Type “BYOB holiday lights trolley Minneapolis” into Google and you’ll find more than one way to see the Twin Cities’ Christmas lights with a drink in hand. We’re all for it — twinkling streets, good company, something bubbly in your cup. But before you book, it’s worth knowing how these rides actually work, because they are not all built the same.
How most BYOB holiday light rides work
The typical BYOB light-ride format goes like this: you buy a ticket, then check in at a downtown bar or a parking lot, wait for boarding, and lug your cooler from the car, through the crowd, and onto the bus. Your festive evening starts under the glow of a big-screen TV instead of Christmas lights. It works, but “drag a cooler to a sports bar” isn’t exactly the Hallmark-movie opening scene most people picture.
Our version: your drinks come straight onto the trolley
On our Holiday Light Ride, there’s no bar check-in and no parking-lot cooler schlep. You board a heated vintage trolley at the Pillsbury Club — an actual flour-baron’s mansion, and a gorgeous place to start a winter night — with your drinks in hand. Step on, settle in, and the lights start rolling.
The Naughty ride is the 21+ BYOB party version: bring what you like to drink, we’ll bring the heat, the music, and a route full of the best displays in the city. The Nice ride is the all-ages version — cocoa-and-carols cozy, with a holiday market stop and a family vote on the best light display of the night.
What you’ll see out the window
Minneapolis takes its lights seriously. Think grand old boulevards strung end to end, Victorian homes on Nicollet Island, lake-neighborhood streets where whole blocks coordinate their displays, and downtown dressed up for the season. The displays that make Meet Minneapolis’s best-holiday-lights list and Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s holiday lights guide every year are exactly the kind of thing our drivers chase all season — from a warm seat, with no windshield scraping required.
Make a whole night of it
The light ride pairs beautifully with the rest of a Minneapolis winter evening. Stay the night at 300 Clifton, the historic Carpenter Mansion bed & breakfast a few minutes away — mansion, hot tub, speakeasy, the works. Families can browse more seasonal ideas on our Things To Do in Minneapolis lists, and if your crew wants something livelier after the lights, we have a few edgier ideas for a night out too.
When to book your holiday light ride
The season runs from late November through the end of December, and the trolleys genuinely sell out — weekend dates first, every year. If a holiday light ride is on your list (or it’s your office party plan), grab your date early. Nice rides start around $30 and the 21+ Naughty BYOB rides from $75.
Ready to ride? See dates and book at our Holiday Light Ride page — and bring your drinks with you. No cooler drag required.