Most holiday light hunters in Las Vegas never leave the Strip, and that is exactly why this one stays a gem. Tucked behind a working chocolate factory in Henderson, the Ethel M Holiday Cactus Garden wraps a three-acre botanical cactus garden in more than a million lights, and its 33rd annual run opens Thursday, November 5. Saguaros and prickly pears glow against the desert night while families stroll the paths with cups of the factory's famous hot chocolate. It is Christmas in the desert, done the Nevada way.
The Garden Most Visitors Never Find
The garden sits at the Ethel M Chocolates flagship store and factory at 2 Cactus Garden Drive in Henderson. Ethel M, part of Mars, has made small-batch premium chocolates just outside Las Vegas for more than 45 years, and the cactus garden out front is a real botanical collection the rest of the year. For the holidays it becomes the display: more than one million lights across three acres, open nightly from November 5, 2026 through January 3, 2027. Most nights run 5 to 10 p.m., and no reservations are required for the garden itself. Opening night, November 5, comes with local school choirs in the Pavilion, with the Gunderson Middle School Choir and the Coronado High School Choir both performing at 5 p.m.
What Is New This Year, and What It Costs
Entry is $3 per person, and a portion of every fee goes to HELP of Southern Nevada and Three Square Food Bank. Children under 2 and guests 65 and older get in free, and the fee can be paid by cash or credit card. The headline change for 2026 is the Santa Express Pass. Santa meets guests daily from 5 p.m. to one hour before closing through December 23, and the regular line cuts off at 9 p.m. sharp. New this year, a $40 Santa Express Pass buys a reserved date and time with front-of-the-line access for you and up to five others, available November 6 through December 23. Santa photos by Cashman Photography run $35 for one framed 8-by-6 print and $50 for two. Two more dates belong on a local calendar:
- Veterans Day, November 11: complimentary entrance with valid ID, plus 15% off an in-store purchase for veterans.
- Knights Night, November 20, 6 p.m.: wear your favorite Knights gear for complimentary entrance and a chance to meet Lucky.
- Holiday Chocolate Tasting, November 5 to January 1: a limited-edition tasting in the Flagship Store Tasting Room, with reservations available at EthelM.com.
How to Do It Right
A little planning turns a nice stroll into the best cheap night of the season. Work through it in this order:
- Pick your night with the calendar, not habit. Hours shrink on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day (5 to 8 p.m.), and the garden is closed on Christmas Day. Santa leaves after December 23, so families who want the photo should go before then.
- Park where the factory says to park. Use the Ethel M lots or the Smith's lot across the street. The official page warns that cars in the Green Valley Business Park and Roseman University lots will be towed.
- Leave the dog home. Pets are not allowed in the garden because the cacti sit close to the paths; service animals are permitted.
- End inside the factory store. The stroll finishes steps from small-batch chocolate made on site, which makes the $3 garden the rare holiday outing that also solves the gift list.
Strip light shows charge Strip prices. Three dollars, a glowing desert garden, and chocolate at the end is the locals' version, and it opens Thursday.
