ZooLights runs Nov. 20, 2026 to Jan. 3, 2027 at the Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Road. The gate opens at 4:30 p.m. nightly. The light path runs a little over a mile, about 1.25, and the zoo puts a typical visit at about 90 minutes.
Those two numbers give the evening its shape. A walk that starts at 4:30 p.m. runs to about 6 p.m. Everything booked after that point runs on a clock.
The gate opens at 4:30
The event page prints the opening hour and no closing hour, and states that prices and times vary through the season. Build the evening around the 4:30 gate.
ZooLights sells as a separate ticket. The zoo asks daytime visitors, members included, to leave when the zoo closes so staff can prepare for the evening.
A 1.25-mile path
The route runs a little over one mile, about 1.25, and the zoo puts a typical visit at about 90 minutes. The zoo train runs it past dozens of life-size animal lanterns. Most animals are not on view, because keepers finish their evening work as the gates open.
The 60-minute block
A Snow Globe books a heated, decorated dome for exactly 60 minutes and up to six guests. The session includes seating, a shared fire pit, hot cocoa in a souvenir cup, s'mores and fast-pass train tickets that skip the queue. The price is $300. Beer, wine and donuts are sold separately.
Six guests at $300 is $50 a head. Sixty minutes is shorter than the 90-minute path, so the globe covers the seated half, after the walk and before dinner.
Reservations run through the zoo booking link on the event page. Book ahead for a weekend and for the 21+ nights.
Read the counters before booking dinner
The zoo food page posts counter hours that mostly end before the gate opens. Cascade Cafe at the Entry Plaza runs 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Aviary Cafe at Elephant Plaza runs 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Sunday. Elephant Ears at Elephant Plaza runs 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Trailhead Snacks, Brat Haus, Growler's Pizza and Scoop and Swirl all finish between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. The zoo warns that hours vary by location and are subject to change.
At 4:30 p.m. one counter holds an hour: Elephant Ears, to 5:30 p.m. Cascade Cafe shuts half an hour before the gate. From 5:30 p.m. the food on offer is the ZooLights menu: elephant ears, hot chocolate, popcorn and s'mores, with beer, wine and non-alcoholic options.
That gap is where the Snow Globe fits. A walk that begins at the gate ends near 6 p.m. A 60-minute globe from 6 p.m. runs to 7 p.m. and puts a late dinner after the lights.
Closed dates and separate nights
The zoo lists ZooLights closed Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 24-26, as well as Dec. 25. The season also carries four special nights before the public opening: BrewLights Nov. 13 and 14, a Member Preview Night Nov. 15 and a Sensory Friendly Night Nov. 16. Jan. 1 and 2 are 21+ only nights.
Adult tickets run $13 to $35 and youth tickets $13 to $30 across the season. Members take 20 per cent off regularly priced tickets, with no additional discount on Value Nights. Any Night tickets can be bought in advance and used on any night from Nov. 20 to Dec. 31, 2026.
Arriving without moving the car twice
A ZooLights ticket doubles as a TriMet fare on its admission date, valid on bus, MAX, WES, LIFT and Portland Streetcar and not on C-TRAN, through Jan. 3, 2027. Free Park & Ride at Sunset Transit Center puts guests on the MAX for one stop east. Parking inside Washington Park is limited, pay stations take coin or card, and a free off-site lot and shuttle may run when the entrance board says so. The zoo is cashless, with reverse ATMs inside.
A room that covers the evening
hotelSlots sells day-use rooms in four slots: morning 6 a.m. to noon, afternoon noon to 6 p.m., evening 6 p.m. to midnight and overnight midnight to 6 a.m. An evening slot covers a 4:30 gate, a 90-minute walk and a 60-minute globe at a rate below the overnight price.
Royal Sonesta Portland Downtown, 506 SW Washington Street, showed $100 for the day against a $170 nightly rate on the 20 October read, 42 per cent off, with a prepaid booking fee of $7 and a 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. window among its five. It sits 3.5 driving miles and about 11 minutes from the zoo gate.
The other downtown cards read differently. The Hotel Zags, 515 SW Clay Street, showed $99 against $200 in a 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. window and sits 2.8 driving miles out. The Nines, 525 SW Morrison Street, showed $149 against $450, with a 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. window among its three, 3.2 miles. Best Western Portland West Beaverton, 9900 SW Canyon Road, the same road as the zoo, showed $80 against $200 in a 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. window and sits 4.2 driving miles out.
Read the window before the rate. A $99 room that ends at 5 p.m. does not cover a 4:30 gate plus a walk plus a globe. hotelSlots states that it charges no booking fee, and the day-use cards carried a booking fee of up to $7, so the total is the number to compare.
Book the globe first and the room second. The globe fixes the 60 minutes, and the room only has to cover them.
