Camelback Mountain above Phoenix in late afternoon light, the view that greets visitors arriving for Thanksgiving week

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THANKSGIVING IN PHOENIX

You are flying in for the turkey, the family, and maybe one cousin's couch. Good news: Thanksgiving week is quietly one of the best weeks of the year to be a visitor in Phoenix. The desert is in the low 70s, the Christmas lights switch on while you are here, and half the city empties out just as you arrive. This is the out of towner's guide to Wednesday, November 25 through Sunday, November 29, 2026.

Most Thanksgiving visitor guides list things locals already know. This one is built around your actual situation: you do not have a car routine here, you do not know which attractions close for the holiday, and your free hours come in odd shapes between family obligations. So here is the shape of the week up front. Wednesday, November 25 is the big arrival day at Sky Harbor and the opening night of ZooLights. Thanksgiving Day itself is a morning turkey trot, a zoo that is very much open, trails that never close, and one famous garden that is shut tight, so plan around it. Friday, November 27 is when the whole Valley lights up at once, and it is also your best desert day. Saturday and Sunday bring a parade in Tempe, the start of Scottsdazzle, and the busiest departure day of the fall. Everything below was checked this week against the venues' own pages: the Zoo, the Garden, the cities of Mesa, Glendale and Tempe, Sky Harbor, and the race organizers. You do not have to have the whole five days figured out before you land. You just have to get started.

Thanksgiving week in Phoenix, at a glance

The window: Wed Nov 25 to Sun Nov 29, 2026. Weather: late November normals run highs around 70 and lows in the upper 40s; bring a real jacket for nights at the lights. Open on Thanksgiving Day: the Phoenix Zoo (9 a.m. to 4 p.m., then ZooLights 5:30 to 10:30 p.m.), every city trail, Papago Park, and the turkey trots. Closed on Thanksgiving Day: the Desert Botanical Garden, and most malls and shops. The lights switch on: ZooLights Wed Nov 25; Las Noches de las Luminarias, Glendale Glitters and Mesa's Merry Main Street Fri Nov 27; Tempe's Fantasy of Lights parade and Scottsdazzle Sat Nov 28. Airport reality: Wed Nov 25 and Sun Nov 29 are the crush days at Sky Harbor; the Sky Train station pickup trick is in the warnings at the end.

Thanksgiving Day itself: what is actually open

Thursday, November 26 is the day visitors guess wrong. The assumption is that everything closes. In Phoenix the outdoor city barely pauses, and the one big closure catches everybody by surprise. Here is the honest list.

Open · 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Phoenix Zoo, all day, then ZooLights at night

The Phoenix Zoo is open every day of the year except Christmas, and Thanksgiving is no exception: gates run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day, at 455 N. Galvin Parkway in Papago Park, about a 10 minute drive from Sky Harbor. Gate admission is $39.95 for ages 14 and up and $29.95 for ages 3 to 13, with kids 2 and under free; buying online ahead trims $2 off each ticket. Thanksgiving morning is one of the calmer zoo days of the season, because most local families are home cooking. Then the same gates reopen at 5:30 p.m. for ZooLights, which opens for the season the night before, on Wednesday, November 25, and runs nightly to January 15: five million lights on two miles of trail, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., $35 a person and $30 for members. If your crew is staying near Papago Park, a late morning zoo visit and a ZooLights night bookend the holiday meal about as well as a day can be bookended. Verdict: the anchor of Thanksgiving Day. Go late morning, when the turkey trots have cleared and the animals are active in the cool air.

Closed · All Day Thu Nov 26

The Desert Botanical Garden is closed on Thanksgiving. Really.

Here is the trap, printed in bold so it does not get you: the Desert Botanical Garden, the attraction every visitor puts at the top of the list, is closed on Thanksgiving Day. It says so on the Garden's own visitor page, between its regular fall hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Do not drive a carload of relatives to Papago Park on Thursday expecting cactus trails. The good news is the fix is easy, because the Garden reopens Friday and starts its biggest event of the year that same night (it is the first item in the lights section below). Swap the order: Zoo and trails on Thursday, Garden on Friday or the weekend, when general admission starts at $32.95 for adults and $14.95 for ages 2 to 17. Verdict: the single most useful sentence in this guide. Garden on Friday, not Thursday.

Open · Sunrise Onward

Trails and Papago Park never take the day off

City trails do not have a holiday schedule. Papago Park, the red sandstone park that holds both the Zoo and the Garden, runs its east side parking from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. with trails open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the short walk to Hole in the Rock, a window worn through a sandstone butte, takes about 10 minutes from the lot and gives out of towners their first real desert photo before breakfast. The summit trails, Camelback and Piestewa, are open sunrise to sunset as always. The full how to run them, including the parking reality, is in the Friday section below, because Friday morning is when you will actually have the time. Verdict: if dinner is at 3 and you are free at 8 a.m., Hole in the Rock is the easiest good decision of the trip.

[AFFILIATE: Phoenix and Scottsdale hotels for Thanksgiving week]

Thursday morning: earn the meal at a turkey trot

Every Phoenix local has a Thanksgiving morning race. Visitors can too, and both of these still take sign ups in the days before the race. Pick by where you are sleeping.

Downtown · Thu Nov 26, From 7:30 a.m.

The Phoenix Turkey Trot at Wesley Bolin Plaza

The city's namesake trot runs by the State Capitol at Wesley Bolin Plaza, 1700 W. Washington Street, about 10 minutes from Sky Harbor and an easy add if you are staying downtown or with family anywhere central. The morning is staggered by distance: the 1 Mile starts at 7:30 a.m., the 10K at 7:50, the 5K at 8:40, and the Tot Trot at 9:40, so a mixed crew can split up and still finish together. Registration starts at $40 and rises as race day gets close; it is online only and closes on race morning, and a shirt and finisher medal come with it. There is a costume contest, and yes, people dress as turkeys. Verdict: the visitor friendly pick. Sign up from the couch on Wednesday night, run Thursday, and be back before anyone has to baste anything.

East Valley · Thu Nov 26, From 8 a.m.

The Mesa Turkey Trot, 58 years running

Sleeping in Mesa, Gilbert or the east side? The Mesa Turkey Trot at Red Mountain Park, 7745 E. Brown Road, is the original: the 58th annual running of Arizona's oldest Thanksgiving race, roughly a 35 to 40 minute drive from downtown Phoenix on empty holiday morning roads. The 1 mile Family Fun Run goes at 8 a.m., the 10K at 8:20 and the 5K at 8:40. Register online through November 25 at $30 for the fun run and $40 for the 5K or 10K, plus a processing fee; race day sign up is $40 and $50, and the organizers warn plainly that the race can sell out. Verdict: the better race if you are already east. The fun run start order is built for families doing it together.

Friday to Sunday: the weekend the lights switch on

You picked the right week to visit. Phoenix does not ease into Christmas; it flips a switch on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and visitors in town for the holiday get opening weekend without even trying. These are the nights, in order.

Fri Nov 27 to Sun Nov 29 · 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Las Noches de las Luminarias opens at the Desert Botanical Garden

The Garden makes up for its Thanksgiving Day closure by opening its signature event the next night. Las Noches de las Luminarias starts Friday, November 27 and runs the full weekend, then select nights into January: thousands of hand lit luminarias and light installations along the cactus trails, with live music, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. General admission runs $39.95 to $44.95 for adults and $18.95 for kids 2 to 17, priced by night. The Garden recommends advance tickets, and opening weekend is exactly when that advice matters, so buy them before you fly in. This is the desert at its most photogenic and the one ticketed night worth building the weekend around. Verdict: book Friday or Saturday night now. It is the best evening of the five days.

Fri Nov 27 · 5 to 10 p.m.

Mesa lights its tree, and Glendale lights its park

Two free civic lightings go head to head on Friday night, one at each end of the Valley. In the east, Merry Main Street kicks off in downtown Mesa from 5 to 10 p.m.: a holiday market, the lighting of the city's Christmas tree, and the opening of the Winter Wonderland Ice Rink, about 6,000 square feet of real ice in the desert, $11 a person including skate rentals. The Mesa Temple Christmas lights open the same night a short walk away and run nightly, free, through December 30. In the west, Glendale Glitters holds its lighting ceremony Friday evening at Murphy Park in historic downtown Glendale, free, with the lights then up nightly through January 1. Verdict: pick by your side of town. East siders get Mesa plus the Temple lights in one walkable night; west siders get Glendale.

Sat Nov 28 · From 4 p.m.

Tempe's Fantasy of Lights parade, and Scottsdazzle opens

Saturday belongs to Tempe. The Fantasy of Lights Street Parade and Tree Lighting takes over Mill Avenue from 4 to 8 p.m.: entertainment at Centerpoint Plaza, the parade of lit floats stepping off at 6 p.m. from Mill and 3rd Street, and the lighting of downtown's 36 foot tree right after, with free Santa photos. It costs nothing, and it is an easy light rail ride from the airport corridor and downtown Phoenix. The same day, Scottsdazzle opens its season in Old Town Scottsdale with an evening tree lighting spectacular, free, if your people are based up that way. Verdict: Tempe for families and anyone without a car plan; Scottsdale if you are already there.

All Weekend · Already Running

The ones that started without you

Two big season openers land before Thanksgiving, so they are simply on during your whole stay. ZooLights, covered above, runs every night of the window including Thanksgiving night. Christmas at the Princess at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess opened November 20 and runs to January 2: a resort sized light show with ice skating and a lagoon walk, $35 a person bought ahead and $45 on the day, with parking on top, so it is the splurge night of the weekend. And Christmas at Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek opens Friday, November 27, with lights, an illumination train ride and ice skating on the farm, admission from $19.95 with skating included. Verdict: one premium night maximum. Princess if you are splurging, Luminarias if you are not.

Friday in the desert instead of the mall

Friday is the day your hosts may have plans that do not include you, or the day the whole crew needs out of the house. Skip the shopping crowds. November is prime hiking season in Phoenix, and this is the one day of the trip with no event pinned to it.

The Big Climb · Sunrise Start

Camelback Mountain, with the parking truth

Every visitor wants the Camelback photo, and the Echo Canyon Trail is the way up: 1.14 miles one way and 1,400 feet of climb, rated extremely difficult by the city, with handrails and boulder sections and the whole Valley at the top. Trails are open sunrise to sunset, dogs are not allowed, and you should carry more water than feels reasonable. Now the part that decides your morning: the trailhead lot at 4925 E. McDonald Drive is small, the gate closes when it fills, and the city says it is typically full by late morning in winter and all day on weekends. On Thanksgiving weekend, treat it as a sunrise appointment or do not treat it as a plan at all. Idling on McDonald Drive or Tatum Boulevard waiting for a space gets you a ticket, literally. Verdict: up at dawn, on the trail at sunrise, down by 10, heroic by brunch. Any later start, take Piestewa instead.

The Smart Alternative · All Morning

Piestewa Peak and Papago Park, the no drama options

Piestewa Peak, in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve about 20 minutes north of downtown, gives you nearly the same payoff, 1.2 miles one way and about 1,200 feet up, with a bigger trailhead area and none of Camelback's gate drama. It is the locals' answer when Echo Canyon is full, and on a holiday weekend it should be your first choice unless Camelback itself is the point. Traveling with grandparents or small kids? Stay in Papago Park: Hole in the Rock at sunrise or sunset, the flat trails around the buttes, and the Zoo right there if energy holds. All three options are free, which after the flights and the rental car is a pleasant sentence. Verdict: Piestewa for hikers, Papago for everybody, Camelback only at sunrise.

The Day Trip · 2 Hours Each Way

Sedona, if you have one full free day

If Friday is fully yours, the red rocks are the move. Sedona is about 115 miles, roughly two hours each way on I-17 and AZ-179, which is a long day trip but a completely doable one, and late November is quiet season there: highs around 60, trailhead parking that exists, and restaurants that take walk ins. Aim at Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte for the easy big views or the Cathedral Rock climb if the crew is game. One honest closure to know before you go: the beloved West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon is closed this winter, under a Forest Service order running through February 27, 2027, so build the day on the red rock trails instead. Sunset comes early, around 5:20 p.m., which means a head start home in the dusk or an early dinner in Sedona and a dark, easy freeway drive back. Verdict: worth it if Friday is truly free. Leave by 8 a.m., and do not try to stack Sedona and a lights night on the same day.

[AFFILIATE: Sedona day tours and Phoenix rental cars]

Three ways to run the five days

The family base version. Land Wednesday and keep it simple: ZooLights on opening night if the flight is early, or an early night if it is not. Thursday, the Phoenix Turkey Trot at 7:30, the Zoo from late morning, the meal, and a couch. Friday, pick one: the Garden by day and Luminarias by night is the same ticket budget spent twice in the best way, or the desert morning at Piestewa and Mesa's tree lighting at night. Saturday, Tempe's parade. Sunday, brunch and the airport, with the Sky Harbor warning below read first.

The hiker's version. Thursday sunrise at Hole in the Rock or a trot, then a slow day. Friday is the big one: Camelback at sunrise or the full Sedona day, no stacking. Saturday morning, sleep in and take Papago Park easy; Saturday night, Luminarias. Sunday, one last trail near your lodging before the flight, because late November mornings here are the whole reason people move to Phoenix.

The lights collector version. ZooLights Wednesday or Thursday night, Luminarias Friday, Merry Main Street or Glendale Glitters Friday if your crew has the energy for a double, Tempe's parade Saturday, and Christmas at the Princess as the Sunday night finale if the flight home is Monday. It is a lot of standing outside after dark, and the temperatures in the warnings below are not a joke. Dress for the 40s and it is all pleasure.

The honest warnings

Sky Harbor has two crush days, and you are flying on both of them. The airport's own Thanksgiving guidance is blunt: the Wednesday before and the weekend after are the busiest times of the year on its roadways, with Sunday, November 29 the peak departure day. If someone is picking you up or dropping you off, use the 24th Street or 44th Street PHX Sky Train stations instead of the terminal loop; the airport itself suggests it, and it saves real time. Driving yourself? Reserve parking in advance on the airport's site. Buy the Luminarias tickets before you land. Opening weekend nights are the first to go, and the Garden's advance ticket advice is not boilerplate. The Garden is closed on Thanksgiving Day. It bears repeating because every year visitors learn it at the gate. Thursday is Zoo day. Nights are cold by desert standards. Highs around 70 turn into the upper 40s after sunset, and every lights event on this page is a stand outside for two hours event. Pack like it. And Camelback's lot is a sunrise game. If the gate is closed when you arrive, believe it and go to Piestewa; circling McDonald Drive is how visitors collect parking tickets in Paradise Valley.

Keep planning

[AFFILIATE: Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa hotels]

About & Disclosure

TRVL Guide is a travel resource site. Some links on this site may be affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep the guides free. Dates, hours and prices on this page were checked against the venues' and organizers' own sites on November 8, 2026.

Filed under Do. Every hub, hike, tour, event and itinerary on trvlguide lives on the Do shelf, next to Eat and See.

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