Short answer
- Friday 20 November 2026 at 6 p.m., free, in Millennium Park, near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. It stays lit until Sunday 10 January 2027.
- This is the 113th one. ABC7 broadcasts it live and the city livestreams it, so you do not have to stand in the cold.
- 6 of the 8 winter seasons we have measured start on that same Friday, and they end on 6 different dates across 14 weeks.
- Everything the city runs in Millennium Park this winter is free: the tree, the rink, the Holiday Market and the Sing-Along.
- You can submit your own tree until Friday 23 October 2026. It has to be 45 feet, and pines are banned for not being sturdy enough.
01The short version
Friday 20 November 2026, 6 p.m., Millennium Park, near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. Free. It stays lit until Sunday 10 January 2027, which makes it one of the two last things standing of Chicago's winter.
And if you are planning a trip, the date to write down is not the tree. It is the whole of 20 November. Six separate things open that day, in four different parts of the city, and nobody lays them out together because each one is announced by a different organisation.
02You have 17 days to enter your own tree
This is the part of the story that disappears every year under the ceremony, and it has a deadline attached: Friday 23 October 2026, which is 17 days from the day this page was written. Anyone in Chicagoland can offer their tree. You send an email.
What the city requires of a tree
| What the city says | |
|---|---|
| Height | At least 45 feet tall |
| Distance | Less than 50 miles from the Loop, with preference for trees within 15 miles |
| Species | Preferably a Norway Spruce or Fir |
| Pines | Explicitly ineligible, in the city's words because they are not sturdy enough |
Read from chicago.gov on 6 October 2026. The highlighted row is the city's own reasoning, not ours: it writes that pine trees are ineligible because they are not sturdy enough.
Forty-five feet is the floor, and it is a number worth holding on to. It is exactly the height of the Great Tree inside the Walnut Room, which is indoors, on the seventh floor of a department store. The city will not look at anything shorter than the tree Macy's fits in a dining room.
What a submission has to include
| 1 | The owner's name, address, phone number and email |
| 2 | A short description of why the tree should be Chicago's, including any history that makes it special |
| 3 | At least two photographs, one from afar and one close up |
Read from chicago.gov on 6 October 2026. Submissions go by email to DCASE@CityofChicago.org.
03The day Chicago switches on
We have spent six weeks reading the opening dates of Chicago's winter one organiser at a time: a zoo, a department store, a German market company, the city's cultural department. Put them on one axis and the thing that jumps out is not a spread. It is a wall.
6 of the 8 start on the same Friday. The tree at six in the evening, and on the same day the ice rink opens, the Holiday Market opens, both city Christkindlmarkets open and ZooLights opens four and a half kilometres north.
The two exceptions are both inside the same building: the Walnut Room's Great Tree and Santaland, which start on 7 November, thirteen days before the city does. If you are coming in mid-November and want Christmas, Macy's is the only place that has it.
04Two walking tours cover the tree, and only one says so
Everything on that chart is free to stand in front of, so a tour here buys you a guide and a route, not access. Two products in our catalogue walk the holiday Loop, and we read both records again this morning to see which one actually goes to the tree.
Only one does. The Seasonal Stroll names Chicago's official Christmas tree in its description, in those words. The Tree Crawl does not: despite the name, its listed stops are the Christkindlmarkt and the old Marshall Field's, which is the Macy's building. It is a tour of holiday trees and decorations downtown, and the city's is not one of the ones it promises.
The two holiday walking tours, side by side
| Christmas Tree Crawl | Seasonal Stroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $35 | $44.99 |
| Rating | 4.86 from 44 reviews | 5 from 5 reviews |
| Names the city tree | No | Yes |
| Weather, per its policy flag | Will not be cancelled for weather | May be cancelled for weather |
| Weather, per its own text | Does not operate in rain, cancelled that morning | Operates in all weather conditions |
| Cancelled if too few book | No | Yes |
| Accessibility | Moderate physical fitness expected | Wheelchair accessible, all fitness levels, strollers fine |
| Group size | Up to 20 | Up to 15 |
| Food | A couple of holiday sweets included | None, walking only |
| Gratuity | Not included, no figure suggested | $6 per person suggested, not included |
| Operator | Inside Chicago Walking Tours | Bobby's Bike, Hike & Food Tours - Chicago |
Both product records read on 6 October 2026. The two highlighted weather rows are not our interpretation: each tour's structured cancellation policy and its own written note say opposite things, and the two tours are opposite to each other as well.
That pair of rows is the part worth reading twice. The Tree Crawl's policy field says it will not be cancelled for weather, and then its own note says it does not operate in rain and that they will phone you the morning of the tour. The Seasonal Stroll is the exact mirror: its policy field says it can be cancelled for weather, and its note says it operates in all conditions. Four statements, two of them wrong, and no way from outside to know which two.
We are not going to resolve it for you, because we cannot. What we would do is assume rain cancels either of them and not build a single-evening plan around one.
Which to pick, if you want one. If anyone in the group needs a wheelchair, a stroller or an easy pace, the Stroll is the only one of the two that says it works, and that settles it regardless of price. If not, the Tree Crawl is $10 cheaper, has nine times the review evidence behind it and will not be called off for lack of numbers, but it will not take you to the tree this page is about.
The only one that names the city tree
Chicago Seasonal Stroll, Loop to the Wrigley Building
5.00 · 5 reviews
Two hours from Petterino's on Dearborn to the Wrigley Building, covering Macy's holiday windows, State Street, the Mag Mile lights, the Millennium Park rink and the city's official Christmas tree, with front-of-line access to the Christkindlmarket. Walking only, no food. Wheelchair accessible and fine with strollers, which the other tour is not. Two things to know before booking: 5 reviews is almost no evidence either way, and its own listing says minimum numbers apply and it may be cancelled after confirmation, which in the third week of November is a real risk.
$44.99 from
From $44.99. Full refund 24h ahead. $6 per person gratuity suggested, not included.
Check dates and price
Cheaper and far better evidenced, but skips the tree
The Christmas Tree Crawl, downtown
4.86 · 44 reviews
A treasure hunt through downtown for the best Christmas trees and decorations, including the Christkindlmarkt and the old Marshall Field's, plus some stops it describes as little known. Holiday sweets included, up to twenty people, from Peet's on North Michigan to the Palmer House. 4.86 from 44 reviews is the strongest evidence of any winter product we hold, and it will not be cancelled for low numbers. It asks for a moderate level of fitness, and its own note says it does not run in the rain.
05And six different days it switches off
The ending is where the planning actually happens, because the dates fan out across 14 weeks and no two of the big ones agree.
When each one stops, earliest first
| Runs | Last day | Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millennium Park Holiday Market | 20 November to 22 November | 22 November | 3 |
| Santaland at Macy's | 7 November to 24 December | 24 December | 48 |
| Christkindlmarket, Daley Plaza | 20 November to 24 December | 24 December | 35 |
| Christkindlmarket, Wrigleyville | 20 November to 31 December | 31 December | 42 |
| ZooLights | 20 November to 3 January | 3 January | 45 |
| The Great Tree, Walnut Room | 7 November to 10 January | 10 January | 65 |
| City Christmas Tree | 20 November to 10 January | 10 January | 52 |
| Millennium Park ice rink | 20 November to February | February 2027, no day given | approx 100 |
Each read from the organisation that runs it, between 29 September and 6 October 2026: chicago.gov, lpzoo.org, christkindlmarket.com and macysrestaurants.com. The ice rink is the only one with no closing day published: the city says February 2027 and leaves it there, weather permitting.
The two highlighted rows are the extremes, and they are three months apart. The Millennium Park Holiday Market exists for three days, 20 to 22 November, and is gone. The ice rink keeps going into February, long after the trees have come down.
For a trip, the practical cut-offs are these. After Christmas Eve, the Daley Plaza Christkindlmarket and Santaland are finished and only Wrigleyville is left. After New Year's Eve, the markets are all done. After 3 January, ZooLights too. The city tree and the Great Tree hold out to 10 January, and then only the rink is left.
06Everything the city runs here is free
The city's own winter programme in Millennium Park
| When | Hours | Admission | |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Chicago Christmas Tree | 20 November to 10 January | Lit at 6 p.m. on 20 November | Free |
| McCormick Tribune Ice Rink | 20 November to February 2027, weather permitting | 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. | Free |
| Millennium Park Holiday Market | 20, 21 and 22 November only | Noon to 8 p.m., and to 5 p.m. on the Sunday | Free |
| Holiday Sing-Along | Fridays 4, 11 and 18 December | 6 p.m. | Free |
Read from chicago.gov on 6 October 2026, across its tree, ice rink and holiday events pages. All four are free, which is worth stating because most of what Chicago promotes in winter is not.
The highlighted row closes something we left open. Our guide to the ice rink said in September that the 2026-27 dates had not been announced and that the city's page was still showing last season's. It has now: 20 november to february 2027, weather permitting. That page has been updated today.
What has not changed is that page's actual finding. Admission to the rink is free and the city still publishes no price for hiring skates, on the rink's own page, re-read this morning. Nine months of pages and that one gap is still there.
Four free city events, and the one thing that costs money at the rink is the one thing with no price published.
07Questions people actually ask
When is the Chicago Christmas tree lighting in 2026?
Friday 20 November 2026 at 6 p.m., in Millennium Park, near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. It is free and it is the 113th time the city has done it. Read from chicago.gov on 6 October 2026; that page was published on 1 October 2026, so it is this season's rather than a leftover.
How long does the Chicago Christmas tree stay up?
Until Sunday 10 January 2027. That is the same closing date as the Great Tree in the Walnut Room, and a week after ZooLights finishes. Of the eight winter seasons we have measured in Chicago, these two are the last to go.
Is the Chicago tree lighting free?
Yes, and so is everything else the city runs in Millennium Park over the winter: the tree, the ice rink, the Holiday Market and the Holiday Sing-Along. Four events, no tickets. That is unusual enough in this city to be worth saying plainly, because most of what gets promoted at Christmas here has a price or a residency condition attached.
Where exactly is the Chicago Christmas tree?
Millennium Park, near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. For the ceremony the city puts a main stage on Washington Street beside the Chicago Cultural Center, with giant screens and several viewing areas, and finishes with fireworks. ABC7 broadcasts it live and the city livestreams it, so you can also not be there.
Can you submit your own tree to be Chicago's Christmas tree?
Yes, and the deadline is Friday 23 October 2026, which is 17 days from the day this page was written. You email DCASE. The tree has to be at least 45 feet tall, less than 50 miles from the Loop with preference inside 15, and preferably a Norway Spruce or Fir. Pine trees are ineligible, in the city's own words, because they are not sturdy enough.
What else opens on 20 November in Chicago?
Almost everything. Of the eight winter seasons we have measured, 6 begin that day: the city tree, the Millennium Park ice rink, the Millennium Park Holiday Market, ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo and both Christkindlmarket locations in the city. The two that do not are at Macy's: the Walnut Room's Great Tree and Santaland, which both start on 7 November, thirteen days earlier.
Is the Millennium Park Holiday Market the same as the Christkindlmarket?
No, and they overlap by three days, which is the confusing part. The Millennium Park Holiday Market runs only 20, 21 and 22 November, free, with vendors on the North Promenade. The Christkindlmarket is a different event with three locations, one of which is at Daley Plaza a few minutes' walk away, and it runs from 20 November to Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve depending which one.
When should I visit Chicago for the Christmas lights?
Anything from 20 November works for the tree, and the week of 20 to 22 November is the only time the Millennium Park Holiday Market exists. If you are coming in January, the tree and the Walnut Room's Great Tree run to 10 January and the ice rink keeps going into February, while the markets and ZooLights are already over.
Diego FresnoI was in Chicago in July 2025, so I have not stood in Millennium Park on a November evening and cannot tell you what the crowd is like. What this page does is read the city's own three pages and then put their dates next to the five other winter seasons this site has measured since September. The wall of 20 November is not something anyone told me: it appeared when the eighth date went on the chart. The weather business in section 04 came from re-reading both tour records this morning rather than trusting what I had already written about them, and the Tree Crawl turned out not to go to the tree at all. One thing I checked and did not publish: a search result quoted the city's cultural department giving a different date and a different anniversary number. Opening the post, it says neither.
Lighting date and time, the 113th edition, the illumination end date, the location, the stage arrangement, the broadcast and the full submission rules read from chicago.gov/.../millennium_park_tree.html on 6 October 2026; that page records a publication date of 1 October 2026. The Millennium Park programme and the ice rink season from the city's holiday events and ice rink pages, both read the same morning. The other five seasons come from our own earlier measurements, each from the organiser that runs it: lpzoo.org for ZooLights, christkindlmarket.com for the two city markets, macysrestaurants.com for the Great Tree and Santaland. Every cell of the tour comparison, including both weather statements, both cancellation flags, the accessibility notes, group sizes and which description names the tree, read from the two Viator product records on 6 October 2026. NOT verified and therefore absent: which of each tour's two contradictory weather statements is the operative one, because both appear in the same record; the closing day of the ice rink, which the city does not give beyond February 2027; the price of hiring skates, still unpublished; and a date and anniversary number that appeared in a search snippet attributed to the city's cultural department, which its own post does not contain.