If your usual way to the Christkindlmarket is to ride the D, H or L line to Colfax at Auraria and walk across campus, what's your plan this year? Those three lines are suspended through early 2027. RTD says the station won't have direct light rail service until the first quarter of 2027 while the Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project continues.
The market still opens Friday, November 20, at Tivoli Quad, 1000 Larimer St. Admission is free, and it runs through December 23. The Mile High Tree opens the same night on the same quad and stays lit through December 31. The two run on different schedules, and the station change moves where your visit starts. Getting the most out of the season this year means picking your hours and your way in before you leave the house.
The Stop That Isn't Running, and the Three That Are
The Christkindlmarket FAQ lists three rail stops within walking distance. RTD's fall 2026 Auraria transit guidance fills in the lines that serve them. If you drive, Auraria Campus sells parking through ParkMobile, and the prices drop the farther you're willing to walk.
| Way in | What it costs or serves | Walk to the market |
|---|---|---|
| Ball Arena • Elitch Gardens Station | C, E and W lines | About 10 minutes |
| Auraria West Station | C, E and W lines | About 12 minutes |
| Denver Union Station | Free 16th Street FreeRide and Free MetroRide connections | About 15 minutes |
| Tivoli Garage | $30 | Closest walk |
| 5th/7th Street Garages | $15 | Short walk, covered |
| Surface lots | $10 | Lowest on-campus price |
RTD's October 2026 events guide lists the C, E and W lines at Ball Arena • Elitch Gardens Station.
The garage spread is $20 between the closest spot and the cheapest one, and the fee applies per visit. If you plan two or three evenings over the season, the walk from a surface lot saves real money.
For bus riders, RTD says Route 16 and Route ART still stop at the westbound stop next to Colfax at Auraria Station, with ART running every 30 minutes. Route 43 has added peak-period trips between Central Park Station and campus. The market's FAQ lists Routes 43 and 6. The two lists don't match, so check RTD's NextRide app or Service Alerts on the day you go. RTD tells riders to do the same.
Two Clocks on One Quad
Arriving from Auraria West or Ball Arena puts you at the west side of campus, and the hour you get there decides which of the two events you actually see. Here's how the schedules line up on a normal week:
- Market, Monday through Thursday: 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Market, Friday through Sunday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Bank of America Festival Hall: open until 10 p.m., with vendors closing at 9 p.m.
- Mile High Tree, every day: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
On a weekday, the market and the tree overlap for four hours, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. On a weekend, the market has been open for six hours by the time the tree turns on. That makes a Saturday a daytime shopping trip with the tree added at the end. A weeknight visit gets both at once.
The tree is 110 feet tall with 60,000 LEDs, and up to 140 people can stand underneath it. Its light-and-music show starts every 15 minutes during open hours. With a show every quarter hour, you never wait long for the next one, so there's no reason to rush from a vendor hut to catch a particular start time.
The hour from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. is easy to miss. Vendors have closed, but Festival Hall is still open and the tree is still running. If you want a table in the hall, the market takes reservations through Tock.
The Days the Schedules Split
- Friday, November 20. The market and the tree open together.
- Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving. The market runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closes an hour before the tree lights at 5 p.m. A post-dinner visit that evening gets the tree with the market already closed.
- December 17 through 23. The market switches to its weekend schedule every day, opening at 11 a.m. That gives weekday visitors the longest market hours of the season during the final week.
- Wednesday, December 23. Last day of the market.
- December 24 through 31. The tree keeps running 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. with no market around it.
- Thursday, December 31. The Mile High Tree hosts a ball-drop-style countdown at 9 p.m. That puts a midnight-style moment three hours early, at a time that works for anyone with kids or an early morning on January 1.
For the week after Christmas, the huts are gone and the tree's shows still start every 15 minutes.
What Gets Through the Gate
Entry is free, but the posted event rules ban glass containers, outside alcohol, weapons, fireworks, smoking and large objects such as suitcases and shopping carts. Large items may be searched at the entrance. A rolling cart for carrying gifts home is exactly the kind of thing that gets turned away.
Dogs are welcome on a leash, and owners have to clean up after them. The market's FAQ discourages bringing dogs on weekends or on the night of the Parade of Lights because of the crowds. That points dog owners toward the Monday-through-Thursday window, which is also when the market and tree overlap from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
This year the market is promoting a 42-foot carousel and workshops in glass ornament making and glassblowing, along with the usual vendors. A workshop takes a chunk of your evening, so on a weeknight, starting before 5 p.m. leaves time for one before the tree's first show.
Dinner Across Speer
If the market's German food isn't the plan, the closest new option is across Speer Boulevard in Larimer Square. Rōmyō opened in early September at 1401 Larimer St., in the former Ted's Montana Grill space, serving Japanese-Italian "itameshi" food in a train-inspired room, according to Westword. Westword lists its hours as 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Rōmyō's hours fit around the Tivoli Quad schedule. On a weeknight it closes at 9 p.m., the same time the market vendors close, so go to dinner first, catch the tree at 5 p.m., and finish in the market before the huts shut. On a Friday or Saturday, the 10 p.m. close lets you do it the other way around: market in the afternoon, the tree at dusk, then dinner.
Larimer Square has its own season coming. Visit Denver lists Larimer Lights as free, with projection mapping, Santa visits, carolers and new activity each weekend, but its 2026 dates are still listed as "TBA." Once those dates are posted, a weekend evening could cover Tivoli Quad and Larimer Square in one walk.
I follow these calendar changes across Denver because they shape how my clients spend the season. If you're thinking about a move this winter and want to know what a home near downtown is worth, Brandon Kass can send you a number before the market opens on November 20. Get your instant home valuation.
