Denver Christmas Market 2026

RTD light rail has several stations around the edge of the Auraria Campus. The organizer gives these walking times to the market: Ball Arena/Elitch Gardens (C, E and W lines) about 10 minutes, Auraria West Campus about 12 minutes and Union Station about 15 minutes. RTD bus routes 6 and 43 stop close by at 9th Street and Auraria Parkway and at Larimer and 12th Street. If you take a rideshare, the organizer suggests asking for Auraria Campus: you are dropped at the King Center, about three minutes' walk from the stalls.

There is no market lot. The organizer points drivers to the Auraria Campus surface lots (Holly, Cherry and Elm), which are cheaper than the garages and less used on Ball Arena event nights, and to the 5th Street and 7th Street garages. Campus parking is paid at all times, by the ParkMobile app or pay-by-plate machines. Rates are lowest Monday to Thursday before 5 pm, which is why the organizer suggests an early weekday visit.

The organizer says the market is wheelchair accessible, with ramps, and that the restrooms are portable toilets that are ADA accessible and cleaned daily. It also warns that weekends and evenings get very crowded, which can make it hard to get around in a wheelchair. Wheelchairs are not rented or sold on site. The Auraria Campus publishes its own accessible parking map.

By the organizer's own account, weekends and evenings are the busiest times, and the Parade of Lights weekend is crowded enough that it advises leaving dogs at home. Weekday afternoons, Monday to Thursday from the 1 pm opening, are the quieter choice, and parking is cheapest then too if you arrive before 5 pm.

The 52nd 9NEWS Parade of Lights runs through downtown Denver on Saturday, December 5, 2026, and is free to watch. The Downtown Denver Partnership says its downtown ice rink is closed for the 2026-27 season while Skyline Park is rebuilt, so do not plan on skating there this year.

The Auraria Campus sits just across Speer Boulevard from Larimer Square and Lower Downtown (LoDo), so both are an easy walk from the stalls. The Union Station area is about 15 minutes on foot, and from there the light rail covers the rest of downtown.