Last holiday season, the Town of Farragut added its Holiday Tree Village to Light the Park. The village was 30 evergreens decorated by local organizations and businesses on the lawn behind the Campbell Station Inn. The trees glowed all December beside a building the public couldn't enter. The Inn's welcome center opened on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, six days after the skating rink beside it closed for the season.
The Holiday Tree Village is back for 2026, and this time the building behind it is open. The Inn keeps daytime weekday hours, though, while the lights keep evening hours and the rink keeps afternoon hours. If you want the whole corridor in one outing without arranging a group tour, you need the narrow window where those three schedules meet.
What reopened at 11409 Kingston Pike
The Town of Farragut bought the Inn and 2.26 acres in 2012. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The restoration exposed original brick, plaster, wallpaper, decorative painting and flooring, according to The Knoxville Focus. Downstairs, one room is a museum and another is a gift shop. A partition between two other rooms came out to make a larger space for private gatherings, and a dumbwaiter lets caterers send food up from the basement. The event venue holds up to 30 guests.
Visit Farragut describes the building as more than 200 years old. Over that time it has served as a stagecoach station, a hospital and a private residence. The schedule matters most this season. The Town's listing gives walk-in hours of Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups of five or more can book tours on Tuesdays and Saturdays with at least two business days' notice. When the welcome center opened in January, its hours were Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The hours have changed once already this year, so check them again before you plan a holiday visit around them.
Three schedules on one stretch of road
The lights run along Campbell Station Road from the I-40 commuter lot to Campbell Station Inn Plaza at Kingston Pike, so the Inn sits at the end of the route. Campbell Station Skate, the synthetic ice rink, is at Mayor Ralph McGill Plaza, 101 N Campbell Station Road. Here is how each attraction's posted hours fall across a week:
| Day | Campbell Station Inn | Campbell Station Skate | Light the Park |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed | Dusk to 10 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Group tours by advance request | 4 to 8 p.m. | Dusk to 10 p.m. |
| Wednesday to Friday | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 4 to 8 p.m. | Dusk to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | Group tours by advance request | 1 to 8 p.m. | Dusk to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed | 1 to 8 p.m. | Dusk to 10 p.m. |
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the Inn closes at 4 p.m., the rink opens at 4 p.m., and the lights come on at dusk. Arrive at the Inn in mid-afternoon and the outing runs straight through to dark. Weekends work in a different order. The rink opens at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and food trucks are stationed beside it on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this year, but the Inn's walk-in hours don't cover either weekend day. On Saturdays, a group of five or more can still book a tour of the Inn ahead of time and then head to the rink.
The rink is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Public restrooms along the lights route stay open nightly until 9 p.m., except on Dec. 25. The Town hasn't posted ticket details for the 2026 rink season. The skate page says tickets will go on sale later this fall.
The first night is a Monday
The season opens on Monday, Nov. 23, the Monday before Thanksgiving, with Countdown to Light the Park at Founders Park at Campbell Station, 405 N Campbell Station Road. The Town calendar lists it from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with crafts and entertainment. Admission is free. According to Visit Farragut, Santa flips the switch on more than 100,000 lights, and the evening includes live entertainment, kids' crafts and family photo spots.
The rink usually doesn't open on Mondays, so your first chance to skate is likely Tuesday, Nov. 24. That's the date Visit Farragut's October holiday itinerary gives for both the rink and the nightly lights. The rink's own event page says Nov. 23, so check the Campbell Station Skate page before kickoff week. Visit Farragut lists Jan. 3 as the last night for both the rink and the lights. The Town calendar says the lights come on each evening through Jan. 1, so check the final nights of the lights before New Year's weekend.
Each night of the season, you can mail letters to Santa at the park and pick up the daily giveaways from local businesses and groups.
Walking the corridor in order
The lights already run past the Inn, so it makes a natural last stop. On a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, this order uses all three schedules:
- Campbell Station Inn, mid-afternoon. Walk in before 4 p.m. to see the museum room, the gift shop and the 30 trees on the back lawn while it's still daylight.
- Mayor Ralph McGill Plaza, from 4 p.m. The plaza was completed in 2020 and dedicated on May 7, 2021, WATE reported. It has lighting, a restroom, open lawn, benches and interpretive signs, and this season the rink is set up there.
- Founders Park at dusk. Walk north along the lit stretch of Campbell Station Road toward the park at 405 N Campbell Station Road once the lights come on.
Where to eat between stops
The rink's event page says many shops and restaurants are within walking distance. The places Visit Farragut lists closest to the plaza are on Campbell Station Road itself. Elkmont Station is at 103 S. Campbell Station Road, Summer Moon Coffee is at 104 N. Campbell Station Road, and Starbucks is at 101 S. Campbell Station Road.
Across Kingston Pike, Biddle Farms Town Center is the other cluster. Knox News places it across Kingston Pike from the Farragut High School baseball field and near the Campbell Station Kroger. Visit Farragut lists Parlor Doughnuts at 106 Biddle Farms Blvd., Tupelo Honey at 126 Biddle Farms Blvd. and Super Chix at 116 Brooklawn St. The September tenant list in Farragut Press also includes Nekter Juice Bar, which opened in August.
Two more restaurants are on the way. On Oct. 23, Knox News confirmed that Country Burrito and Paris Baguette are the next restaurants coming to Biddle Farms. In September, Farragut Press reported that Paris Baguette was expected to open between late November and early December. The owners are University of Tennessee alumni, and this will be their first East Tennessee location. If that timing holds, the bakery-café could open while the rink is running. No firm date has been announced.
The rest of the season's calendar
Thanksgiving week and December add more Farragut events, and the Winter Market brings one of them back to Biddle Farms:
- Hot to Trot 5K, 10K and Fun Run, Thursday, Nov. 26. A Thanksgiving morning race through the Turkey Creek area that supports Hand Up for Women and Shepherd of Hope Food Pantry. Register in advance.
- Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28. Visit Farragut suggests locally owned shops including Shoppes at Homespun and Katy's Hallmark.
- Celebrate the Season, Thursday, Dec. 3. Cookie decorating, crafts, a holiday movie and Santa photos at the Farragut Community Center.
- Winter Market at Biddle Farms, Saturday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The market's hours line up with the rink's 1 p.m. weekend opening, so you can do both on the same Saturday.
- New Year's at Noon, Thursday, Dec. 31, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A daytime New Year's Eve celebration at the Farragut Community Center.
On Thursday, Dec. 31, the Inn's listed weekday hours overlap with New Year's at Noon.
If the reopened Inn and the holiday lights have you thinking about how much Farragut's town center has changed, I'm always glad to talk it through. Terri Lawson has followed this corridor's growth for years, and I'd be happy to share what I've seen over coffee on Campbell Station Road. Let's Connect.
