Take back the hour!
The 2025 Mount Pleasant Lantern Walk is Sunday, November 2nd! Join us for a lantern walk to mark the end of Daylight Saving Time and the onset of winter’s early darkness. We will make a procession through the neighborhood carrying lanterns of all sorts, and our route will include a woodsy section full of mystery and surprises!
This is a great event for both kids and grown-ups. The route is about 1.3 miles and includes a section on a wooded path. The path requires care to walk on at night, and strollers are not recommended.
The walk will be on Sunday, November 2nd, the night that Daylight Saving Time ends. In case of rain we will move the walk to Sunday, November 9th. A rain cancellation would be announced on this page, through the mailing list, and on our Facebook page.
Important Change!: This year the walk will not start at Lamont Plaza because there will be a Day of the Dead celebration at the plaza that day. Instead we will gather at the triangle park at the corner of Park road and Mount Pleasant street. Here's a map.
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The walk begins at 5:45 PM and parades through the neighborhood to the woods. However, you are welcome to start any time up to 6:30 - and there will probably be fewer people later on.
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We've Gone Legit! - Hopefully!
We are waiting for approval of our permit for the walk from the National Park Service. We fully expect to receive it, but if not we will make an announcement of any changes in plan.
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Dogs
Please don't bring dogs on the walk. We like dogs! We wish they could come! But with a lot of people out in the dark together it doesn't seem like a good idea to add the canine factor to the mix.
Lanterns
Everyone should bring some source of light. Parts of the walk are very dark. All kinds of lanterns are welcome, except NO FLAMES. No candles, torches, fuel-lanterns or anything that could set anything on fire will be allowed on the walk. Safety first!
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Check out our Making Lanterns page for ideas, sources, and instructions for some cool lanterns.
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Flashlights, phone lights, and headlamps are not good choices for the lantern walk. They are too bright and shine their light too far. If you have no choice but to use one of these, you should put it in some kind of bag or container that will diffuse its light. In fact, we will be giving out white paper bags at the walk which will transform such lights into beautiful little lanterns!
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A Line?!? Don't Panic!
A lot of people will come on the lantern walk. We understand that this can lead to some crowding and frustration, and we are doing some things that should help.
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People will enter the woods in groups, with pauses in between. You may spend more time waiting on the sidewalk before you come in than in past years, but your time in woods will be more relaxed as people can go at their own pace.
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Please do not block the trail! Do stop and spend time if there is someplace you would like to linger, but move to the side so that people can pass. In some places there will be white lights marking the trail, and blue lights marking areas to stand and watch. Please keep the white-marked path clear.
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Everyone gets in! Please don't worry that you won't get into the woods in time to take part. We will make sure that everyone will have a chance to experience the whole walk.
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Walk Quietly
We urge you to walk quietly and to appreciate the darkness and the light, the beauty and the power of this event that brings us all together in the night.
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Don't touch anything! Don't take anything! Do we even have to say this??? ​
and... Enjoy the walk!
Thank you for bringing *your* light.
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- The Mount Pleasant Children's Puppet Hour
