Tacoma Zoolights has more lights than ever, and dogs are allowed for first time
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- Point Defiance Zoolights runs Nov 28–Jan 4, features 1.5M+ lights and dog nights.
- Timed tickets sell out; general admission $14–$20, dog-night tickets $34–$40 online.
- Zoo built most displays in-house for 2025 aurora theme; aquarium and exhibits closed.
Zoolights, the annual outdoor light display at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, opens Friday. For the first time, the zoo will allow visitors to bring their dogs on five select nights in December and January.
Remember that a section of Five Mile Drive at Point Defiance Park is closed, so visitors will have to use the Mildred Street entrance to get to the zoo.
At a media preview on Tuesday, visitors walked through an elaborate path of more than 1.5 million glittering lights, which take the shape of moving animals and other colorful displays. Zoolights runs from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 28 through Jan. 4. The event will not take place Dec. 24 or Dec. 25.
Timed tickets are sold online, and popular dates sell out quickly. General admission ranges from $14-$20, with discounts for zoo members. Dog-day tickets range from $34-$40, according to the zoo’s website.
Not only will dogs be allowed this year, but there is a new aurora borealis theme, said Sandra Madruga, the facilities lead and Zoolights coordinator. Last year more than 110,000 people came to Zoolights, which is an annual holiday tradition for many families, she said.
The dog-friendly nights this year are Dec. 1, Dec. 3, Dec. 9, Dec. 10 and Jan. 4, according to the zoo. All dogs need to be registered in advance with an online ticket. Walk-up dog admissions won’t be available. Dogs must be up-to-date on their vaccinations and be kept on a non-retractable leash no longer than six feet, per the zoo’s website. The Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is also allowing dogs on certain days in January, February and March.
As always, most of the animals will be asleep at night, and the aquarium will be closed. The Zoolights trail is outside and will be open rain or shine, said zoo communications supervisor Tessa Miller. Holiday music will be playing, and hot cocoa will be sold, in addition to carousel rides, Miller said.
For an additional fee, visitors can play with and feed a herd of goats and pose for a picture. The 30-minute add-on is from Thursday to Monday at 4:40 p.m. and 5:15 p.m., per the zoo’s website. It will cost $35 per participant for zoo members and $55 for nonmembers.
Zoo electricians, carpenters and maintenance staff began setting up the lights display in September, Madruga said. Nearly every display is built in house and designed to survive Tacoma’s rainy winter.
Hungry squirrels this year chewed through hundreds of lights that needed to be replaced, and 35,000 lights were put on the iconic “Flame Tree” near the magic tunnel of lights, she said. The 100-foot-wide giant pacific octopus has about 24,000 lights on it.
