VanDusen Festival of Lights 2026: Dates, Tickets, Parking

VanDusen Festival of Lights 2026 at a glance

Every winter more than a million lights go up across VanDusen Botanical Garden, the City of Vancouver's 55-acre garden on Oak Street in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood. The festival fills about 15 acres of it, and 2026 is its 42nd season. It is the most traditional of Vancouver's Christmas light shows: a walk through a lit garden, a light show on the lake set to music, food trucks and hot drinks. Book a timed entry in advance. If you cannot book online or use a credit card, the City advises visiting the admission desk for booking help.

Dates and hours

The City confirms Friday 27 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Opening hours are 4pm to 10pm, with last entry at 9pm. The garden is closed on Christmas Day.

BC now stays on permanent Pacific Time. The City warns that sunset during this festival will be about an hour later than in previous years. If darkness matters to your visit, check sunset for your chosen date before selecting an entry time; a 4pm slot will still be in daylight.

Tickets and prices

Book a designated entry time in advance; the City lists tickets coming 4 November. Every guest needs a reservation, including children aged 4 and under whose tickets are free. A regular garden pass does not cover this special event, and members need a festival ticket at the member rate.

GST and service fees are additional. The City lists a 10% discount for groups of 25 or more; children aged 4 and under are excluded from that group count. The former 2025 early-bird offers are not a promise for 2026. Check the official ticket page for applicable offers when sales open.

Family ticket budget: two adults and two children aged 5–12 total $82 at the published 2026 rates, before GST and fees. Parking is separate and remains unclear between official pages; check before driving. Transit avoids the uncertainty about the lot charge.

What you will see

• Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake. The centrepiece: lights around the lake choreographed to holiday music. In 2025 there were three different shows, each set to its own soundtrack, running every 20 minutes. Check the time when you arrive and head to the lake a few minutes before the next show.
• The illuminated grotto, one of the annual favourites.
• Wood Wide Web, an interactive installation inspired by the fungal networks that link trees underground.
• A salmon run told in light, following the fish from the garden's streams to its lakes.
• The Great Bear Rainforest exhibit, an indoor display added in 2025 about the rainforest on B.C.'s coast.
• Themed areas and holiday music through the rest of the route. The route winds through the garden itself, past conifers, lawns and water.

The garden changes some displays each year, so treat the list above as last season's. It is a walk of about an hour at an easy pace, more if you stop for food or watch the lake show twice.

Parking in 2026: check the latest lot information

Parking update, 12 October: the City festival page describes free parking, while the City parking strategy lists a $25 event rate for up to three hours during Festival of Lights, 4–10pm. These official statements conflict. Confirm with the garden and read the posted signs before leaving your car; do not assume the lot will be free or that the fee has been cancelled.

• The lot is on West 37th Avenue, just off Oak Street. Accessible parking spaces are available, and there is an accessible drop-off loop off Oak Street at the front entrance.
• Street parking on the surrounding residential streets has been free in past seasons, but spaces go quickly on weekend evenings. Read the signs before you leave the car.
• To avoid lot uncertainty, consider the bus, which stops at the garden, or a drop-off at the Oak Street entrance. Compare fares for your group before choosing.

More on parking costs across the city in our Vancouver parking guide.

Getting there without a car

• From downtown: the #17 Oak bus runs from downtown over the Cambie Bridge and down Oak Street. Get off at Oak St at W 37th Ave, about two minutes on foot from the entrance. Allow 30 to 35 minutes.
• From the Canada Line: the #17 also stops outside Broadway–City Hall station. Or ride to Oakridge–41st Avenue, take the westbound R4 along 41st Avenue to Oak Street, and walk about seven minutes north up Oak.
• By taxi or ride-hail: ask for the drop-off loop at the Oak Street entrance.
• By bike: lock up outside the Visitor Centre; bikes are not allowed in the garden.

Fares and passes for visitors are explained in our Vancouver transit guide.

When to go and how long to stay

1. Pick a weeknight in late November or the first week of December. The festival is at its busiest on weekends from mid-December to New Year, and those slots sell first.
2. Choose your entry time around sunset. With permanent Pacific Time, sunset is about an hour later than in previous seasons. Check your visit date rather than relying on the old 5pm rule. The first 4pm slots suit families who prefer an early start.
3. Allow 60 to 90 minutes. That covers the route, one Dancing Lights show and a hot drink.
4. Dress for rain. December evenings in Vancouver are usually wet and a few degrees above freezing, and the garden paths can be muddy. Waterproof shoes matter more than a heavy coat.
5. Consider the sensory-friendly evening on Tuesday 1 December 2026. Capacity is halved, sound levels are lower and flashing lights are switched off. Select that date or the special-event filter on the official booking calendar.

Food, accessibility and garden rules

In 2025 ten food vendors were on site, from Japadog and Triple O's to fondue, arancini, donuts, chai and hot chocolate, alongside the Garden Café in the Visitor Centre and the Shaughnessy Restaurant, the garden's sit-down restaurant, which serves dinner. Expect lines for hot drinks at peak times.

• Strollers and wheelchairs are welcome. Most main paths are paved, but some garden paths are unpaved or uneven, and they can be slippery when wet.
• Accessible washrooms are in the Visitor Centre, with some accessible portable washrooms in the garden.
• Dogs: leave pets at home. Working guide and service dogs are welcome.
• Stay on the paths and leave plants alone; the lights are strung through a living plant collection.

VanDusen or another light show?

Metro Vancouver has several ticketed light shows. They are different evenings, so it is worth choosing deliberately. The full list, including free displays, is in our guide to Christmas lights in Vancouver.

Bright Nights is no longer in Stanley Park. After more than 25 years there, it moved to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey from the 2025 season, as part of the Noel Holiday Light Festival. In 2026 it runs from 27 November to 29 December, 3 to 9:30pm, and is closed on 30 November and 7, 24 and 25 December.

If VanDusen is sold out for your dates, Canyon Lights is the closest match for a first visit, and it opens a week earlier and closes a week later. Two free displays are also worth a look: Lights of Hope on St. Paul's Hospital from 12 November and Lights at Lafarge in Coquitlam from 27 November.

Make an evening of it

• Dinner first or after: the Shaughnessy Restaurant is inside the garden, and the #17 bus back towards downtown passes along Oak Street and over the Cambie Bridge.
• Bloedel Conservatory by day: the tropical dome at Queen Elizabeth Park, a short drive east, is run by the same garden association and makes a warm daytime stop.
• A full December week: pair VanDusen with the Vancouver Christmas Market on the waterfront and the rest of our things to do in December. For the holidays themselves, see what is open on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve in Vancouver.
• Where to stay: downtown hotels put you on the #17 route and near the Canada Place shuttle for Canyon Lights. Our where to stay guide compares neighbourhoods, and the Vancouver with kids guide covers family-friendly bases.

Dates, hours, admission rates, ticket release, sensory evening and sunset guidance checked 12 October 2026 against the City festival page. Parking was also checked against the City parking strategy; the two pages disagree. Other displays, vendors, comparison events, journey times and general garden advice retain the earlier 27 September review and have not all been rechecked.