Journey Information to the North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights in Asheville

NC Arboretum Winter Lights Maps

Methods to use this map: Click on the icon within the top-left nook to open the Map Legend, then click on on any of the legend objects to show extra info. You probably have a Google account, click on the (very faint) star on the finish of the map’s title to avoid wasting this map to your account, then entry the map out of your smartphone throughout your journey.

NC Arboretum Winter Lights Schedule in 2023

The North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights is open nightly from November 17 – December 31, 2023. Winter Lights is open on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

The occasion runs from 6 p.m. till 10 p.m. every night time.

NC Arboretum Winter Lights Tickets

Winter Lights is the North Carolina Arboretum’s largest annual fundraiser. Tickets go on sale weeks earlier than the occasion begins. For the reason that inaugural present in 2013, Winter Lights has turn into the most well-liked Christmas gentle show in western North Carolina.

Winter Lights tickets range from $40 – $80 for all occupants in private autos, relying on just a few elements.

Ordering tickets upfront on-line is $10 cheaper than shopping for tickets on the gate. It’s additionally considerably quicker and retains site visitors shifting easily into the arboretum.

Ticket costs are divided into three tiers:

• $40 Pink Tier applies to most weeknights in November.
• $55 Blue Tier applies to most weekends.
• $70 Yellow Tier applies to the weekend after Thanksgiving and from December 16 – 28.

Customers should select an entry time when shopping for a tiered ticket. There is no such thing as a distinction in worth based mostly on entry time – it’s merely a approach of controlling the variety of autos making an attempt to enter the arboretum concurrently. You may enter the arboretum at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., or 8 p.m., with 9 p.m. being the final entry allowed. Solely a restricted variety of tickets are offered for every time window.

A fourth choice is the $80 Flex ticket. Pink, Blue, and Yellow Tier tickets are non-refundable no matter climate situations. The Flex ticket may be modified to a different non-sold-out night time as much as 48 hours upfront.

Go to the North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights web site for extra buy choices for bigger autos and to purchase tickets upfront.

NC Arboretum Winter Lights

The North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights is an annual open-air, walk-through vacation gentle show in Asheville. The lights are unfold all through the formal gardens between the Baker Customer Middle and Schooling Middle. Casually strolling alongside the concrete plaza takes about an hour to see all of the lights.

Winter Lights options a formidable a million lights that take the workers about 12,000 hours to put in. The LED bulbs use 80% much less electrical energy than conventional Christmas lights, persevering with the arboretum’s sustainable efforts into the vacations.

Visitors start the journey by means of the Baker Customer Middle, exiting right into a tunnel of lights to start the journey to the Schooling Middle. The lights are accessible for wheelchairs and walkers.

The climate is usually chilly throughout Winter Lights, with temperatures hovering round 50 levels – costume accordingly. There are just a few benches the place you possibly can sit to benefit from the spectacular gentle shows, take heed to stay music, and benefit from the night on the arboretum.

Quilt Backyard

One of the crucial spectacular shows at Winter Lights is the Quilt Backyard. The formal gardens are lined in 1000’s of lights, making a spectacular quilt of lights. The sample adjustments yearly, giving returning friends one thing new to see.

Tree of Gentle

The 50-foot-tall Tree of Gentle is the middle of Winter Lights. The string gentle tree is inconceivable to overlook close to the Quilt Backyard. It’s a superb place to seize a household picture to recollect the night.

Magical Maples

My favourite a part of Winter Lights is the 1000’s of lights strung all through the sprawling branches of timber on the north finish of the plaza. The lights cling like Spanish moss, turning the barren tree limbs into one thing lovely to admire at Winter Lights.

Cocoa Shacks and S’mores Land

A Cocoa Shack close to the Baker Customer Middle and Schooling Middle sells sizzling chocolate, sizzling apple cider, and s’mores substances. It’s a fast and simple technique to get one thing heat to drink throughout Winter Lights. And, in fact, graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate for the fireplace pits!

S’Mores Land options two hearth pits the place friends can roast their marshmallows and construct delicious s’mores.

You received’t should go hungry all night time if you happen to skip dinner earlier than arriving on the NC Arboretum Winter Lights. The Bent Creek Bistro, positioned within the Schooling Middle, has a full menu for the particular occasion.

The menu contains sandwiches, soup, and sharable meals like home made pimento cheese dip. You will get a sizzling chocolate, sizzling apple cider, native craft beer, or a canned wine to go along with the meal.

Bent Creek Bistro additionally sells substances for s’mores.

Finest Time to Go to the NC Arboretum Winter Lights

Ticket costs range by $30 relying on which night time you attend. The most effective time to go to the North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday the week after Thanksgiving. If you wish to attend the occasion in the course of the closing two weeks earlier than Christmas, attempt to go to on a weekday for a thinner crowd.

The gate opens at 6 p.m. nightly. However getting there early doesn’t assist – it’s truly counterintuitive. The most effective time every night time to reach is 7:30 p.m. or later. The gate closes at 9 p.m., and the occasion ends at 10 p.m., so arriving later is healthier for a smaller crowd and fewer site visitors.

Ideas for Seeing the NC Arboretum Winter Lights

Listed below are just a few ideas for taking advantage of your journey to see the North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights:

• Go to on a weekday
• Plan to reach round 7:30 p.m.
• Put on comfy sneakers and heat clothes
• Pack the Ocoopa Hand Heaters to maintain your arms toasty all night time
• Get a sizzling chocolate, sizzling apple cider, or craft beer
• Make s’mores on the hearth pits in S’mores Land
• Benefit from the stay music on the Schooling Middle
• Take a selfie or household picture on the Tree of Gentle

Instructions to the NC Arboretum Winter Lights

There are just a few methods to get to the North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights, together with a brief drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. However I like to recommend just one approach, no matter which course you might be touring from.

Take Exit 33 on Interstate 26 and switch southbound onto Brevard Highway (NC Freeway 191). Go the Asheville Shops on the left and proceed alongside the four-lane freeway.

The doorway to the North Carolina Arboretum will likely be on the appropriate on a spur highway connecting to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Though there’s a site visitors gentle on the intersection, turning proper into the arboretum is by far the best technique to get to the Winter Lights.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions