One of Canada's biggest holiday light events is turning 30, and Calgary's zoo is marking the milestone with its biggest glow-up yet. ZOOLIGHTS returns to the Calgary Zoo from November 13, 2026 to January 3, 2027, with more than a million lights strung across the grounds, nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
This year's edition brings two fresh installations. The Adventure Zone features walk-through life-size gingerbread houses, winter games, free axe throwing and fire pits to huddle around. The Brilliant Bamboo Trail is exactly what it sounds like: a stretch of bamboo-inspired light displays glowing along the path.
Familiar favourites are back too. The Merry and Bright Light Show pairs singing trees with illuminated projections outside Kitamba Café, while Gumdrop Grove in the Holiday Gardens fills the space with oversized candy-shaped lights and glowing orbs. There's also a Find Your Wild Maze with animal surprises hidden along the route, Santa's Polar Palace for photos with the man himself, a prairie-themed walk called Tales From the Prairie featuring burrowing owls lit in green and gold, and a Wildlife Carousel that spins until 9:15 p.m.
Want to level up? Three paid add-ons run separately from standard admission. The Taste of ZOOLIGHTS pass, available Thursdays, covers festive snacks and drinks from food spots around the zoo. The Festive Feast is a buffet dinner indoors at Kitamba Café and Safari Lodge before heading back into the cold. And private Snow Globes — lit-up domes for dining with your group — bundle admission, the rental and a menu package into one reservation.
Tickets use the zoo's Plan-Ahead Pricing, starting at $17 per person on select dates, so buying early and picking a quieter night pays off. Combo options include Sunlight to ZOOLIGHTS (daytime zoo entry plus the evening event) and a Lights and Heights pass that pairs ZOOLIGHTS with a trip up the Calgary Tower. Note that tickets are non-refundable, so lock in your date carefully.
A few practical things worth knowing: the event runs on select dates and is dark on November 17, November 24 and Christmas Day. Last entry is 9 p.m. Most importantly, the animal buildings close during ZOOLIGHTS — this is about the lights, not the pandas — so set expectations accordingly if you were hoping to see wildlife. Everything is outdoors, so bundle up properly and wear footwear that can handle Calgary in December.
For anyone planning a winter trip to Alberta, this is an easy evening to build a day around: zoo lights after dark, Calgary Tower views or a downtown dinner to round it out. It's family-friendly by design, but the fire pits, food passes and bookable snow globes give it enough range for a date night or a group of adults too. With three decades of history and a solid batch of new installations, the 30th anniversary run is a good year to go — even if you've been before.
