On most Wednesday through Sunday evenings this holiday season, a horse-drawn carriage will leave from beside the big tree in Festival Park, carry four people around the lit core of Downtown Castle Rock for about ten minutes, and come back. On Monday and Tuesday evenings the carriage doesn't run. The Castle Rock Trolley drives a figure-eight past the same lights, and nobody pays to ride it.
These two rides never run on the same night. That split decides how most of the season works, and the paid half goes on sale before the star on the Rock is lit.
The Date to Plan Around Is November 18
The Downtown Castle Rock carriage rides run from November 22, 2026 through January 3, 2027. Hours are 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. They skip November 26, December 24, December 25 and December 31. Each carriage costs $59 and holds four people. In some cases it can take two adults and three children under 10.
Tickets are sold in two rounds. The first was an in-person sale scheduled for October 29 at the Philip & Jerry Miller Library, limited to 75 tickets. Under the published rules, numbers went to the first 75 people in line half an hour before the doors opened. The second round is online. The ticket link goes up at noon on Wednesday, November 18, on the carriage page and on Downtown Castle Rock's Facebook and Instagram. The organizers ask for "understanding and courtesy that not everyone who wants a carriage ride will have one available."
So the only limited part of downtown's holiday season sells three days before Starlighting, the free event most people think of as the start. If a carriage ride is on your family's list, set the reminder for noon on the 18th.
Starlighting Is Free, and the Logistics Are Fixed
Starlighting is Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Historic Wilcox Square and Festival Park. It's free. The ceremony starts at 5 p.m. on the main stage. The star is lit at about 5:30 p.m., and fireworks follow right away if weather and conditions allow, according to the Castle Rock Chamber's event listing. Through the afternoon there's a kids' zone, food trucks, carolers, nonprofit booths and the firefighters' chili supper at Castle Rock Fire Station 151. The Chamber lists the main stage at 4th and Wilcox.
The Chamber has run Starlighting since 1962. The star itself goes back to 1936. The full 2026 entertainment schedule and event maps are still marked "coming soon" on the Chamber's Starlighting page, so check it again the week of the event.
The getting-there plan is already posted. Free shuttles run from 1:30 to 8 p.m. from three lots:
- AdventHealth Castle Rock, Alexander Parking Lot, 2350 Meadows Blvd. Drops off at Fifth and Wilcox.
- Douglas County High School, south building, 2842 Front Street. Drops off at Fifth and Wilcox.
- Douglas County Fairgrounds, Lot 5, 500 Fairgrounds Drive. Drops off on the street between South and Phelps streets, by Eternal Rock Lutheran Church and the Folkestad Fazekas buildings.
Return shuttles pick up where they dropped off and loop back to their own lot.
These streets close from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. that Saturday:
- Perry Street, from Fifth to Second
- North Wilcox Street, from Fifth to Third
- Fourth Street, from Jerry to Perry
- Third Street, from Wilcox to Perry
- Second Street, from Wilcox to Perry
If you'd rather drive, the Chamber points to the downtown garages and to the Town's downtown parking map. That map was last updated December 15, 2025. It shows 308 spaces at the Encore Parking Garage near Perry and South streets, with no overnight parking. Three hundred spaces won't hold a crowd the size of Starlighting, so the shuttles are the more dependable choice after 2 p.m.
The Free Ride Gets the Start of the Week
Carriages start the day after Starlighting. The trolley starts the day after that. The free Downtown Castle Rock winter trolley runs Monday and Tuesday evenings from November 23 through December 29, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It stops at three places:
- The Encore Parking Garage entrance on South Street, between Wilcox and Perry
- The crosswalk on Third Street
- The entrance to the Douglas County School District parking lot on Sixth Street, between Wilcox and Perry
A full loop takes about 12 minutes. Downtown Castle Rock lists the Encore garage and the Philip & Jerry Miller Library as places to park for it.
Here are the two rides side by side.
| Carriage rides | Winter trolley | |
|---|---|---|
| Nights | Wednesday–Sunday | Monday–Tuesday |
| Season | Nov. 22, 2026 – Jan. 3, 2027 | Nov. 23 – Dec. 29, 2026 |
| Hours | 4:30–8:30 p.m. weekdays, 5–8 p.m. weekends | 5:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Cost | $59 per carriage | Free |
| Ride length | 8–15 minutes, most about 10 | About 12 minutes per loop |
| Boarding | Festival Park, by the big tree | Three downtown stops |
| Tickets | Online sale Nov. 18 at noon | Rides are free |
Both rides pass the same lit downtown core. The carriage route circles the area where the lights are on display. If you miss out on a carriage seat on the 18th, you can still see the lights from the trolley any Monday or Tuesday through December 29. Grandparents visiting midweek can ride for free.
December Fills In Around the Weekend Nights
After Thanksgiving, the Town's calendar puts its big free events on the same Friday and Saturday nights the carriages run. That makes a carriage ticket and a free event easy to pair in one evening.
The Festival Park Starlight Market runs Friday, December 4, from 3 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 300 Second St. The Town lists more than 40 vendors selling crafts, art, roasted chestnuts, salsa and tamales, plus a 40-foot decorated tree, hot cocoa, food trucks and holiday music. The market sits in the same park where the carriages board.
On December 5, families can also go to the free Reindeer Games from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Amphitheater at Philip S. Miller Park, 1375 W. Plum Creek Parkway. Then they can head downtown for the market's final hours. A week later, on December 12, free Storytellers and S'mores runs from 5 to 7 p.m. back in Festival Park.
There's one earlier date on the other side of I-25. The Outlets at Castle Rock hosts its Tree Lighting Celebration on Saturday, November 14, from 4 to 7 p.m., one week before Starlighting.
Two New Stops Since Summer
Two places that opened this fall fit the season's schedule. Border Burger Sports Bar opened September 30 at 810 New Memphis Ct., in the former Trifecta building. DougCo Social reports that the three-floor sports bar is booking holiday and Christmas parties. Castle Rock's first Dunkin' is now open at 1185 Aloha St. in Founders Marketplace, from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and held its grand opening October 24, per DougCo Social. It's an easy spot for coffee before a Saturday at the Starlight Market.
The Star Stays On Into January
Once it's lit on November 21, the star stays on well past the last carriage ride. 9News reports that it goes dark at the end of the National Western Stock Show in January. The same report describes the star as 40 feet tall with 100 bulbs. Castle Rock Fire and Rescue maintains it, and History Colorado's Shaun Boyd told 9News that crews "go up there every year, change out all the light bulbs, make sure the wiring's correct." The department calls that team its "Keepers of the Star" crew and says they work year-round. Earlier this year it installed a new bronze sign that tells the history of the star and the Starlighting tradition.
That means the season has a firm order. The online carriage sale is November 18, the star is lit November 21, carriages start November 22 and the trolley starts November 23. The trolley's last night is December 29, the carriages finish January 3, and the star stays on until the Stock Show wraps up.
Courtney Nelson has spent 20 years watching Castle Rock's calendar fill up every November, and she's happy to share which downtown blocks get the most foot traffic once the lights are on. If you're thinking about listing in the new year, Courtney Nelson can show you how a home near the Starlighting route compares, starting with a free home valuation.
