The Broadmoor Keeps a Separate Holiday Calendar for Neighbors. Here's What's on It.

Which days this December can you walk into The Broadmoor to see the lobby trees and the gingerbread without booking a room? The resort's own answer is twelve: Monday through Thursday in three separate weeks, all before the holiday shows begin.

The hotel down the road plans its season around overnight guests. Neighbors get a shorter version on the hotel's terms. Most of the rest of a local's December happens up the hill at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and part of it happens before Thanksgiving weekend is over. Once you know where the hotel's local windows open and close, the rest of the season is easy to plan.

Who gets in when

The holiday FAQ on The Broadmoor's website invites non-overnight guests during three timeframes:

Outside those windows, the hotel's holiday programming is built around reservations. The White Lights Celebration on the weekend of Nov. 28 is described as exclusively for overnight hotel guests. The Holiday Shows on Dec. 18, 19 and 24, the New Year's Eve Gala and the Bash are offered through overnight accommodations. Every December weekend falls outside the local windows, and so does every day from Dec. 18 to Christmas.

Restricting access is not new for the resort. In 2017, KKTV reported that the public could view the lights only until 3 p.m. each day while hotel guests had all-day access, and it tied the limits to a full hotel and fully booked restaurants. This year the access is set by day of the week, where in 2017 it was set by time of day.

Making the twelve days count

Parking, dining and timing decide how a weekday visit goes.

1. Park in the garage. Garage parking is open to everyone visiting without a reservation. Valet is only for overnight and dining guests who reserved ahead.
2. Don't count on dinner. The resort warns that dining options will be limited because demand across its restaurants is high. If a meal is part of the plan, book it before you go, or eat somewhere else and come for the walk-through.
3. Plan on seeing the gingerbread display. The resort says its team is preparing the annual display and invites guests to see it over Thanksgiving weekend. That weekend is White Lights, which is for overnight guests, so for most neighbors the first chance to see the gingerbread is Nov. 30, when the first window opens.
4. Use the first window if your December fills up fast. The Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 stretch comes before the zoo's lights open and before the downtown parade. It is the least crowded part of the calendar for everything else on this list.

The exterior has a longer season than the lobby. The interior decorations come down after Jan. 3, while the hotel's exterior white lights stay up until March 1. From the outside, the building stays lit for nearly two months after the indoor trees are gone.

The one free ticket is Sunday, Nov. 22

The resort's season does have one public event that doesn't require a room. The Soli Deo Gloria Choir performs its Holiday Kick-Off Concert at the Broadmoor International Center on Sunday, Nov. 22. The concert runs one hour, from 4 to 5 p.m., according to the ticket page on Zeffy.

Tickets are free but required. On its Thanksgiving events page, the resort says the concert "sell[s] out" every year. Parking is in The Broadmoor garage just past the International Center, and 100% of parking fees go to Care and Share Food Bank. For locals, it's the only time this season the resort opens a room to the public on a weekend, so claim tickets before Sunday.

Seven Falls closes before the hotel's windows open

The same weekend points to the other Broadmoor-owned attraction with a deadline. On its hours and rates page, Seven Falls lists a 2026 season of Oct. 23 through Nov. 29, open Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extra days on Nov. 26 and 27. That leaves these days on the calendar:

• Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Nov. 22
• Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27
• Saturday, Nov. 28 and Sunday, Nov. 29

The park uses timed admission and encourages buying online, where tickets cost less than at the gate. For the 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. entry band, adults pay $25 online and $27 walk-up, and children under 2 get in free. According to The Broadmoor's monthly guide, the park serves complimentary cookies and hot chocolate on the last day of its season.

Seven Falls closes on Nov. 29, and the hotel's first local window opens on Nov. 30. Neither will be open to you on the same day.

Up the hill, the weekends are the zoo's

Every gap the hotel leaves on the calendar, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo fills. Electric Safari turns 35 this year. It runs nightly Dec. 4 through 23 and Dec. 25 through Jan. 1, closes on Christmas Eve, and stays open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It opens the Friday after the hotel's first window ends, and it covers the weekends and the late-December nights the resort keeps for overnight guests.

What's on the mountain this year:

• More than 85 light sculptures plus large illuminated inflatable animals. The inflatables may come down in high wind.
• A centennial drone show at 7:30 p.m., weather permitting, that lasts about 15 minutes. The zoo names Elephant Boardwalk, the Lodge at Moose Lake and the Grizzly Grill Roundabout as prime viewing spots.
• The new Giraffe Center, listed among the exhibits open during the event. Lettuce bundles for hand-feeding in the Giraffe Training Center next to it cost $3, or $5 for two.
• Santa at Safari Lodge in African Rift Valley, nightly from 4 to 8:30 p.m. through Dec. 23.
• The Mountaineer Sky Ride for $3 a person. Be in line by 7:30 p.m., because the last ride leaves at 8.
• Hot cocoa at the Cozy Goat, Grizzly Grill, Longneck Cafe and the gift shop, with a boozy version at the Stroller Hut, Grizzly Grill and Cozy Goat.

Primate World is closed during the event because the primates are sensitive to evening activity.

You need a ticket for every visit. Advance timed e-tickets are required for nonmembers and for Individual Plus, Family, Grandparent and Family Plus members, including children 2 and under. Your ticket time is the earliest you can enter, you have a half hour to get in line, and once inside you can stay until 8:30. The event goes on in snow, rain or shine, with no weather refunds. The zoo sells tickets only through its own website and warns that third-party tickets may be fraudulent.

Adult tickets are $19.75 on non-peak nights and $24.75 on peak nights. Seniors pay $17.75 or $22.75, children 3 to 11 pay $15.75 or $20.75, and military adults pay $16.75 or $21.75. Members get in free on every date but still need a reservation. The zoo's 2026 pricing calendar shows which nights are which, and choosing a non-peak night saves $5 a ticket.

The adults-only option comes the night before Electric Safari opens. Electric Moonlight is Thursday, Dec. 3, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It's strictly 21+ and includes food and drink samples, live local music, the light displays and the drone show. Tickets must be bought in advance. Dec. 3 is also the last day of the hotel's first local window, so you can do both on the same day.

The season, laid end to end

The Festival of Lights Parade, now in its 42nd year, is the one item that takes you out of the neighborhood. It's on Saturday, Dec. 5, the first weekend of Electric Safari, so you'll have to choose between the parade downtown and the zoo up the hill that night.

If out-of-town family is coming for Christmas week, they'll arrive after the last local window has closed. For them, the hotel will be the lights seen from the road and Electric Safari will be the night out. Book the zoo tickets now. If you want them inside the lobby, plan that around the Dec. 14 to 17 window.

Ben Kennedy lives near the hotel and plans his own December around these same dates. If friends or family are visiting this season and you'd like more local recommendations, or you're starting to think about your own place in the neighborhood, Broadmoor Homes Co is happy to help. Let's Connect.