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Things to do in Detroit for the holidays used to mean one thing: you drove downtown, looked at the tree, and went home. That’s not the case anymore. Campus Martius and Cadillac Square now run as a connected stretch of rink, markets and heated tents from the second week of November straight through to January 3.
I pulled every date below off the venue’s own site this week, not off a roundup. Where a venue hasn’t posted its 2026 details yet, I say so instead of guessing.
Jump to: the tree lighting · the Rink · the markets · Cadillac Lodge · the parade · the Nutcracker · Noel Night · just outside downtown · what to wear · FAQ
This is the big one, and it’s free. The 23rd annual Detroit Tree Lighting runs 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 at Campus Martius Park, presented by the DTE Foundation and produced by the Downtown Detroit Partnership.
Five hours is a long window, and that matters. You don’t have to be there at four. The DDP says the night includes national and local music, figure skating shows, food trucks and lighting displays around downtown, with the full lineup posted closer to the date.
One thing worth knowing if you’re bringing kids: the Downtown Detroit Markets close early that day, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., so shop before the crowd builds, not after.
The warm-up act: the tree itself gets trucked in and raised on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It’s a Michigan-grown Norway spruce, and watching a crane set it is honestly a better outing with a little kid than the lighting night is. Way fewer people.
👉 Tree lighting details on the DDP site
This one I can speak to. We go, we like it, and this is the year we’re finally bringing the kids. A couple of things I’d tell a first-timer: rentals are $5, the rail is your friend for the first lap, and the kids will be done long before you are.
USA Today’s 10Best readers voted this the number one ice skating rink in the country in both 2024 and 2025, which still surprises people who haven’t been. It’s open seven days a week including holidays.
| Ticket | Price | With a Bank of America card |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (13–58) | $14 | $12 |
| Children (12 and under) | $10 | $8 |
| Seniors (59+, with ID) | $10 | $8 |
| Active military and first responders (with ID) | $10 | — |
| Skate rental | $5 | $5 |
Hours split into two seasons, and this is the part people get wrong:
So there’s a two-day gap, Jan. 4, where it’s closed between seasons. And if you’re planning a Tuesday night skate in February, you can’t — it shuts at six.
Honestly, the smartest move is January. Same rink, same skyline, a fraction of the line, and you’re not fighting the market crowds.
👉 Rink hours, pricing and tickets
Free to walk through, and this is where I’d do actual shopping rather than browsing. Eighteen local vendors are listed for 2026, including Ink Detroit, Next Chapter Books, Yarn Nerds, Boho Luxe Detroit, Your Olive Tree, Waffle Cabin and Jodi Lynn’s Emporium of Doodles.
Hours: closed Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday–Thursday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
The exception that will save you a wasted trip: they open Mondays and Tuesdays Dec. 14–15 and Dec. 21–22, 11 a.m.–8 p.m., for the last-minute stretch. Other holiday hours: Nov. 20 (tree lighting) 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Thanksgiving Day 8 a.m.–2 p.m., Christmas Eve 11 a.m.–4 p.m., closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m. is a quietly brilliant one. You’re already downtown for the parade — grab something hot and shop while the floats are still lining up.
Still stuck on what to actually buy? My 2026 holiday gift guide has 262 ideas sorted by who you’re buying for, and the hostess gift list covers anything you’re carrying into someone else’s house.
A big heated tent at 60 Campus Martius with board games, blankets, plush seating and fireplaces. Open Nov. 11 through Jan. 3, same weekly hours as the markets: closed Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday–Thursday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
It does not take cash. There’s a cash-to-card machine inside, but if you were planning to hand your kid a twenty, don’t. Card or nothing.
There’s also CHALET 313 in Campus Martius — a two-story glass-enclosed heated lounge with a bar and views over the rink and the tree. The DDP hasn’t posted its 2026 hours yet, so check before you build a night around it.
One hundred years. The Parade Company has confirmed the 100th America’s Thanksgiving Parade for Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, presented by Gardner White, coming down Woodward Avenue.
Watching from the curb is free along most of the route. Paid grandstand seating is also available through the Parade Company.
The 100th steps off at 8:45 a.m. at Woodward and Kirby and runs three miles south to Congress, about an hour and a half of marching. It’s broadcast live on WDIV Local 4 and streamed at clickondetroit.com.
👉 There’s a lot more to Thanksgiving morning downtown — the Turkey Trot runs the same street two hours earlier, and the road closures start at 5 a.m. I put all of it, plus registration deadlines, corrals and parking, in the full parade and Turkey Trot guide.
👉 Parade info and grandstand tickets
If you’re the one cooking that day, my how to host Thanksgiving guide has the week-by-week timeline and the turkey math, and the 35 no-oven Friendsgiving appetizers are what I’d bring if someone else is hosting.
Grand Rapids Ballet dances it with the Detroit Opera Orchestra live in the pit, choreographed by Val Caniparoli with storybook sets by Chris Van Allsburg — yes, the Polar Express author — and Eugene Lee.
Three performances only: Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 29 at 2:30 p.m. The Opera House is at 1526 Broadway St.
Three shows is not a lot. If this is the year you take someone, don’t wait until December to look — it’ll be over.
👉 The Nutcracker at Detroit Opera
Midtown’s free open-house night took 2025 off, and it’s returning on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026. Museums, galleries and churches along the Woodward corridor open their doors, there’s music everywhere, and it’s free.
The start time and the venue list weren’t published as of today. Historically it’s been an evening thing, but I’m not going to put a time in writing that I haven’t seen.
Two more that are close enough to count, both of which I wrote up in more detail in my Michigan holiday events guide:
Campus Martius sits in a wind tunnel between buildings. It is colder there than the forecast says, every single time.
Layers, obviously. But two specific things:
Both of those were sold and shipped by Amazon when I checked on Oct. 21, 2026. Prices move, so check before you buy.
I pulled the whole kit into one list on my Amazon storefront so you are not hunting for it piece by piece: Winter Gear for Detroit Holiday Events — hand and toe warmers, waterproof gloves and kids mittens, wool socks, a stadium seat, a waterproof blanket, insulated tumblers and a snow brush for the car on the way home.
Being straight with you about the gaps, because a wrong time is worse than no time:
I’d rather send you to the venue’s page than make something up. Everything else here came off an official site this week.
The Detroit Tree Lighting on Nov. 20, the tree’s arrival on Nov. 4, walking the Downtown Detroit Markets, watching the Thanksgiving Parade from the curb on Nov. 26, and Noel Night in Midtown on Dec. 5. That’s five free outings before the middle of December.
Friday, Nov. 20, 2026, at Campus Martius Park. The event itself runs 4 to 9 p.m.
Yes, but check the DDP’s road closures page first — they publish closures for signature events, and Woodward gets shut down for the parade specifically. The People Mover and the QLine are worth considering on the busiest nights.
It is — noon to 10 p.m. on Christmas Day. It’s also open New Year’s Eve, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The one day it’s closed in that stretch is Jan. 4, between the two hour seasons.
Honestly? The tree arrival on Nov. 4 and the Wayne County Lightfest. One is a short daytime thing with a crane, the other you do from a warm car in pajamas. The tree lighting itself is lovely and also five hours of standing in a crowd.
Wild Lights, yes — the zoo says it sells out and online beats the gate by a few dollars every night. The Nutcracker, yes, with only three performances. Parade grandstand seats, yes. The rink, markets, Cadillac Lodge, tree lighting and Noel Night, no.
If you only do one of these, make it the tree lighting on Nov. 20 — it’s free, it’s five hours wide, and the markets and the lodge are both right there.
If you want the version with no crowd, go downtown in January. The rink runs to March 1, the skyline doesn’t change, and you’ll actually be able to get a table.
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