Tickets for Holiday Lights 2026 at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park went on sale on the City of Scottsdale's ActiveNet system on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 8 a.m. On the same Thursday this post goes up, the park's Halloween event, Spook-Track-Ula, is in its final weekend. It sells arrival windows in half-hour slots. Entry to the park at 7301 E. Indian Bend Road is still free. On the nights McCormick Ranch families care most about, though, the city sells access to the park by date and often by time. A visit in December now gets planned in October.
Free at the gate, ticketed after dark
On an ordinary day, nobody needs a reservation. The park's visitor information page lists free entry. Train and carousel tickets cost $3 each or eight for $20, and an all-day ride wristband costs $12. Children 2 and under ride free. The rides are the Paradise & Pacific Railroad and a 1950 Allan Herschell carousel, and the City of Scottsdale Parks & Recreation Department runs the park.
After dark, the park works differently. Here are the three ways to get on the rides this fall, using the park's posted prices:
| Option | Price | What it covers | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daytime all-rides wristband | $12 | Unlimited train and carousel rides | Bought at the park |
| Spook-Track-Ula, through Oct. 31 | $15 per person, 2 and under free | Unlimited train and carousel rides, haunted walk-through, River Rambler story train | Timed arrival slot through ActiveNet |
| Holiday Lights, Nov. 27 to Dec. 30 | $15 per person age 3 and up, 2 and under free | Train and carousel rides through the light displays | Wristband purchased through ActiveNet |
So a seasonal night costs $3 more than a daytime wristband, and the train runs through the decorations. The bigger difference is how you buy it. During the day you can show up whenever you like. For the evening events, the park says wristbands are required for entry and for all rides. It also recommends creating an ActiveNet account ahead of time to make checkout faster.
Halloween showed how the system works
Spook-Track-Ula runs nightly through Oct. 31 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Along with the trains and carousel, it has a haunted train walk-through and the River Rambler story train with Engineer Bones and Choo Choo Charley. Ticket buyers choose an arrival time of 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30 or 8 p.m. Check-in opens 10 minutes before the slot, and the first train leaves at 6. Food and drinks are sold at Hartley's General Store. The city's ActiveNet listing shows Spook-Track-Ula sessions through Oct. 31.
Last year's Holiday Lights was sold the same way. The city's 2025 ActiveNet listing ran the event Nov. 28 to Dec. 30, 2025, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., at $15 for ages 3 and up. Buyers picked one of four entry times: 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 or 8:30 p.m. The listing said timed entry was meant to keep crowd levels comfortable. The price for 2026 is the same.
What the 2026 holiday page says, and what is still blank
The 2026 Holiday Lights page lists Nov. 27 to Dec. 30, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. One detail line lower on the page still reads "November 27 – December 30, 2025." Before you pay, compare the dates on the ActiveNet checkout screen with the event page.
The details the park has posted so far:
- Price: $15 per person age 3 and up, free for children 2 and under, with train and carousel rides included.
- S'more Land: a fire pit beside the track with festive music, and s'more kits at $8 each.
- Food: Hartley's General Store plus food trucks.
- Model Railroad Building: open during the event with miniature train displays.
- Closed nights: no event on Dec. 24 or Dec. 25.
Those dates work out to 32 event nights in 2026.
Some details are still unposted. The page says "Santa is back this year!" but has no meet-and-greet schedule yet. The Grinch's appearance dates are also listed as TBD. The page says to check back for "live entertainment, characters, activations, and more." It doesn't say whether the 2025 four-slot entry system is coming back. It also says nothing about how long a ticket lasts, so the clearest guide is whatever the ActiveNet checkout asks you to choose. If you plan the evening around Santa, you'll have to buy before his schedule is posted or wait and risk fewer choices.
One evening needs a separate booking. The city's Adaptive Recreation Night at Holiday Lights is Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m., eight days before the public season starts. It is for Adaptive Recreation participants and their families. The cost is $5 for Scottsdale residents and $7 for nonresidents. Every attendee has to register in advance through ActiveNet, and there is no onsite registration.
The Roundhouse brought hourly pricing to the park
Seasonal events aren't the only part of the park that is timed now. The park's biggest recent addition is sold by the hour.
The Roundhouse is a 10,000-square-foot, train-themed indoor play space. It opened Aug. 1, 2025, together with a 5,000-square-foot splash pad and a renovated entry plaza. CITYSunTimes reported that the package cost $13.1 million and that the new spaces drew more than 39,000 visitors in their first month. The same report said the funding included voter-approved bonds. It named the Scottsdale Railroad and Mechanical Society as a nonprofit partner that contributes technical expertise, volunteer labor and donations.
Pricing followed the opening. At its May 21, 2025 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Commission approved a one-year pilot fee for the Roundhouse covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. It set the fee at $6 for one hour or $12 for two. The first adult gets in free with a paying child, and children 2 and under get in free with a paying adult. The city's FY 2026/27 rate and fee document, which City Council accepted with amendments on March 3, 2026, makes the $6-per-hour fee permanent with no change. At the ticket window, Roundhouse entry costs two ride tickets, and the $12 all-rides wristband doesn't cover it.
The Holiday Lights page doesn't list the Roundhouse among its event extras. If you plan to combine indoor play time with a lights ticket, plan for two separate purchases and check the Roundhouse page for its hours.
Put together, the free gate and the timed events follow a single approach. Walking in and the open lawns cost nothing. The busiest experiences, including Halloween slots, holiday wristbands and Roundhouse hours, have prices and limits. The park celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Golden Jubilee on Oct. 4, 2025, during Railfair weekend.
The season, date by date
- Through Oct. 31: Spook-Track-Ula, 6 to 9:30 p.m., with timed arrival slots.
- Since Oct. 27, 8 a.m.: Holiday Lights tickets on sale through ActiveNet.
- Nov. 19, 6 to 8 p.m.: Adaptive Recreation Night at Holiday Lights, advance registration only.
- Nov. 27: Holiday Lights opening night, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- Dec. 24 and 25: no event.
- Dec. 30: final night of Holiday Lights.
Santa's schedule and the Grinch dates will go up on the Holiday Lights page when the park releases them. If you plan your December nights around a particular character, check that page before you buy.
At Billie Drury, we follow the McCormick Ranch calendar the same way we follow its market. That includes when the Railroad Park opens ticket sales and which weekend dates book first in December. If you're thinking about a move around the holidays, we're happy to help you plan it. Find out what your property is worth, and set your timeline so you can still keep your Holiday Lights night.
