Brookside Gardens’ popular Garden of Lights (1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902) will return for the 2026 holiday season, transforming the Wheaton garden with more than one million twinkling lights.
The annual walk-through display opens Friday, November 20, and runs through Sunday, January 3, 2027. The illuminated garden features displays inspired by flowers, animals and other elements of nature.
Tickets are on sale now and must be purchased online in advance. Admission is $13.99 per person, including the service fee, Sunday through Thursday and $16.99 on Fridays and Saturdays. Children under 5 are free.
Timed entry begins at 5pm each evening, and the event takes place rain or shine. Tickets are non-refundable but may be transferred to another available date.
Garden of Lights will be closed November 23-26, December 24-25 and January 1. Refreshments and drinks will be available from an on-site vendor, while the Visitor Center, restrooms and Gift Shop will also be open.
Brookside Gardens will also bring back its free Garden Railway during daytime hours. The seasonal exhibit features G-scale model trains traveling through miniature versions of local Maryland landmarks and is planned in partnership with the Washington, Virginia, Maryland Garden Railway Society.
The Garden Railway will be open from 10am-3:45pm from Saturday, November 28 through Sunday, January 3. It will be closed December 24-25 and January 1 and will not operate during Garden of Lights evening hours.
