The public drawing for the Eagle River Nature Center's Winter Solstice Lantern Walk opened at 12 a.m. today, Thursday, Nov. 19, and closes at 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23. The walk is on Saturday, Dec. 19, with two sessions, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. A ticket is $20 and covers one vehicle.
The big change for 2026 is that getting to the signup page first no longer helps. With entries open for five days and winners picked at random, it doesn't matter whether you enter right at midnight or on Sunday afternoon. The public pool already includes any member tickets nobody bought within 48 hours of the Nov. 16 winner emails. After entry closes, what decides whether your household gets in is a 48-hour purchase window that opens on Thanksgiving Day, along with a waitlist that moves every time a winner doesn't pay.
Last year, tickets sold out at checkout
In 2025 the walk was on Dec. 13 and worked the same basic way: $20 per vehicle, one registration and one time slot per family. The 2025 registration page admitted that members' early registration had left the site "a little overwhelmed." It warned that if your payment wouldn't go through at checkout, "it means the tickets sold out just before you were able to grab one." The page now reads "SORRY, THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT."
On its 2026 Winter Solstice Walk page, the Nature Center explains that demand exceeds the number of vehicles it can safely accommodate every year. It says parking is limited and the ice lanterns depend on winter weather, so it simply can't fit everyone who wants to come. It calls the random drawing a way to "give everyone a fairer opportunity to attend." The limit is the parking lot at the end of Eagle River Road. The ticket count follows from how many cars fit there.
Where the public pool comes from
Vehicle reservations are split between two drawings. The public share is bigger than the headline 40% suggests.
| Round | Entry window | Share of vehicle reservations | Winners notified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members only | Nov. 9 to Nov. 13 | 60% | Nov. 16 |
| Public, open to everyone | Nov. 19 to Nov. 23 | 40%, plus any member reservations not purchased | Nov. 26 |
Each member household picked in the first round had 48 hours from notification to buy its ticket. Any tickets not bought in that time move to the public allocation. Members who weren't picked, or who missed their 48 hours, are entered in the public drawing automatically for the session they chose, with no new registration.
The same 48-hour rule applies in the public round, with one difference that matters. Public tickets that go unbought aren't redrawn. They go "to the next entry on the list." So a household that isn't picked at first can still get a ticket over the following days if someone ahead of it doesn't pay.
The calendar from today to Dec. 19
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 12 a.m. Public entry opens.
- Monday, Nov. 23, 11:59 p.m. Public entry closes.
- Thursday, Nov. 26. Winners are notified by email. This year that's Thanksgiving Day, and the 48-hour purchase clock starts when the email arrives.
- Over the following days. Unbought public tickets go to the next households on the list, and each new winner gets its own 48 hours.
- Saturday, Dec. 19. Lantern walk sessions at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Notification on Thanksgiving makes it easy to miss the window. An email that sits unopened during family dinner and the long weekend can run out, and the ticket goes to the next household on the list. Check whatever inbox you entered with on Thursday and again on Friday.
Rules that decide whether an entry counts
The Nature Center's rules for the 2026 drawing:
- One entry per household. This applies even if the household holds more than one membership, and duplicate entries are disqualified.
- One vehicle per ticket. The Nature Center says large passenger vans can't be accommodated.
- Pick your session when you enter. Every entry has to name a preferred session.
- One ticket per household overall. A household that already got a ticket in the member drawing can't enter the public round.
- An entry is not a ticket. Winners still have to buy the $20 reservation within 48 hours.
Because each entry is tied to one car, families and neighbors who want to carpool need to settle that before entering. Several households in one vehicle need only one entry, and that vehicle can't be a large van.
What membership does and doesn't get you this year
Memberships had to be active by Nov. 13 to count for the member round, so joining now won't help with that drawing. The Nature Center also says membership gives you a chance to enter but "does not guarantee a reservation."
Membership does pay off the rest of the year. The Join page lists Basic at $50, Premium at $75, Military Basic at $40, Military Premium at $65, Senior for ages 62 and up at $30, Student at $30, and a Life Balance employer-program rate of $35. Most plans include one parking decal. Premium and Military Premium include two, and Premium members can add another decal for $15. Without a decal, parking costs $5 for 24 hours. If you go to Mile 12 most weekends, the parking savings add up quickly.
The Albert Loop is open again before the lanterns go out
Last year's walk followed hundreds of ice lanterns along the ¾-mile Rodak Nature Trail. As of the Nature Center's Nov. 7 trail report, the Rodak was icy in the mornings and a little muddy through the day.
The same report reopened the Albert Loop as of Nov. 7. The Anchorage Daily News reported in August that State Parks had closed the loop when bears came back to feed on spawning salmon. That closure lasts until freezing weather sends most bears into hibernation. The reopened loop is a bit different. ERNC tells hikers to use the Bypass Trail around the stretch of the Old Albert Loop the river washed out, and to expect ice in the morning and mud later in the day.
The trails are open 24 hours a day, all year. The fee machine and trail maps are to the left of the front door. From October through April, the building at 32750 Eagle River Rd. is open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can walk the Rodak in daylight any weekend in December, drawing or no drawing.
If the email doesn't come
When last year's walk sold out, the Nature Center encouraged people to make their own ice lanterns at home or surprise their neighbors with them. It posted written instructions for paper and ice lanterns along with video guides.
There are also two December outings close to home. The Chugiak-Eagle River Nordic Ski Club's November newsletter lists a ski tour on Sunday, Dec. 6, meeting at 12:30 p.m. in the Beach Lake parking lot. The route covers the Lake and Lakeside trails and possibly the Fire Creek estuary. For something faster, the Merry Masher is part of the Trek Winter Fat Bike Series run with Chugach Mountain Bike Riders. It's on Saturday, Dec. 26, at 7 p.m. in Chugiak near Bear Mountain, with short and long courses of about 6 and 9 miles, at $55 for either.
Whether your household is picked or not, December 19 is a good day to know how Eagle River Road fills up after dark. If you're thinking about which Eagle River or Chugiak neighborhood puts Mile 12 closest to your front door, or want to know what your current home would sell for this winter, Calling Alaska Home can talk it through over coffee. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll help with the rest of the planning.
