Last November, before the lights came on in City Park, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation stopped work on Garth Brooks Boulevard so traffic could move two lanes north and two lanes south during the event, KOKH reported. Bryan Kelley of the Yukon Parks and Recreation Department told the station that visitors should not take the Chisholm Trail exit off I-40 and should use Mustang Road. He also said, "There's a lot of talks in the works about how to do this better."
That season was the 29th, with more than 5 million lights and 500 displays. Kelley put yearly attendance at 130,000 and expected 10,000 people on opening night alone. The lights come back Saturday, Nov. 21, and the construction is no longer a factor. What a resident has to plan around now is the event's own schedule: a race that closes West Vandament Avenue, a parking lot that opens only after the runners finish, and a train that stops running an hour before the lights go dark.
The Garth Brooks Boulevard Project Was Finished in September
ODOT's September 2026 Construction Status Report lists the Garth Brooks Boulevard project under I-40 under "Contracts Completed," with a completion date of Sept. 8, 2026. The contract covered grading, drainage, surfacing and pedestrian improvements on a 0.341-mile stretch about 1.5 miles south of SH-66. Redlands Contracting, LLC held the contract, which was let on April 10, 2025, for $4,770,787.25.
Residents who drove that corridor in 2025 will remember how it went. In July of that year, News 9 reported that the work would narrow the boulevard to one lane each way and affect the I-40 on- and off-ramps. The holiday pause in November was a temporary fix for those months. The 2026 season is the first since that contract was let to open with the project finished.
The posted driving route on the city's Christmas in the Park visitor page starts at NW 10th Street and Yukon Parkway, where drivers head west on NW 10th in the right lane. From I-40, eastbound traffic uses Exit 138A and westbound traffic uses Exit 139B. The loop is nearly three miles long and runs from City Park to Chisholm Trail Park.
Opening Night Starts Three Hours Before the Lights
The display opens at 6 p.m. on Nov. 21. The opening-night program at 2200 S. Holly Ave. starts at 3 p.m. and runs until 11. Here is the posted schedule:
- 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Last-minute registration for the 5K and the 1K
- 4:30 p.m. Mascot Dash
- 5:00 p.m. The Chill Your Cheeks 5K starts. Kids' activities and the live-action Santa photo experience open.
- 5:15 p.m. The 1K Jingle Walk starts
- 6:00 p.m. The 5K course closes and the awards ceremony begins
- 6:30 p.m. Teensie the Elf and a stilt-walker circus act
- 7:00 p.m. Drone show
- 8:00 p.m. Kids' activities close
- 9:00 p.m. The Santa photo experience closes
The free attractions are the Santa photo experience with a real reindeer, the drone show, Christmas face painting, a kids' raffle with several categories, the elf circus act, large inflatables, a 140-foot zip line and the 1K Jingle Walk. The paid attractions are the carnival food trucks, an outdoor ice rink, the 5K and Christmas train rides.
Most of the family program happens before the lights are fully running. The drone show is at 7. Kids' activities close at 8. The live-action Santa closes at 9, and the drive-through keeps going until 11.
The Race Sets When Opening-Night Parking Opens
The 5K does more than open the evening. It also determines when the roads and parking lots near Chisholm Trail Park are usable.
From 4:45 to 6 p.m., the city closes West Vandament Avenue between South Holly Avenue and 1st Street, along with parts of the neighborhood streets around Chisholm Trail Park. The Oklahoma Parking Lot at the north end of Chisholm Trail Park holds the event's accessible parking and is the recommended lot for walkers and Santa visitors. It opens once the 5K course clears, at about 6:15 p.m.
On opening night, then, the 5 p.m. start of the Santa photos comes more than an hour before the closest lot opens. The city's other option starts earlier. A free shuttle runs from Yukon Middle School, with the first bus at 4 p.m. and the last drop-off at 10 p.m. Buses come about every 15 minutes, and the city says waits get longer as evening traffic builds. Parking is also available all around the event area, and the city posts an interactive parking map.
Kelley's 2025 tip for skipping the worst of the crowd was to come on a weeknight, or to park in the Oklahoma lot and walk the lights, according to KOKH. On every night except the opener, that lot is not tied to a race schedule.
After Opening Night, Each Way of Seeing the Lights Has Its Own Hours
From Nov. 21, the display runs every night from 6 to 11 p.m. through New Year's Eve. Admission is free. Donations are accepted at the Chisholm Trail Park exit and the City Park exit. The extras don't all keep the same hours as the lights, so the order you do things in matters.
Way to see it | Hours | Cost | Where it starts |
|---|---|---|---|
Drive the loop | 6 to 11 p.m. nightly | Free, donations accepted | NW 10th Street and Yukon Parkway |
Walk the lights | During display hours | Free | Oklahoma Parking Lot, north end of Chisholm Trail Park |
Santa Express train | 6 to 10 p.m. nightly, weather permitting | $5 per person; ages 3 and under free | Train Depot, 500 W. Vandament |
Shuttle in | First bus 4 p.m., last drop-off 10 p.m. | Free | Yukon Middle School |
Country Equipment sponsors the Santa Express. Tickets are sold at the Train Depot in Chisholm Trail Park, and riders under 12 need an adult with them. The train boards on the west side of the Oklahoma Parking Lot and loops through the Chisholm Trail Park displays, passing through a 100-foot tunnel. The train stops at 10 and the lights stay on until 11, so families who want both should ride first and drive afterward.
The Train Station area has food, selfie stations and an ice rink that the city describes as back by popular demand. Skating rates and special hours are posted at Yukon Ice Rink. Costumed characters are scheduled by day of the week. Santa and the Grinch appear on Fridays and Saturdays at the Santa Express Train Station and the Chisholm Trail exit. Elf on the Shelf, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph come on varying days.
The display also has a "Will You Marry Me?" sign in Chisholm Trail Park. Its white letters are framed by a heart of red LED lights, and the whole sign stands 16 feet tall and 12 feet wide. A park attendant switches it on at a scheduled time, and the city asks for three business days' notice through its proposal request form.
Main Street Has a Few Dates of Its Own
The park display runs every night. Downtown Yukon's holiday events happen on a few set dates, posted by the Yukon 66 Main Street Association and the city. Except for the Nov. 17 tree lighting, all of them fall on nights when the lights are running across town.
- Nov. 17: Downtown Train and Tree Lighting. The Association bills it as the season's kickoff downtown.
- Dec. 5: Czech Christmas Market. Live entertainment, food and drink, vendors, Santa and Czech dancing.
- Dec. 10: Christmas on Main, 5 to 8 p.m. A free Thursday-evening event with Santa photos, kids' crafts, treats, alpacas, carriage rides and shopping at Main Street businesses.
- Dec. 17: Sounds of the Season. Listed on the city's 2026 special-events calendar.
Christmas on Main ends at 8 p.m. and the park display runs until 11, so you can spend the early evening downtown on Dec. 10 and still drive the loop afterward. The Czech Christmas Market falls on a Saturday, which is one of the nights Santa and the Grinch are at the train station.
At Wyatt Poindexter, we keep track of the Yukon details that the bigger calendars leave out, including when the Oklahoma lot opens and which way into the park works best on a December Saturday. If you're planning a season, or a move, around the places that matter to you here, request a private, white-glove consultation.
