The Broadmoor lists its White Lights Celebration for November 28. The resort's Thanksgiving page says that weekend is "exclusively for our overnight hotel guests." If you live a few minutes down Lake Avenue, the hotel's own schedule sends you to a different part of the calendar. That's the weeknights from late November into mid-December, and then the long stretch after New Year's.
The rest of the season around the resort follows the same calendar. Seven Falls usually opens only on weekends, and it closes before the hotel opens to local visitors. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Electric Safari runs nightly, which makes it the natural weekend plan. North Cheyenne Cañon is a daytime place on winter hours. And the hotel's exterior lights stay up long after the crowds leave. Put those together and you get a season built for people who don't need a room key.
The Three Weeknight Windows
The Broadmoor's holiday guidance for local and non-overnight guests invites visitors into the hotel during three set windows:
- Monday, November 30, through Thursday, December 3
- Monday, December 7, through Thursday, December 10
- Monday, December 14, through Thursday, December 17
That works out to 12 evenings, all Monday through Thursday. None falls on a weekend, and the last one ends the day before the first Holiday Show date on December 18.
The same page covers the practical details. Garage parking is open to anyone visiting without a reservation. Valet is only for overnight and dining guests with advance reservations. The resort also warns that "dining options will be limited" because the restaurants are in high demand. Plan on a walk-through evening. The decorations, the lights and the annual themed gingerbread display are the reason to go, and dinner may have to happen somewhere else.
The Holiday Shows on December 18, 19 and 24, plus the New Year's Eve Gala and Bash, are offered with overnight stays. The show listing puts the first performance at 6 p.m. on December 18.
Before the Windows Open, One Free Ticket and One Last Weekend
Two November events land before the hotel's weeknight windows begin, and both come with deadlines.
The first is the Soli Deo Gloria Choir's Holiday Kick-Off Concert on Sunday, November 22, at the Broadmoor International Center. According to the resort's Thanksgiving page, the one-hour show is free, but tickets are required, and they "sell out" every year. Every dollar of parking fees in the garage just past the International Center goes to Care and Share Food Bank. Tickets are handled through the concert's ticketing page. One of the resort's month-by-month pages lists a different date for this concert, so go by the date on the ticket.
The second is Seven Falls' final weekend of the year. The posted 2026 season runs October 23 through November 29, usually Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extra openings on November 26 and 27 for Thanksgiving. Buying online saves a little. Morning entry is $25 for adults and $19 for children online, compared with $27 and $21 at the window. Afternoon entry is $21 and $15 online, compared with $23 and $17 walk-up. Children under 2 get in free. So Seven Falls closes the day before the hotel's first local weeknight. Anyone hoping to do both in the same week needs to plan around that.
For a Thanksgiving meal close to home, the resort's Thanksgiving Brunch in Broadmoor Hall on November 26 is $145 per adult and $55 per child 10 and under, plus a 20% service charge. All of the resort's restaurants are also running Thanksgiving Day specials for lunch and dinner, and reservations are recommended.
The Season on One Page
| When | What | Who it's open to |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 1 onward | North Cheyenne Cañon Park winter hours, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Everyone |
| Fridays to Sundays through Nov 29, plus Nov 26 and 27 | Seven Falls daytime season | Ticketed visitors |
| Sun, Nov 22 | Soli Deo Gloria Holiday Kick-Off Concert | Free ticket required |
| Nov 28 | White Lights Celebration | Overnight hotel guests |
| Nov 30 to Dec 3, Dec 7 to 10, Dec 14 to 17 | The Broadmoor's holiday interior | Non-overnight visitors |
| Nightly from Dec 4 into early January, except Dec 24 | Electric Safari at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo | Timed e-ticket or member reservation |
| Dec 18, 19 and 24 | Broadmoor Holiday Shows | Overnight packages |
| Through March 1 | The Broadmoor's exterior white lights | Visible from the grounds |
The hotel takes the weeknights, the zoo takes every night including weekends, and the cañon takes the daylight.
The Zoo Covers the Weekends
The Broadmoor's local windows skip weekends. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Electric Safari runs nightly from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. starting Friday, December 4, and closes only on Christmas Eve. The zoo's pages disagree on the final night. One says January 1 and another says January 3, 2027, so check before planning a New Year's weekend visit.
This is the event's 35th year. It features more than 85 one-of-a-kind light sculptures, and USA TODAY 10Best readers voted it the No. 2 zoo lights in the country in 2025. A few details that help with planning:
- Tickets are separate. Electric Safari needs an advance timed e-ticket. Regular daytime admission doesn't cover it. The zoo says tickets go on sale closer to the event, and no 2026 price had been posted.
- Members get in free, and some tiers still need to book. Individual Plus, Family, Grandparent and Family Plus members reserve complimentary timed tickets. Conservator, Patron and Patron Gold members don't need advance reservations.
- The drone show starts at 7:30 p.m. It runs about 15 minutes, weather permitting. The zoo names Elephant Boardwalk, the Lodge at Moose Lake and the Grizzly Grill Roundabout as prime viewing spots.
- The Sky Ride costs $3 per person, and children 2 and under ride free. Be in line by 7:30 p.m., since the last ride leaves at 8.
- Santa is at Safari Lodge nightly from 4 to 8:30 p.m. in African Rift Valley through December 23.
The zoo's layout has also changed since last December. KRDO reported that the new Giraffe Center opened to the public on September 15. During the nearly two years of construction, foot traffic couldn't pass through the exhibit, so guests had to walk around the western edge to reach the east side. Since the opening, the full loop is walkable again. Turn right past the main gates and the path runs through the zoo's new cafe and gift shop, into the indoor giraffe space, out to an outdoor yard that is 25% larger, and on to the rest of the zoo. The Electric Safari page lists the Giraffe Center among the exhibits open during the event, and giraffe feeding is offered for an added fee. That makes this the first Electric Safari in two years where you can walk the whole loop.
The Cañon Covers the Daylight
North Cheyenne Cañon Park switched to winter hours on November 1, open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. through April 30. Gates lock nightly at the park entrance and at the north end of Gold Camp Road. The city's park page also notes that roads may close during snow events for snow removal.
The June storm closures are over. The City of Colorado Springs announced vehicle access returning on Thursday, July 2, for both North Cheyenne Cañon Road and Gold Camp Road.
Plan for which buildings are open this time of year. The city's North Cheyenne Cañon Park page lists Helen Hunt Falls Visitor Center as open only from Memorial Day to Labor Day, so it's closed for the season. The same page lists spring, fall and winter hours for the Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center at the bottom of the cañon as Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A December Saturday can start with a morning in the cañon while Starsmore is open and end at the zoo once the lights come on at 5:30, all without leaving the southwest side.
After New Year's, the Lights Stay Up
The last line of The Broadmoor's holiday page matters most for people who live nearby. The interior decorations come down after January 1, but "our beautiful, exterior white lights adorning the Hotel will be up until March 1."
That gives the hotel's exterior display about two more months after the guest-only White Lights weekend, the Holiday Shows and the gala have passed. The resort uses that stretch to promote winter staycations. For neighbors, it means the lights are still up on any ordinary evening in January or February, well after the 12 weeknight visiting evenings have ended.
If you're weighing whether being close to all of this adds to what your home is worth, The Lauber Group can walk you through what recent sales near The Broadmoor point to. Start with Get Your Home Value, and we'll follow up with the local detail behind the number.
