Zoo lights in OKC means Safari Lights at the Oklahoma City Zoo, running nightly from November 14, 2026 through January 3, 2027, 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Walk-Thru tickets start at $14 ($10 for ZOOfriends members) and the Drive-Thru Combo starts at $60 ($45 for members). Reserve online; there are no walk-up sales.
You have relatives coming in for the holidays, the kids are out of school, and somebody has already asked about the zoo lights in OKC. This is the page we send our guests when that question comes up, and it covers what the Zoo publishes plus the things we have learned hosting families who go.
Three things set Safari Lights apart from the other light displays in the metro. It is the only one where you drive a course and then walk a second course, on two separate paths. It is the only one with timed arrival windows. And it is the one that sells out by ticket type, so the Drive-Thru can be gone on a Saturday while Walk-Thru is still open.
Below you will find the 2026 dates and hours, every ticket price the Zoo has posted, the member math, what the new Safari Sleigh Ride and the heated igloos cost, how the arrival windows work, and a plan for a group of eight that includes where everyone sleeps afterward.
Safari Lights opens November 14, 2026 and closes January 3, 2027. Tickets are date-specific, all sales are final, and the Safari Sleigh Ride must be booked two weeks ahead. The nights between Christmas and New Year's are the first to fill, both at the Zoo and in the furnished homes near it.
Safari Lights 2026 Dates and Hours
Safari Lights runs every night from November 14, 2026 through January 3, 2027, 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Drive-Thru arrival windows run from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. in 30-minute slots, and the Zoo's ticket calendar closes each date at 10 p.m. Central.
The Zoo has not posted any closure nights for this season. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are listed as Holiday Hideaway nights, which tells you the gates are open on both. If you are planning Christmas Day itself, call the Zoo at (405) 424-3344 before you buy.
One timing note that trips people up. Drive-Thru guests must finish the driving course before they enter the walk-through area. If your window is 8:30 p.m., you are not strolling the walking course until after 9, and the whole thing closes at 11. Earlier windows give you more time on foot.
| Item | Detail | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Season | Nov. 14, 2026 to Jan. 3, 2027 | Seven weeks, nightly |
| Hours | 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. | Full dark by about 5:30 in December |
| Drive-Thru windows | 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., 30-minute slots | Arrive inside your slot |
| Ticket calendar closes | 10 p.m. Central each date | Buy before you leave the house |
| Sleigh Ride slots | 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. | Book two weeks ahead |
| Holiday Hideaway nights | Fri. to Sun., Dec. 24, Dec. 31 | 21-and-over lounge, included with Walk-Thru |
Safari Lights Ticket Prices For 2026
The Zoo sells four things: a Walk-Thru admission, a Drive-Thru Combo, a private Safari Sleigh Ride, and a private heated igloo. Every one of them is cheaper for ZOOfriends members, and the Zoo lists most prices as "starts at," so a Saturday in late December can run higher than a Tuesday in November.
Here is the posted pricing as of this writing.
| Ticket | ZOOfriends | Nonmember | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk-Thru Admission | from $10 | from $14 | One person, walking course only |
| Drive-Thru Combo | from $45 | from $60 | One vehicle on the drive course plus up to 4 Walk-Thru admissions |
| Private Igloo | from $230 | from $250 | Heated igloo, one Combo and up to 4 Walk-Thru admissions |
| Safari Sleigh Ride | $345 | $375 | Private sleigh for up to 7, guided drive course, VIP walk-through, cocoa, blankets |
The Combo is the value play for a carload. Four nonmember Walk-Thru tickets alone come to $56. For $4 more you add the entire drive course, which the Zoo itself says is where most of the display lives. A fifth or sixth person in the car needs a separate Walk-Thru ticket on top of the Combo.
Bringing a reunion-size group? The Zoo has a separate group admission page, so call (405) 424-3344 about group pricing before you buy a stack of single tickets.
Drive-Thru or Walk-Thru: Which One to Buy
The Drive-Thru and the Walk-Thru are two different courses on two different paths, and the Zoo recommends the Drive-Thru if you want the full display. The walking course starts at the entry plaza and has the musical light show, the interactive exhibits, the s'mores stations and the photo spots.
Buy Walk-Thru only if you have a small group that wants the interactive stuff and does not care about the drive course, or if the Drive-Thru is sold out on your night and you still want to go. Buy the Combo for anyone with kids, anyone who wants to stay in a warm car for the first half, or any group of four.
The Sleigh Ride is a splurge that makes sense in one situation: a group of six or seven celebrating something, where $375 split seven ways is about $54 each and nobody has to drive. The igloo is the pick for a night that is cold enough to cut a walking visit short.
What a Family Night at Safari Lights Costs
Here is a hypothetical to anchor the budget. Say you are hosting your sister's family for Christmas week, eight people total, two cars, nobody is a Zoo member, and you pick a weekend night.
Two Drive-Thru Combos at $60 each cover both vehicles and eight Walk-Thru admissions. That is $120 before any upcharge for a peak date. Add s'mores and cocoa for eight, call it $40 to $60 depending on appetites, and you are in the ballpark of $160 to $180 for the night.
If one household holds a Passport for 4 ($149 a year) and the member rate applies to that car, one Combo drops to $45 and the night runs closer to $165 all in. Whether a membership pays off over a longer stay is a separate question, and the answer depends on how many daytime Zoo visits you will make during the stay, since a Passport for 4 costs about the same as two family day visits at the gate.
The bigger holiday cost is lodging, and that is where the numbers swing. Three hotel rooms for eight people over four nights at roughly $150 a room is about $1,800. One furnished home that sleeps eight at a $300 to $425 from-rate over the same four nights is $1,200 to $1,700, and booking direct on a 4+ night stay takes up to 35% off. The house also has the kitchen the hotel does not.
Hosting family in OKC over the holidays? Our furnished homes sleep 2 to 16+ and the ones nearest the Zoo are 15 to 20 minutes from the gate. See our large-group homes or call or text (405) 870-2146 for Christmas-week availability.
Getting There, Parking and the Arrival Window
The Zoo sits in the Adventure District in northeast Oklahoma City, off the I-44 and I-35 interchange along NE 50th Street. From downtown it is about 10 minutes. From the Lake Hefner and Gaillardia side of the city where several of our homes sit, plan on 20 to 25 minutes on I-44 east.
For the Drive-Thru, your ticket is tied to a 30-minute arrival window. Show up inside it. A late December weekend puts a line of cars on NE 50th before the gate, so leave 15 minutes earlier than the map says. The Zoo describes its weather policy as rain or shine, with the right to delay or cancel for severe weather or extreme cold, so check the Zoo's social channels on a stormy night.
Dress for the second half. Even if you drive the first course in a heated car, the walking course is outdoors and Oklahoma December nights sit in the 30s. Hats, gloves and a thermos go a long way, and the s'mores stations are a good midpoint warm-up for small kids.
The Zoo warns that the flashing displays may not be safe for some people with photosensitive epilepsy. If anyone in your group is sensitive, the Drive-Thru course lets them look away more easily than the walking course does.
Pairing Safari Lights With the Rest of a Holiday Visit
Safari Lights is a two-to-three hour evening, so it slots neatly after a daytime stop in the same district. Science Museum Oklahoma and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum are both minutes from the Zoo gate, and our guide to where to stay near the OKC Zoo lays out that whole corridor with drive times.
For the other light displays, downtown's Automobile Alley, the Bricktown Canal and Downtown in December at Myriad Gardens make a separate free evening. We mapped that loop in Christmas lights in OKC. Plan Safari Lights for one night and the downtown loop for another; trying to stack them means a cold, rushed group.
If the trip is built around Christmas itself, our Christmas rental house in OKC guide covers how holiday-week pricing works and what to lock in first. For a Thanksgiving-week visit, opening weekend of Safari Lights falls right before the holiday, and Thanksgiving rental house OKC has the timing.
When a Hotel Near the Zoo Is Fine, and When a House Changes the Trip
A couple going to Safari Lights for one night does fine in a hotel near Remington Park or downtown. You park, you go, you leave. Nothing about a furnished home changes that night.
A house starts paying off when the Zoo is one evening inside a longer holiday stay. Eight people over four nights want a kitchen for the big meal, a living room for the gift pile, laundry, and a yard for a dog. Our homes include several with fenced yards and pet-friendly policies, listed on our pet-friendly rentals page, and every one has full kitchens and laundry.
Guests rate our homes 9.5 out of 10 across 1,580 reviews on Airbnb and Vrbo, and two homes hold Airbnb's Guest Favorite badge. Check-in is 4 p.m., which lines up well with a 5:30 opening at the Zoo on arrival day if you want to go straight there.
How to Plan Your Safari Lights Night, Step by Step
- Pick your date early, with weeknights in late November or early December as the least crowded.
- Count cars and people, then buy one Drive-Thru Combo per vehicle plus extra Walk-Thru tickets for anyone past four.
- Choose an arrival window before 7:30 p.m. so the walking course is not rushed.
- Book the Safari Sleigh Ride at least two weeks out if you want it.
- Dress for 30-degree weather and bring a thermos for the walking course.
- Lock your lodging for the same dates, since Christmas week fills first.
Your Next Steps
- Confirm your group's dates against the November 14 to January 3 season and pick a night.
- Add up cars, people and whether anyone holds a ZOOfriends Passport to settle on Combo versus Walk-Thru.
- Book your home on our properties page or call or text (405) 870-2146 and we will match a house to your headcount and dates.
Official details: Safari Lights at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Oklahoma City Zoo tickets and pricing.