Winter Lights opens to cars on November 27, the day after Thanksgiving. The festival's smaller-capacity nights come before that. From Friday, November 20 through Monday, November 23, the 3.5-mile route through Seneca Creek State Park is open only to people on foot, on trolleys, or running a 5K. One of those nights is the only time all season you can bring the dog. Tickets went on sale October 15, and the city says these evenings typically sell out.
That moves the start of Gaithersburg's holiday planning up by several weeks. Once Winter Lights opens, it runs nightly to December 31, except December 25. The four nights before the opening have the least room, though. Olde Towne's December events and a closing on East Diamond Avenue are on the same clock.
Four Nights, Four Different Ways In
The city calls these four nights "Enchanted Evenings." Each one is ticketed online in advance and good only on its date.
| Night | Date | How you see the lights | Price | Who can come |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S'more Lights | Fri., Nov. 20, 6–9 p.m. | Trolley only | $15 per person, free for ages 3 and under | All ages, no dogs |
| MCRRC Run Under the Lights | Sat., Nov. 21, 6:15 p.m. start | 5K run/walk on park roads | $45.40 with fee, $40.40 ages 0–15 | Registration full |
| Sip & Sparkle | Sun., Nov. 22, 6–9 p.m. | Three-mile open-air trolley | $40 per person, $25 without tastings | 21 and over, valid ID, no dogs |
| Walk & Wag | Mon., Nov. 23, 6–9 p.m. | On foot, 1 or 3 miles | $10 per person online, free for dogs and ages 3 and under | All ages, dogs welcome |
Each night has a cutoff earlier than its end time, and those cutoffs affect your plans more than the prices do.
S'more Lights, Friday
This is the family night. You see the route by trolley only, with no walking. The heated tent has s'mores, music and Santa, and everyone takes home a holiday craft. Last entry is 8 p.m. and Santa photos end at 8:30, so families with young children should aim for the first hour. Children 3 and under get in free but still need their own ticket, because registration is per person.
Run Under the Lights, Saturday
The Montgomery County Road Runners Club holds a 5K run/walk on the park roads. The roads are closed to traffic for it, except for emergency and race vehicles. Registration includes park entry and free parking on site. It is already full, and the race's RunSignup page showed a waitlist of roughly 332 people in mid-October. For anyone not already registered, this is the hardest of the four nights to get into.
Sip & Sparkle, Sunday
This is the adults-only trolley night. The $40 ticket includes eight tastings from local makers, a souvenir glass, light refreshments, hot drinks, s'mores and live music in a heated tent. More food and drinks are for sale. The $25 ticket is the same evening without the tastings, so a group can include a designated driver at a lower price. Last entry is 7:30 p.m., the earliest cutoff of the four nights.
Walk & Wag, Monday
On Monday the trolleys stop running and the route is open to walkers. You can choose a 1-mile stroll or a 3-mile walk, and the price includes a hot drink and a selfie with Santa. Dog-focused vendors set up along the event, and food is for sale. Dogs are not allowed at S'more Lights or Sip & Sparkle, and no one leaves their car on the drive-through nights after November 27. That makes Walk & Wag the one night of the season to see the 450-plus displays with a dog. The city page lists a $15 door price but also says there are no onsite sales, so buy the $10 online ticket. Last entry is 8 p.m.
Why Tickets Go Early
S'more Lights, Sip & Sparkle and Walk & Wag run on the same rules. Tickets are online only, good only on the date printed, and each event page says there is no rain date. The city says all three "typically sell out." The city also caps daily ticket numbers across the festival to keep crowds manageable.
Anyone hoping to walk the route with a dog or bring out-of-town guests on the tasting trolley should check the Winter Lights Festival page soon. Ticket counts change faster than any article can keep up with.
After November 27, Pick a Weekday
Once the drive-through season opens, it is open every night through December 31 except Christmas Day. This is the 31st season. Pricing is per vehicle:
- Monday–Thursday: $15
- Friday–Sunday: $25
- Vehicles with 15 or more passengers: $35
The weekend price is $10 higher for the same 3.5 miles. The exchange rules also favor weekday tickets in a way that is easy to overlook. If space is available, you can swap a weekday ticket for another weekday, or swap a weekend ticket for any day. Price differences are not refunded, though, so a weekend ticket moved to a Tuesday loses the $10. If your schedule might change, buy the lower-priced weekday ticket.
The city's own tips for the drive:
- Arrive early, ideally close to 5:30 p.m.
- Check WTOP, Waze or Apple Maps for wait times before leaving home, and start with a full tank.
- Bring a car charger if your tickets are on your phone.
- Use the restroom first. Portable toilets are near the park entrance and the admissions loop.
- Tune to 97.1 WASH FM for holiday music, and stay in the car without stopping along the route.
December Moves to Olde Towne
After Thanksgiving weekend, the next big event leaves the park for Olde Towne. Jingle Jubilee, which the city calls its 100th annual tree lighting, is Friday, December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the City Hall Concert Pavilion. Admission is free. The venue is outdoors with lawn seating and only a few chairs, so a blanket helps. For the 100th year, the city opened the stage to community groups for the first time, including choirs, bands, dance troupes and youth ensembles. That application window closed October 23. The city will also collect donations for its Holiday Giving Program at the event.
Jingle Jubilee also starts the city's four-stop Santa tour. The other three stops take reservations through RecXpress, and their tickets are nonrefundable.
- Santa's Enchanted Visit, Kentlands Mansion, Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m.–noon: Gingerbread houses and fireside photos, $35 resident or $40 nonresident per household. Already sold out.
- All Aboard with Santa, Gaithersburg Community Museum, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2:30–5:30 p.m.: Santa greets families from inside the museum's 1918 locomotive, with cookies, cocoa by the campfire and crafts in the 1884 Railroad Station. $10 resident or $12 nonresident per person, required for everyone 12 months and older. Sensory-friendly, and Santa speaks Spanish.
- Cocoa with the Clauses, Casey Community Center, Saturday, Dec. 12, 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m.: A cocoa bar, crafts, letters to Santa and a visit with Mrs. Claus, $30 per household. Sensory-friendly time slots run from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
Kentlands Mansion sold out more than a month ahead. That fits the rest of the season: the events with the smallest capacity go first, and they go early.
November 15 at Diamond and Summit
Olde Towne's calendar has one more date before the tree lighting, and it comes before the lights open. OTC Bar & Grille, known for years as Olde Towne Cafe, will close its 226 E. Diamond Avenue location on November 15 after 26 years. The MoCo Show reported that the building changed ownership and the family can no longer operate there. "Our story isn't over," the family wrote in its announcement.
The same family has run the restaurant since 2000. Before it was OTC, it was also known as Diamond Fountain Cafe. In 2022 it reopened in a larger space that took in the former Diamond Drugs storefront next door. The corner itself goes back to 1893. That year, Dr. Elisha C. Etchison bought the northwest corner of Diamond and Summit Avenues from John B. Diamond and opened a drugstore. The site stayed a neighborhood pharmacy through several later owners.
The MoCo Show first reported in July that the building was under contract to be sold. The family has since signed a lease in Bethesda and are aiming to reopen in late spring or early summer 2027. The new address has not been announced.
Olde Towne's public space has also changed this fall. On September 18, the city renamed Olde Towne Plaza Sidney A. Katz Plaza, honoring the former mayor and current Montgomery County Council member for nearly five decades of public service. The MoCo Show covered the dedication, which included remarks from Mayor Jud Ashman and the unveiling of the new sign.
Here is the order of dates: OTC's last day is November 15, the Enchanted Evenings run November 20 through 23, the drive opens November 27, and Jingle Jubilee is December 4. All of it falls within about three weeks.
If you're planning a Gaithersburg move around a calendar like this one and want each contract deadline set well ahead of time, Dewey Reeves is glad to start the conversation.
