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Winter Lights display tickets on sale

Tickets are on sale now for Winter Lights at the North Carolina Arboretum

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 12, 2025

Tickets are on sale now for Asheville’s annual Winter Lights display at the North Carolina Arboretum.

Coming up on its 12th year, the display will be held nightly Nov. 15-Jan. 4 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Visitors to this year’s display will find a special treat as they encounter six of the whimsical trolls from Thomas Dambo’s “Trolls: A Field Study” also exploring the gardens.
Winter Lights also offers a return to the awe-inspiring experiences and magnificent moments familiar to the season including the 50-foot Tree of Light, the “Polar Express-themed” Rocky Cove Railroad and the illuminated Quilt Garden synchronized to holiday music, according to a press release from the arboretum.
Each year, more than 100,000 guests experience Winter Lights while sipping hot cocoa and other beverages and shopping for unique seasonal treasures in the expanded, holiday-themed Connections Gallery Gift Shop.
Tickets to Winter Lights only require one ticket per vehicle. Once again, the tickets are sold in a three-tiered system based on the date guests want to attend, with off-peak dates costing less than those nights that are the most popular. The arboretum recommends purchasing tickets in advance online, as nights at Winter Lights sell out.
This year, Winter Lights also offers new ticket experiences including the Winter Lights Trolly on select evenings presented by Biltmore Park Town Square and Grey Line Trolly Tours. The trolly transports guests from Biltmore Park Town Square directly to the arboretum. Other add on options include cocoa packages and a discounted reentry parking pass for a follow up visit to the arboretum to see all 12 trolls in the daytime and along the arboretum’s trails.
Returning this year is the Share the Wonder ticket introduced after Hurricane Helene as a way to pay it forward to those who may not have the resources to otherwise attend. New this year is the option to purchase gift tickets for friends and loved ones.
Winter Lights tickets are sold for specific entry times - 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. But guests are welcome to stay as long as they like up until closing time at 10 p.m.
Winter Lights is the North Carolina Arboretum Society’s largest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds generated from the display directly support the arboretum’s mission-driven programming.
The display is open rain or shine and is a walk-through extravaganza. The arboretum requests that visitors leave pets at home. Service animals are welcome.
For more information about Winter Lights and to purchase tickets, visit ncwinterlights.com.