Tickets are $15 per person, plus taxes and vendor fees, except on Peak Nights, when tickets are $18 per person. See our calendar for Peak Night dates. Children ages 3 and younger will be admitted free of charge. Our Friends members will receive a 10 percent discount on ticket purchases.

For an additional fee of $5 per ticket, you can add ticket flexibility, which will allow you to move your tickets and parking to another night once, based on availability.

All tickets are non-refundable. Tickets are only transferable if flexibility is purchased.

This year, Winter WonderLights will be open beginning Nov. 19, 2026. The show will be open weekly on the following dates: Nov. 19-22, Nov. 25, Nov. 27, Nov. 29, Dec. 3-6, Dec. 10, Dec. 11-13 (Peak Nights), Dec. 14-17, Dec. 20-23 (Peak Nights), Dec. 26-30 (Peak Nights). WonderLights Disco Nights will be open on Jan. 7-9 and 15-16, 2027.

See our calendar for this year’s dates.

Timed entrances will be scheduled to enhance the visitor’s experience. The first guests will be admitted at 5:30 p.m. and continue in 30-minute increments, with the last admission at 9 p.m. Those who arrive after 9:30 p.m. will not be permitted to the show that evening.

The 30-minute increments are for entry times only; guests can experience the show at their own pace. The trail is about one-half mile and should take about an hour to complete.

The Winter WonderLights show trail is fully accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. The trail is about one-half mile and should take about an hour to complete.

Yes. Each timed entry has a limited capacity, and tickets will only be sold in advance through the online vendor.

In January, the garden will offer a special event for the new year, WonderLights Disco Nights, on Jan. 7-9 and 15-16, 2027. Disco Nights will allow visitors to experience the light show trail while grooving to disco hits. Ticket prices and entry times for Disco Nights will be the same as regular nights of Winter WonderLights.

New to Disco Nights this year are exciting theme nights, including non-profit night on Jan. 9, jersey night on Jan. 15, and education night on Jan. 16, where educators, students, staff and their families can purchase a $10 ticket with discount code discoedu27. 

Tickets will be available online beginning in September 2026. Visit our website, wonderlights.uga.edu, to purchase tickets.

UGA departments interested in purchasing group tickets for Winter WonderLights can request tickets here. The completed form should be emailed to wonderlights@uga.edu.

Winter WonderLights is presented rain or shine. In the event of severe weather that prevents the show from operating, ticket holders will be contacted to reschedule their visit on an alternate date.

You can become a Friend of the State Botanical Garden by registering here. Friends members receive discounts on most events and programs offered at the garden and special invitations to advance plant sales, horticultural talks and trips to other regional attractions. The garden’s magazine, Georgia Garden, is published three times per year and features upcoming events and articles by our knowledgable garden staff. The magazine is exclusively mailed to Friends of the Garden members three times a year.

Friends members looking for the discount code for Winter WonderLights can email sbgfriends@uga.edu.

Contact Kathy Adams at mkadams@uga.edu for more information on sponsorship packages and opportunities.

Winter WonderLights has partnered with KultureCity® to enhance our ability to assist and accommodate guests with sensory needs. Our goal is to provide an inclusive experience for all guests during all events. We strive to raise awareness of the needs and challenges faced by individuals with sensory processing needs by supplying our staff with annual training and by offering the resources and accommodations below to our guests. For more information about what to expect at the show, visit https://venue.kulturecity.org/venues/winter-wonder-lights-state-botanical-garden-of-georgia.

KultureCity® Sensory bags containing special KCVIP badges, feeling thermometer, fidget tools, and noise-canceling headphones are available for checkout (at no cost by leaving an ID) at the entrance to the show where tickets are scanned. A quiet area is located inside the Visitor Center and Conservatory.

Free off-site parking will be provided at the UGA Soccer/Softball Complex, located at 2330 S. Milledge Ave. Athens, Ga. 30605. UGA Transportation and Parking Services will provide free shuttle service from those lots to the State Botanical Garden. The first shuttle bus leaves the parking area at 5:25 p.m.

Accessibility parking will also be available for free at the garden, but must be requested in advance by calling 706-614-1752 or emailing wonderlights@uga.edu.

A limited number of nightly VIP and Premium parking passes for parking at the State Botanical Garden are also available. VIP parking is $25 per vehicle in the lot closest to the entrance of the show, and Premium parking is $10 per vehicle in the new Parking Garden. Shuttle service to the entrance of the show is provided for Premium parking. Please see our parking map for parking locations at the garden.

By using our Manage Your Booking tool, you can add a VIP or Premium parking pass and additional tickets after you’ve completed your order, subject to availability. The Manage Your Booking tool can be accessed here; you will need your order confirmation number and email address you used to purchase the tickets to access the system.

You will only receive one QR code after purchasing your tickets that contains all your tickets and parking passes, if purchased. The QR code can be distributed to those attending Winter WonderLights in your group. Your group does not have to arrive at the same time to have your tickets scanned.

You should arrive 15-20 minutes before your timed ticketed entrance. This will allow ample time to park and ride the shuttle to the State Botanical Garden.

S’mores, hot chocolate and coffee, bottled water and other beverages will be available for purchase at specific locations along the light show trail. This is a cashless event; only credit cards and debit cards will be accepted for these items.

Photographs are allowed. Drones are not permitted at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.

Staff may photograph and/or video record event participants and visitors at programs, events and other activities to advance the mission of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. By attending programs and events, you authorize the use and reproduction by the garden or anyone authorized by the garden to any photographs, audio or video taken while at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia or garden-sponsored event, without compensation.

Dogs are not allowed in the State Botanical Garden. Service animals are permitted.

The State Botanical Garden is located at 2450 S. Milledge Ave. in Athens, Ga. The entrance is roughly a mile from the Athens-10 Loop, exit 6. Click Here for a link to Google maps.

The State Botanical Garden and grounds will close at 4 p.m. on nights when Winter WonderLights is scheduled. Day visitors must exit the grounds before returning to the light show at their scheduled time.