Family New Years Eve Party by Candlelight | Lebanon Hills Park

Celebrate all things winter with candlelight walking, hiking, and snowshoeing. Hang out at the A-frame, and warm up with crackling bonfires. Stay for the FAMOUS ball drop at 7:59 PM.

1,000+ candle luminaries & lantern-lit trails!

Bring your own sled and ice skates. S’mores and hot cocoa provided.

Dogs are not permitted. Service animals that fit the definition of Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act are welcome.

All ages
Tickets: $ 8 per person; youth ages 5 and younger are free. Tickets on sale beginning December 1st.

Location:
Lebanon Hills Visitor Center
860 Cliff Road, Eagan, MN 55123

All candlelight trails are for hiking or snowshoeing and walking:
In ideal conditions, the event will include: ​

 1 wooded lake loop for hiking or snowshoeing (about a half mile). Trail is packed.

 1 wooded spur trail to the A-Frame shelter for hiking or snowshoeing (1 mile one-way). Trail is packed.

 1 paved, plowed ADA accessible lake wooded loop for walking (3/4 mile)

 1 plowed ADA accessible sidewalk loop around the Visitor Center campus (1/2 mile)

 Lit bay of Schulze Lake for skating and kick sledding (bring your own skates, free kicksleds provided, conditions permitting)

 Lit sledding hill for sledding. Bring your own sled.

 Bonfires (lots).

 Hot Cocoa Station outside the Visitor Center and at the A-frame shelter. Cocoa is free with admission.

 S’more Station at Schulze Beach. Free with admission.

 Holiday Light Recycling (we’re collecting old, working and non-working holiday lights from participants to recycle them) at the Visitor Center.

 The 7:59 PM countdown and ball-drop to the new year!

NEW THIS YEAR! Winter Sound Garden.

This year, our New Year’s Eve party includes a very special luminary edition of composer JG Everest’s “Winter Sound Garden” – a sound + performance installation embedded in the woods around the A-Frame site at Lebanon Hills.

The Winter Sound Garden is a self-guided “spatial symphony” that plays through over 50 small speakers spread around the wooded paths. Each speaker plays a different part of the whole piece of music, so the sound and mix of the music change with each step, and each turn of the head, as the listener moves through it.

The Winter Sound Garden at Lebanon Hills will also feature live musical accompaniment by the roving Free Range Orchestra and Choir, and a special winter song by Blue Lady, the mermaid who has come ashore to help us take better care of the water.

Frequently Asked Questions

 Are dogs allowed?

No, dogs are not permitted at the event. Service animals trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability are welcome.

 Can I purchase tickets at the door?

If the event is not sold out, tickets will be available at the door.

 I forgot my tickets or lost them. Now what?

It’s possible we may be able to look up your payment history to retrieve them. If we can’t find a record of proof of purchase, you will not be admitted to the event.

 What happens if there’s no parking?

Once parking spaces fill at the Lebanon Hills Visitor Center, we’ll offer ongoing free shuttle service to and from Woodcrest Church (525 Cliff Road) from 4:30-8:45 PM. One of the shuttle buses is equipped with a wheelchair lift.

All planned event activities are conditions-permitting. A final plan for event activities will be determined 24 hours in advance and posted in the event’s web page and on the Dakota County Parks – Forever Wild Facebook page. No refunds will be issued if event activities change due to unsafe conditions. Full refunds will be issued if the event is canceled due to weather.

Weather Cancellation Policy:
Full refunds will be issued if the event is canceled due to weather. If forecast 24 hours in advance calls for the air temperature to be below zero degrees Fahrenheit or the wind chill to be 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit at 8 p.m.​, the event will be canceled.

Parking:
Free and available onsite at the Visitor Center or park at Woodcrest Church (525 Cliff Road, Eagan) and take our free shuttle to the event. Shuttle rides are every 15 minutes, beginning at 4:45 PM and ending at 8:45 PM.

Terms and Conditions:
https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/…/NewYearsEvePartyTermsCond…

For more information, visit: https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/…/new-years-eve-party.aspx

**Only those who have pre-purchased and presented their tickets at the door will be admitted to the event.
**Tickets will not be available for sale at the door.
**Limiting event admission by pre-selling a limited number of tickets keeps a safe and sustainable carrying capacity at the event, keeping the quality of experience high for participants.