How to Visit the Bronx Zoo’s Holiday Lights

Every year, from approximately mid November through early January, the Bronx Zoo offers visitors their Holiday Lights Festival. View more than 140 lighted animal sculptures (many of them animated) plus night time sea lion feedings, live reindeer and camel exhibits and miles of tree and architectural lighting.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Visit http://bronxzoo.com/bzhomepage for dates and times of when the lights are displayed for viewing.

2. Pick a night when it’s not too uncomfortably cold or windy. No matter what the exact temperature, it’ll still be New York in winter so bundle up with hats, scarves, gloves and lots of layers.

3. Know that not all animals and exhibits will be open for you to visit, but take advantage of the majority that are. While the butterfly exhibit is one that won’t be open due to the cold weather, it often has another themed exhibit you can experience during this Christmas season such as the recent "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" exhibit.

4. Look for opportunities to warm up. Visiting enclosed exhibits like the Mouse House, Reptile House and Monkey House (all of which are open during the Holiday Lights) gives you access to a variety of different animals as well as a good 15 minutes you can spend indoors.

5. Take advantage of the special things going on at the zoo. Often, the Holiday Lights bring the opportunity for visitors to make s’mores on outdoor grills near the Dancing Crane café or view ice sculptures hard at work right in front of them around the zoo grounds. Check the website or with a zoo employee upon entering for such Holiday Light zoo extras.