If you want a holiday lights date night in Minneapolis that feels like an occasion rather than an errand, the best plan we know is simple: ride a heated vintage trolley through the lit-up neighborhoods with your own bottle of something bubbly, then come home to a historic mansion in Loring Park. Here is how to build that evening, what to book, and how the options compare.
Which holiday lights ride is right for a date night?
Minneapolis Trolley Tours runs two holiday light rides, and only one of them is a date-night ride. Santa’s Nice Ride is the all-ages version: about an hour, family friendly, with riders voting for their favorite decorated home. The Naughty Holiday Party Ride is 21 and over, about two hours, and BYOB. Tickets start at $75 for the Naughty ride and $30 for the Nice ride (current dates and prices are on the holiday light ride page). For two adults who want to sip something together while the lights roll past, the Naughty ride is the one.
Where does the trolley board, and why does it matter?
Every ride boards inside the historic Pillsbury Club, the 1912–14 mansion at 100 East 22nd Street. Free parking is across the street, and you can shop the holiday market before or after your ride, which features handmade gifts from dozens of Minnesota artists. You walk straight from a mansion onto a heated trolley with your drinks in hand.
That is the main difference from the other BYOB holiday lights trolley in the Twin Cities. According to its own ticket listing, that tour checks guests in at Tom’s Watch Bar on Hennepin Avenue, runs three hours, and costs $79 per person plus ticketing fees, from December 3 through December 26. It is a perfectly fine night out, but it starts in a bar. On a cold December evening, we would rather check in at a mansion.
How do you plan the whole evening?
A date night is more than the ride, so here is the order we would do it in:
- Early evening: arrive at the Pillsbury Club with time to browse the holiday market and settle in before boarding.
- The ride: bring your own bottle (21+ on the Naughty ride) and enjoy the heated trolley through neighborhoods, downtown and the best residential displays. Routes change through the season.
- After: head back to Loring Park, or see a show first. The Guthrie’s A Christmas Carol runs November 11 to December 27, according to Meet Minneapolis.
Where should you stay after the lights?
This is where a date night becomes a getaway. 300 Clifton is the historic Eugene J. Carpenter Mansion in Loring Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and it has a hot tub to thaw out in after a cold night of sightseeing. Every room is different, so you can choose one that suits the evening, from the Crystal Mansion Room to the Grand Edwardian. And because it is a mansion you can both sleep in and tour, you can see the historic house for yourself; see where to tour a historic mansion in Minneapolis for the details.
Tips for booking
December weekends are the first to sell out, so reserve the ride and the room together. If you are still comparing options, our guide to Twin Cities holiday lights experiences lays out the drive-through, walk-through and trolley choices side by side, and this post explains why we like boarding at a mansion. If you are walking before or after the ride, check Minneapolis Parks for trail conditions in winter.
Ready? Book the Naughty or Nice holiday light ride and then reserve your room at 300 Clifton. Questions about the ride can go to Minneapolis Trolley Tours at (612) 900-3220.
Keep reading: Why do Minneapolis’s Carpenter and Pillsbury mansions look so different?