton, in the space that was home to Emilio's Tapas for many years. Block Club Chicago reported that the 5,200-square-foot space combines an all-day sandwich cafe, a coffee program, a wine shop, a bar and lounge, and an 80-person outdoor courtyard called Piccadilly Square.
"We're trying to bring everything you love together under one roof to create a third space that engages the community in so many new and exciting ways."
Owner Aaron Zacharias, who also runs The Northman Beer & Cider Garden and The Bar on Buena, told Block Club Chicago that this was the idea behind the Lincoln Park location, which expands the original Piccadilly Market on West Lawrence Avenue in Lincoln Square. Chef Mark Mendez, formerly the chef and owner of the West Loop Spanish wine bar Vera, runs the kitchen. His menu includes house-made English muffins, focaccia, Roman-style pizza and a rotating cheese and charcuterie selection. The bar pours three wines and five beers or ciders on draft, along with cocktails and coffee drinks. After an hour of outdoor lights in December, a room with charcuterie and a wine shop makes an easy next stop.
From There, the Ledger Runs North, West and South
A short walk up Clark puts you at a pair of summer openings. Farther west and south are the rest of this year's new rooms. Every place below opened or was set to open in 2026.
| Name | Address | Opened | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muhājir | 2630 N. Clark St. | July 1 | Wood-fire menu drawing on migration and historic spice routes |
| Bobo | 2630 N. Clark St. | July 8 | Filipino cocktail lounge, Muhājir's sibling; walk-ins |
| Paper Tiger | 628 W. Webster Ave. | June 6 | Open daily; check its site for hours |
| Beaumont's American Tavern | 2020 N. Halsted St. | End of May | Restored 200-seat tavern with The Bull Moose steakhouse upstairs |
| Gunny's Pub | 2642 N. Lincoln Ave. | Planned debut Sept. 16 | Midwestern bistro with supper-club fare and hunter-gatherer-inspired dishes |
| Lolo y Lola | 2580 N. Lincoln Ave. | Announced for Sept. 18 | Walk-in service |
Eater Chicago reported that Muhājir and Bobo opened a week apart at the same Clark Street address. Bobo's site lists walk-in service, which helps after the 8 p.m. last entry when there's no reservation to plan around.
On Halsted, Beaumont's reopened at the end of May, according to Eater Chicago's June roundup, after a restoration covered by Block Club Chicago. Eater's current list of new Chicago restaurants includes The Bull Moose steakhouse upstairs. Call ahead before planning a holiday dinner around it.
On Lincoln Avenue, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Gunny's Pub planned a September 16 debut. Its own site now says "Now Open." A few doors south, Lolo y Lola was announced for September 18 and now appears in Eater Chicago's Lincoln Park guide.
Paper Tiger on Webster opened June 6 and is the only stop on this list east of Halsted and south of Fullerton, along the zoo's southern approach.
Dates to Book Before the Lights Come On
The season's most limited tickets go on sale before opening night. In order:
- November 9: New Year's ReZoolutions tickets go on sale.
- November 16, 11 a.m.: If releases stay one week ahead, tickets for the first free Monday, November 23, become available.
- November 19: Member Preview Night, with free train and carousel rides and 20% off at the Gift Shop.
- November 20: Public opening.
- November 24: Sensory-Friendly Night, a Tuesday, with moving lights held static or slowed and music at reduced volume, $7.
- December 6: The Charlie Brown Christmas performances, including the new 18+ show at 8 p.m.
- December 10: Adults Night Out: Sugar and Spice.
- December 22 and 29: The only Tuesdays with general ZooLights admission.
- December 31: New Year's Eve at ZooLights, with hourly countdowns.
- January 2: New Year's ReZoolutions, 2 to 4 p.m.
- January 3: Final night.
Rides are priced separately on any night. Most attractions take one $4.50 ticket per guest, and the Ferris Wheel and Gorilla Trek take two, for $9. ZooLights ticket sales support the zoo's animal care, conservation and learning programs, and help keep Lincoln Park Zoo free to the public 365 days a year.
At IKGroup, we follow how evenings like these change on the blocks around the zoo, from the restored tavern on Halsted to the new market at Clark and Fullerton. If you'd like to talk about what that means for your own Lincoln Park address, request a private consultation & home valuation.
