A few seasons ago, you could walk the mile through Winter Wonderland at Tilles Park for $8 a person, with your dog on a leash and a stroller if you needed one. This November you can walk it again. This time you arrive by car, park inside the gates, and join one of 125 vehicles allowed in a 90-minute session.
The walk did not come back as it was. St. Louis County Parks built a new version around the problem that ended the old one, and that choice shapes everything about the 2026 walking nights: when they happen, what they cost, and who can come.
Why the walk went away
When KSDK reported that the County was dropping walk nights and carriage rides from Winter Wonderland, the department gave two reasons. The St. Louis Carriage Company had closed, and the event had lost access to parking at McCarthy Construction. The drive-through continued, with holiday music and about 100 lighted scenes spread over the 75-acre park.
The carriage rides went because a vendor closed. The walk went because people on foot need somewhere to leave their cars, and Tilles Park, tucked between McKnight Road and Litzsinger Road, no longer had the overflow lot it had relied on. Losing the parking ended the walk. Any return had to begin with that problem.
The new format brings its parking with it
The County's answer is "An Evening Under the Lights: Winter Wonderland Picture Night." The County describes it as opening the gates so guests can enjoy the display outside their cars, walking under the lights and taking photos. The rules show how the parking problem gets solved:
- Each night has two 90-minute sessions, one at 5:00 p.m. and one at 7:30 p.m.
- Arrival windows are 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. for the first session and 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. for the second. Late arrivals cannot be accommodated.
- No more than 125 vehicles are admitted per session.
- The price is $80 per family vehicle, for up to eight people.
- Everyone in a party must arrive in the same car because parking is limited. Registration is per vehicle, and walk-ins are not allowed.
- Oversized vehicles are not permitted, which rules out transport vans, shuttle buses, RVs, trailers and commercial vehicles.
Under the old walk, the County sold tickets to people, and those people then had to find a place to park. Picture Night sells tickets to cars, and each car comes with its own parking space inside the park. Capping the number of cars caps the parking the event needs. One firm arrival window per session means the County never has to manage a steady stream of cars all evening.
The pricing follows from this design. The earlier walking ticket was $8 a person. At $80 a car, a full car of eight works out to $10 a person. A couple pays $40 each. The County's own page says it plainly: grab your friends or neighbors, ride together, and split the cost.
Four walking nights, placed around the drive-through calendar
The dates show that the County is not running walkers and drivers on the same roads. In 2026, the four Picture Nights come either before the drive-through opens or on nights when it is closed.
| Date | Drive-through status | Picture Night |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 20 | Not yet open | Sessions at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 22 | Not yet open | Sessions at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Nov. 25 | Season opens, 5 to 9 p.m. | None |
| Sunday, Nov. 29 | Closed | Sessions at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. |
| Monday, Nov. 30 | Closed | Sessions at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. |
The 2025 schedule was different. KSDK's 2025 holiday lights guide listed photo nights on Nov. 23, Dec. 1 and Dec. 8. The first came before the Nov. 26 opening, and the other two fell inside that season's run. This year all four walking nights are on dark nights, and they are packed into an eleven-day stretch around Thanksgiving week. If you want to walk the lights after Nov. 30, there is no date on the calendar for it.
Registration had not opened as of this writing. The County's page says "Registration coming soon" and recommends creating a CivicRec account ahead of time. Tickets will be sold through CivicRec or by phone at 314-615-4386. With 125 cars per session and eight sessions in total, the season has 1,000 walking slots.
The drive-through costs more and follows the same rules
Most of the season belongs to the drive-through. It runs Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2026, through Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, from 5 to 9 p.m. nightly, and no reservations are needed. Besides the two Thanksgiving-week nights given to walkers, it is closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Dec. 31.
The 2026 fees are based on vehicle size, not on how many people are inside:
| Vehicle | 2026 fee | Earlier KSDK-reported fee |
|---|---|---|
| Family vehicle | $20 | $15 |
| Limousine or van, up to 15 | $60 | $30 |
| Commercial passenger van, up to 25 | $60 | $60 |
| Tour bus, over 25 | $140 | $135 |
At the gate you pay cash only. Online purchases add a processing fee to every card transaction. St. Louis County employees get in free with a County ID on Thursday, Dec. 3, and Sunday, Dec. 6.
The traffic pattern matters most for anyone who lives near the park. All vehicles must enter from southbound McKnight Road. The County's directions send drivers south on McKnight from I-64/40, keeping right to the McKnight entrance gate. Every car leaves through the Litzsinger Road exit gate. That one-way loop through the park is the same reason the walking nights have their own dates. Under this system, cars move in a single direction from one gate to the other. A crowd of people on foot sharing those roads with a line of cars on a busy December night would undo it.
A park wired for this event since 1998
Winter Wonderland fits Tilles Park as well as it does because the park was set up for it. "Captain" Andrew Tilles gave his farm to the City of St. Louis in 1932 as a public park. St. Louis County bought the park from the City in 1957. The County's history page says the light display began in 1986. KSDK's 2025 guide dates the tradition to 1987. Either way, it has run here for about four decades.
The County's own record ties the park's improvements to the event. In 1998 the park's electrical service was upgraded to accommodate Winter Wonderland. The same year, a fountain donated by the Ohlendorf family was installed in the lake. The lake had been renovated earlier, in 1979, along with the building of Windegger Shelter, using funds from Mr. Tilles's estate. The park has also hosted the County's former Spring and Fall Art Fairs and the Haunted Forest.
During the rest of the year, the park gets used for other things. County Parks lists two playgrounds, a one-mile rock fitness trail that can be walked twice for a two-mile hike, tennis courts, fishing, a spray-fountain play area, and three reservable shelters: Gloria Rogers, Skow and Windegger. The fitness trail is roughly the same distance as the old mile-long holiday walk. On an ordinary afternoon, you can walk that mile any time you like and park for free. During the lights season, walking it costs $80 a car and has to be booked ahead.
Aimee Simpson was born and raised in Ladue, and she has followed Tilles Park and the streets around McKnight and Litzsinger for decades. If you are thinking about what owning near the park means in a season like this one, Aimee Simpson welcomes a private conversation. Work With Aimee.
