The star on top of the Rock was first lit in 1936. The Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce turned the lighting into a community event in 1962, and on Saturday, Nov. 21, it happens again at about 5:30 p.m., followed right away by fireworks if the weather allows.
Starlighting is the one day of the season when downtown closes its own streets and runs shuttles from three outlying lots. The next evening, the season changes pace. From Sunday, Nov. 22, through the end of December, downtown Castle Rock offers a ride past the holiday lights on every day of the week, with a short list of holiday exceptions. Montaine sits about five minutes south of Old Town, so Starlighting is the one date that takes real planning, and the rest of the season can fit around a weeknight dinner.
Saturday, Nov. 21, runs on a four-hour clock
The Castle Rock Chamber's Starlighting page lists the event from 2 to 6 p.m. in Historic Wilcox Square and Festival Park. General admission is free. Most of the program happens before dark, so arriving in the middle of the afternoon gets you a very different event than showing up for the countdown.
- 2:00 p.m. The streets open to the event. Strolling carolers, dance groups and other performers fill the corners, and there's a kids zone with a petting zoo, face painting and games.
- 2:00 to 4:15 p.m. Santa Claus is in Festival Park. If a photo with Santa is the point of the afternoon, this window closes well before the star lights.
- All afternoon. The Castle Rock Professional Firefighters host their 90th Annual Chili Supper at Castle Rock Fire Station 151, serving beef chili, nachos, hot dogs, drinks and desserts. Biff Gore plays live music on the main stage at 4th and Wilcox.
- 5:00 p.m. The 2026 Starlighting Ceremony begins on the main stage at 4th and Wilcox.
- About 5:30 p.m. The star on the Rock lights, and the fireworks start right after.
Two practical details shape the afternoon. Chamber events don't take cash, only credit and debit cards. There are also four Chamber beverage tents for adults, plus food trucks, vendors and nonprofit and sponsor booths along the streets. If you plan to bring a little cash for a treat, a card works better here.
Getting downtown without circling for a space
Several downtown blocks close from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. that Saturday, so the usual quick trip into Old Town doesn't work. The Chamber lists these closures:
- Perry Street from 5th to 2nd
- North Wilcox Street from 5th to 3rd
- 4th Street from Jerry to Perry
- 3rd Street from Wilcox to Perry
- 2nd Street from Wilcox to Perry
Free shuttles run from 1:30 to 8 p.m. from three lots, and they don't all drop you at the same place.
| Shuttle lot | Pickup point | Where it drops you |
|---|---|---|
| AdventHealth Castle Rock | Alexander Parking Lot, 2350 Meadows Blvd. | Fifth and Wilcox |
| Douglas County High School | South Building, 2842 Front Street | Fifth and Wilcox |
| Douglas County Fairgrounds | Lot 5, 500 Fairgrounds Drive | The street between South and Phelps Streets, by Eternal Rock Lutheran Church and the Folkestad Fazekas Buildings |
The drop point matters more than the lot. After the fireworks, each shuttle loops back only to its own lot, and the Chamber notes that return shuttles pick up where they dropped riders off. If your household rides from the Fairgrounds, your meeting spot at the end of the night is near South and Phelps, not the main stage at Fifth and Wilcox. Make sure everyone in the group knows that before you split up for the chili line and the kids zone.
For anyone who'd rather drive in, the Chamber points to the downtown garages, including the Encore garage at Wilcox and Perry and the garage at 3rd and Jerry. It also links to the Town of Castle Rock's downtown parking map for current details. Both garages sit right next to the closed blocks.
From Nov. 22, a ride on every day of the week
Once the star is lit, downtown's holiday programming moves to evenings, split across two services that cover different nights. Between them, they cover all seven days of the week, except on the holiday dates the carriages skip.
Downtown Castle Rock's 2026 carriage rides run from Nov. 22, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027. Hours are 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Rides start at Festival Park, and tickets must be bought in advance. There are no rides on Nov. 26, Dec. 24, Dec. 25 or Dec. 31.
The carriages don't run on Mondays and Tuesdays, and those are the trolley nights. The free Downtown Winter Trolley runs Monday and Tuesday evenings from Nov. 23 to Dec. 29, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., on a downtown loop while the holiday lights are on.
| Night | What's running downtown | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Free Winter Trolley, Nov. 23 to Dec. 29 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Free Winter Trolley, Nov. 23 to Dec. 29 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Carriage rides, ticketed | 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Thursday | Carriage rides, ticketed | 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Friday | Carriage rides, ticketed | 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | Carriage rides, ticketed | 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | Carriage rides, ticketed | 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. |
The two services work differently, and that should guide which nights you pick. The trolley is free and needs no planning, which makes it an easy add-on to a Monday or Tuesday dinner downtown. The carriages need a ticket bought ahead, so a carriage night is something you put on the calendar. When the trolley ends on Dec. 29, the carriages keep running into the first weekend of January.
For Montaine, this is where the five-minute drive pays off. Starlighting asks for an afternoon, a shuttle plan and a meeting spot. A Tuesday trolley loop asks for about two hours and a parking space on a night when the streets are open.
The weekends on either side
A handful of Saturday and Friday events bracket those weeknights. None of them comes close to Starlighting's scale.
Saturday, Nov. 14. The Outlets at Castle Rock hold a Tree Lighting Celebration from 4 to 7 p.m., listed on the Town of Castle Rock's November calendar. It falls one week before the star.
Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 5. The Festival Park Starlight Market runs 3 to 8 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Town advertises more than 40 craft and food vendors, a decorated 40-foot tree, hot cocoa, food trucks and holiday music, according to its December calendar. The Friday hours line up with the start of a carriage night, since rides leave from the same park beginning at 4:30.
Saturday, Dec. 5. Reindeer Games runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Amphitheater at Philip S. Miller Park, with live reindeer, visits with Santa, crafts, outdoor games and hot chocolate. It ends before the Starlight Market's Saturday hours do, so one afternoon can cover both.
Saturday, Dec. 12. Storytellers and S'mores brings Santa to Festival Park to read from 5 to 7 p.m., with marshmallows, s'mores and hot chocolate. The Town lists it as free.
Put together, the calendar looks like this. One big Saturday on Nov. 21 opens the season, a few smaller weekend events follow in early and mid-December, and apart from Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, every day in between has a trolley or carriage ride through the lights. For a household five minutes from Old Town, that adds up to a season of short evening trips rather than one outing a year.
If your holiday plans include some thinking about how your Montaine home fits the years ahead, Inleit Properties is glad to talk it through over coffee, after the star is lit. Start your home story by requesting a personal consultation.
