Last year at Lockerly Arboretum, the walk-through nights ended Dec. 20, and the only other ways to see the lights were drive-through nights on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. That's according to the Union-Recorder's Nov. 7, 2025 report. This year there is no drive-through at all. The lights stay on through Jan. 2, 2027, and that includes Christmas night.
These two changes affect more than one venue on Irwinton Road. Downtown Milledgeville's holiday events are mostly packed into a single stretch, Dec. 4 through Dec. 6. The arboretum now keeps going for almost four weeks after that. For anyone planning the season, the date matters less this year than whether you've booked a seat early enough.
How the Drive-Through Ended
Lockerly in Lights started as a drive-through. In the Union-Recorder story, Executive Director Jennifer Pollard explained that Christmas at Lockerly used to happen in the Rose Hill house. During the pandemic, the arboretum hired a company from Covington to put up a small light show along what was still a gravel road. The show took 2022 off while Lockerly expanded its parking lot and paved the road through the grounds. When it returned, Pollard told the paper, "With having the roads paved, it allowed us to offer walk-thru options."
The show has kept growing since then. The Union-Recorder reported an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 visitors in 2024, and Pollard expected about 10,000 in 2025. The same story described a 250-foot light tunnel and a new meadow-grass area for that season. Visit Milledgeville's 2026 listing states, "Lockerly in Lights is a walk-through experience only on all nights open to the public."
Lockerly's own page calls the route a roughly mile-long path. Along the way are light tunnels, Candy Cane Lane, the Silly Squirrels, s'mores and the corn field, where the popcorn is free. For most visitors, a mile on foot on a December evening is easy. For a grandparent, or someone who used to see the show from a car on Christmas Eve, it's a bigger question.
Two Carts Per Entry Time
Lockerly's answer this year is chauffeured golf carts. The arboretum says it added them for visitors who find the walk too challenging. The details are listed on the golf cart reservation page and in the Visit Milledgeville listing:
- Two carts per entry time. One holds up to five guests and the other holds up to seven.
- $25 for the 5-seat cart, $30 for the 7-seat cart. Prices are listed for each event night.
- You book the whole cart. Each reservation covers the entire cart, not single seats, and staff do the driving.
- Match your ticket time. A cart has to be reserved for the same entry time as your walk-through tickets.
There are three entry times a night, 6, 7 and 8 p.m., and 14 nights in the season. That works out to 84 cart reservations for the whole run, with 12 seats per entry time. Compare that to the 2025 forecast of about 10,000 visitors. A family that needs a cart for someone should book the cart and the tickets together, as early as possible.
Walk-through tickets cost $15 for adults and $5 for youth, and you must buy them in advance. The two sources give different ages for the youth price. Visit Milledgeville says ages 3 to 12, and Lockerly's ticket page says 2 to 12. If you have a two-year-old, ask the arboretum before you buy.
Downtown's Season Peaks on Dec. 4–6
The longer Lockerly season matters because of how the rest of town schedules December. Here is every date-confirmed holiday event for 2026, with the arboretum's nights included.
| Date | Event | Where | Time and cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 14–Dec. 31 | Christmas at the Mansion | Old Governor's Mansion, 120 South Clark St. | Tue–Sat 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun 2–4 p.m.; $10 adults, $7 seniors, $2 students |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Lockerly in Lights opens | Lockerly Arboretum, 1534 Irwinton Rd. | 6, 7 or 8 p.m. entry |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Turkey Trot | Oconee River Greenway | 7:45 a.m.; $10–$25 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | Downtown Milledgeville | Hours not yet posted |
| Dec. 1–13 | Santa Mailbox | Downtown Milledgeville | Listed on the Main Street calendar |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Holiday Exhibit at Rose Hill opens, continuing Wednesdays | Lockerly Arboretum | Times and price not yet posted |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | First Friday: Holiday on Hancock, with tree lighting | Downtown Milledgeville | 6–8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Merry Milly Market | Library lot behind City Hall, 105 East Hancock St. | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Candlelight Tours at the Mansion | Old Governor's Mansion | 6, 7 or 8 p.m.; reservations required |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Exchange Club Christmas Parade | Starts at GMC's South Gate | 3 p.m.; free |
| Sat., Dec. 12 and 19 | Candlelight Tours at the Mansion | Old Governor's Mansion | 6, 7 or 8 p.m. |
| Tue., Dec. 15 | Reindog Night | Lockerly Arboretum | 6–8 p.m.; $25 per dog, two humans included |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Family movie night, A Christmas Story | Lockerly meadow | 6–8 p.m.; $20 adults, $5 ages 2–12 |
| Fri., Dec. 25 through Sat., Jan. 2 | Lockerly in Lights, final four nights | Lockerly Arboretum | 6, 7 or 8 p.m. entry |
Saturday, Dec. 5 is the busiest day on the calendar. The Merry Milly Market runs all day behind City Hall. In the evening, the Mansion's first Candlelight Tour and a Lockerly in Lights night both use the same 6, 7 and 8 p.m. time slots. The day before brings the tree lighting on Hancock, with Santa and the Grinch, and the parade follows the next afternoon. If you try to do everything that weekend, you'll have to pick between the Mansion and the arboretum on Saturday night. Each one requires a reservation for a specific time.
Visit Milledgeville lists Candlelight Tour prices of $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, $4 for students and Georgia College staff, and free for children under 6. Georgia College's own Mansion events page lists the senior price, for ages 60 and up, as $8. Confirm with the Mansion when you book.
Where the Special Nights Fall
Lockerly's two special nights fall on weeknights this year, so they don't compete with the weekends. Reindog Night is the only night dogs can come along. Lockerly invites owners to dress them in festive gear. In 2025, according to the Union-Recorder, dogs weren't allowed on regular walk-through nights and Rein-Dog Night was on Dec. 18. This year it's on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Two nights later, the movie night puts A Christmas Story on the meadow. Lockerly supplies the popcorn and the lights, and you bring chairs and blankets.
The new Holiday Exhibit at Rose Hill fills in the middle of the week too. It runs every Wednesday in December, from Dec. 2 through Dec. 30, and shows a private collection of more than 400 antique ornaments, toys and dolls. Its times and price haven't been posted yet. The exhibit brings the holidays back to the Rose Hill house, where Pollard said Lockerly's Christmas events took place before the light show started.
The Week After Christmas
The last four Lockerly nights are the biggest change from last year. Lockerly is open on Friday, Dec. 25, Saturday, Dec. 26, New Year's Day and Saturday, Jan. 2. After the Candlelight Tours end on Dec. 19, the only other date-confirmed holiday event left on the calendar is Christmas at the Mansion's daytime tours, which run through Dec. 31. Last year the walk-through nights ended Dec. 20. This year the lights are still on for anyone hosting guests through New Year's.
Those last nights also matter for the carts. Families with relatives in town for the holidays may need a cart more then than at any other point in the season. They'll be booking from the same two carts per entry time as every other weekend.
If guests coming for the Lockerly nights have you thinking about what your Milledgeville home might be worth when the season ends, S&T Real Estate can give you a straight, local answer. Ask us for a free home valuation after the holidays. Until then, book your Lockerly entry time early, and reserve a cart now if someone in your group will need one.
