Cheekwood’s Holiday LIGHTS opens November 20: a mile-long path through the Cheekwood estate with more than a million lights, running every night through January 3. It sells by the half hour, every guest needs a ticket bought ahead, and a sold-out time cannot be bought at the gate. Pair it with a daytime walk at Deerwood Arboretum in Brentwood, 27 acres on the Little Harpeth River. Here is how the two fit in one day, what they cost, and where to eat on either side of the lights.
We run Botanical Garden Near Me, a directory of public gardens and arboretums across the United States, and we are a guest here. Top of Nashville asked for the gardens. They supplied the restaurants.
The plan, in order
Start at Deerwood, which is open daily from dawn to dusk and gets dark early in November and December, so go in the late morning or early afternoon. Its lot has 11 spaces and was not designed for groups. Then head to Cheekwood for your Holiday LIGHTS entry. Entry times run every half hour from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., and everyone has to be off the grounds by 10. If you want to see Cheekwood’s gardens by day too, buy both tickets: daytime visitors have to leave by 3:30 p.m. and come back in at their LIGHTS time.
Cheekwood Holiday LIGHTS
Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden at 1200 Forrest Park Drive, built around the 1930s Georgian mansion of Leslie and Mabel Cheek. Holiday LIGHTS runs seven nights a week from November 20, 2026 through January 3, 2027, 4:30 to 10 p.m. It is closed Thanksgiving night and Christmas night, and open New Year’s night. Adult tickets are $26 to $32 and youth tickets (3 to 17) $20 to $26, depending on the night and whether you add An Enchanted Noel in the mansion; children 2 and under are free but still need a ticket. Members pay $17 to $23. Peak pricing applies on Fridays, Saturdays and the week before Christmas. A $2 service fee is added to each ticket, $3 for walk-ups. Non-members pay $5 to park. It is a rain-or-shine event and tickets are not refundable. Highlights on the path include the 28-foot Pixel Pine, the Peppermint Path and the Star Field. By day, from November 3, the gardens are open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Sculpture Trail is closed for construction.
Deerwood Arboretum
Deerwood Arboretum and Nature Center, at 320 Deerwood Lane in Brentwood, is a Level 2 state-certified arboretum on 27 acres along the Little Harpeth River. More than 60 tree species line its paved and unpaved trails, with ponds, a wildflower meadow, a footbridge over the river, a covered pavilion and restrooms. It is open daily from dawn to dusk, and the city lists no admission fee. Parking is limited to 11 spaces, so it suits a couple or a family, not a group.
The full list
Hours, prices and directions for each of these, with the official page for each, are on our side. The Cheekwood Estate & Gardens page on Botanical Garden Near Me lists them, closest first.
Where to eat after
One table for lunch near Deerwood and two near Cheekwood, one for dinner before your entry time and one for after, each checked against its hours. They come from Top of Nashville lists: Greek, Cajun and Creole and pizza. The scores are theirs, not ours.
Mediterranean Cuisine
Insider Score6.5
Greek · Brentwood
Lunch near Deerwood. About 2 miles away in Brentwood, open from 10:30 a.m. daily (11 a.m. on Sunday). Lamb gyro, spanakopita and moussaka in a quiet room, at some of the gentlest prices on the list.
Voodoo Gumbo
Insider Score8.2
Cajun & Creole · Nashville
Dinner before the lights. On Highway 70 South, under 3 miles from Cheekwood. Open until 8:30 p.m. (9 on Friday and Saturday) and closed Mondays, so eat before an early entry. Seafood gumbo, crawfish étouffée, a blackened catfish po’boy.
TailGate Brewery
Insider Score7.5
Brewery · Nashville
After the lights. On Charlotte Pike, under 4 miles from Cheekwood, open until 9 p.m. (10 on Friday and Saturday) every day. A big brewery with wood-fired pizza; the ricotta pizza is the repeat order.
Scores are Top of Nashville Insider Scores. Restaurant photographs from Yelp and Tripadvisor.
Sources. Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, Holiday LIGHTS, Know Before You Glow, Tickets and Visit pages, checked October 23, 2026. City of Brentwood, Deerwood Arboretum and Nature Center pages (Parks and Recreation; Tree Board), checked October 23, 2026. Restaurant hours from Top of Nashville records. Top photo: Cheekwood Mansion by Vandore, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; other photo credits are under each photo.
Botanical Garden Near Me writes for Botanical Garden Near Me. Botanical Garden Near Me lists public botanical gardens, arboretums and conservatories across the United States, with hours, admission and directions taken from each garden's official site. This piece was written for Top of Nashville.