Navy Pier's winter season starts this Saturday, November 21, and this year's pricing works against anyone who decides to go on the spur of the moment. A Wintrust Winter WonderFest ticket costs $27 online if you buy it at least 24 hours ahead. Inside that window or at the door, the price is $32. The Pier's best free events go the other way. They don't depend on tickets or timing. They sit on a fixed run of Saturdays, plus a few weeknights, that you can put on the calendar today. Living near the Pier saves you parking and coats. It doesn't save you the $5.
The $5 surcharge for deciding the same day
WonderFest returns to Festival Hall from November 27 through January 3, 2027. Last season it opened December 5 and ran through January 4. This year it opens the day after Thanksgiving, more than a week earlier. Both seasons use the same 170,000-square-foot hall.
What's included in a ticket has changed too, and repeat visitors will notice:
Last season | 2026–27 | |
|---|---|---|
Dates | Dec. 5 – Jan. 4 | Nov. 27 – Jan. 3 |
Starting price | $25 | $27 bought online 24+ hours ahead |
Day-of or door price | Not broken out | $32 |
Ice skating | $10 extra, or included in an all-access ticket with skate rental | Included with every admission |
Centennial Wheel | One ride included with every ticket | $10 add-on, same day only |
For a household of four, all ages three or older, buying online at least 24 hours ahead costs $108 and buying on the walk over costs $128. Children two and under get in free. Skaters come out ahead this year, since the rink no longer costs extra. Anyone who went last year for the Wheel ride now pays $10 more per person to get it back. Group tickets take reservations starting Monday, November 30, and you have to book ahead to get the group discount.
None of this affects getting onto the Pier. Navy Pier doesn't charge admission, so you can walk Festival Hall's surroundings, the restaurants and the markets without a WonderFest ticket. The free events are where planning ahead pays off.
Six Saturdays of fireworks, starting after the parade
The Winter Fireworks are free and start Saturday, November 21, at 8:30 p.m., after the Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. In its November 5 season announcement, the Pier lists weekly Saturday shows through December 26, plus a New Year's Eve show. Showtimes for each Saturday are posted on the fireworks page.
Last December, NBC Chicago reported that the winter shows ran about 10 minutes and named the South Dock Wave Wall Staircase as the best place to watch. Ten minutes is short enough to walk over for. It's also short enough to miss if you leave late.
The Saturdays aren't all alike, because the Pier stacks other events onto some of them:
Saturday | What else is on the Pier |
|---|---|
Nov. 21 | Lights Festival night; first show at 8:30 p.m. |
Nov. 28 | Wintrust Community Markets, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; WonderFest's first weekend |
Dec. 5 | Christmas Tree Ship from 8:30 a.m.; Chicago Shakespeare double feature |
Dec. 12 | Second Chicago Shakespeare double feature; Community Markets |
Dec. 19 | Community Markets on the final weekend before the holiday break |
Dec. 26 | Final Saturday show of the year |
On November 21, the Pier is also selling $35 parking in its covered, heated garages to Lights Festival visitors who pre-register, so they can watch the parade and come back for the fireworks. That means a lot of the night's crowd is planning to end up at the Pier after the parade.
December 5 has the most going on
The Pier's busiest single day this season is Saturday, December 5. It starts early. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, Chicago's Christmas Tree Ship, arrives for its 27th anniversary voyage carrying more than 1,000 fresh-cut Christmas trees for local families. Public viewing starts at 8:30 a.m. as the trees are unloaded, followed by a dedication ceremony at 10 a.m. and ship tours.
That same day, Chicago Shakespeare Theater runs the first of its two double features for its 40th-anniversary season, with "The Winter's Tale" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in one day. The second is Saturday, December 12. The Community Markets run that weekend, and the fireworks close out the night.
If you're in the neighborhood, you could see the ship in the morning and the fireworks at night without buying a ticket for anything. The next morning, Sunday, December 6, Harry Caray's hosts the first of two Breakfast with Santa buffets. The second is December 13.
The free events that aren't on Saturday
Two of the season's free events fall on other days, and both are easy to miss.
- Housegiving, Wednesday, November 25, at 5 p.m. The Pier's pre-Thanksgiving house music concert is free. Shannon "Skip" Syas and DJ Threejay host, with sets from DJ Flipside, DJ Nehpets, Mickey Oliver, DJ Metro, Tim Schommer, Myra, Jade and others, plus local vinyl vendors. Entry is free and first come, first served, with no ticket needed. This isn't its first year. Housegiving also played Navy Pier on November 27, 2024.
- Wintrust Community Markets, Friday, November 27, then weekends. The indoor market runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Black Friday, then every Saturday and Sunday from November 28 through December 20, with two more days on January 2 and 3. The vendors come from Navy Pier's Small Business Accelerator Program, which BMO supports.
Holiday Sip Around the Pier on Thursday, December 10, is a weeknight evening for guests 21 and older. Participating restaurants and bars serve holiday cocktail specials.
The paid options book by time slot, which helps neighbors
The Pier's other paid winter activities are booked by time slot, so planning ahead works with you here.
Kiln Floating Sauna opened for the season on November 8 at the Navy Pier Marina. It's a Nordic-style sauna that floats in the marina, with cold plunges into Lake Michigan. According to its booking page, a 75-minute public session costs $90 and a private 75-minute session for up to eight people costs $700. The cheapest option is the 45-minute "Shorty Sauna" for $50, offered only on weekday mornings. Guests bring a swimsuit, two towels, slides or flip-flops, and a full reusable water bottle. The weekday-morning price works best for people who don't have to travel to the Pier.
Harry Caray's lists November 16 as the opening for its Lakefront Lodge and Winter Warming Hut. Curling by the Lake costs $100 for 90 minutes on the rink with a heated igloo for up to eight people. Another $100 adds the indoor Lodge for two and a half hours and up to 12 more guests. The Winter Warming Hut costs $100 for a 90-minute private booking for up to 10 people, reserved through OpenTable. With a full group, that's about $10 to $12.50 a person for an evening by the lake.
Other options inside the Pier:
- Offshore Rooftop holds Winter Trivia on December 13 and January 10 at 3 p.m. and a Winter Paint & Sip on December 17 at 6 p.m. In early December it's being redone as a "Polar Dreamscape."
- Paks on the Pier has added a Tonkotsu Ramen, and its Sushi Push Pop is also sold inside WonderFest.
- TE'AMO Boba & Dessert Café pairs a holiday drink with a seasonal Mochi Donut through December 30.
- Chicago Children's Museum runs Winter Weeks of Play from December 21 to January 3, with its Holiday Dough workshop from December 16 to January 4.
Hours and closed days
Navy Pier is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It's closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. On Christmas Eve it's open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on New Year's Eve 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on New Year's Day 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Centennial Wheel runs every day of the holiday season except Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Santa arrives Sunday, November 22, aboard City Cruises' Seadog for brunch at Harry Caray's Lakefront Lodge. Photos with Santa start Monday, November 23. WonderFest opens four days later. The first fireworks are Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Navy Pier's winter season goes to people who plan around its calendar, and our Streeterville clients plan their lives the same way. If you're thinking about how your own address fits into that routine, RM Luxury Group is available for a private consultation whenever it suits your schedule.
