A baby giraffe, cheetah, elephant, hippo, bear, zebra, arctic fox and giant tortoise now stand along the paths at McKee Botanical Garden on US 1. "Return of the Wild" opened on October 10, 2026, and McKee lists it as running through December 2027. The same sculptures will also anchor this year's Jungle Lights, which runs for 31 nights starting November 29. If you live within a short drive of 350 US Highway 1, you have about 14 months of ordinary Tuesday mornings to see them first.
Fourteen months on the paths, five weeks under lanterns
The exhibit and the holiday show run on two very different clocks. Return of the Wild is on view for more than a year. Jungle Lights runs from November 29 to January 2, from 6 to 9 p.m., with last entry at 8:30. It is closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
The artists are Gillie & Marc, whom McKee's exhibit page describes as "widely recognized as the world's most prolific creators of public art," with a body of work built around raising awareness of endangered animals. Vero News described the pieces as lifelike bronze sculptures of critically endangered newborn animals that will stay on display until December 2027. Vero Beach Magazine's fall cultural-season preview also reported that the bronzes will remain through 2027.
The animals will still be on the paths next spring and next summer.
Why the garden chose rescued things for this anniversary
The exhibit marks the 25th anniversary of McKee's reopening, and the subject ties to the garden's own past. McKee Jungle Gardens closed in 1976. In 2001, thanks to the determination of local residents, the land that remained reopened as McKee Botanical Garden, as Vero News reported this month. The Return of the Wild page draws the connection itself. It says saving a garden and saving a species both take "vision, courage, commitment, and the belief that beauty and life are worth preserving."
The orchids follow the same rescue-and-rebuild pattern. Co-founder Arthur McKee, who started the original gardens with Waldo Sexton, once owned one of the largest private orchid collections in the United States. Many of those plants left after the 1976 closure. The garden has rebuilt the collection to more than 2,000 rare, historic and native species, and it received four American Orchid Society awards this June and July. One was an Award of Merit for a Cattleya measuresiana named 'McKee Botanical Garden.' Those plants are part of the setting the sculptures were placed in. McKee says the animals sit "among century-old state champion trees, rare waterlilies, and award-winning living collections." Daylight is when those trees, waterlilies and orchids show up around each sculpture.
How Jungle Lights reached 31 nights
The jump to 31 nights comes from changes to the schedule more than from a longer season.
McKee's 2025 press release called that year's Jungle Lights a 25-night event, up from the original nine nights. It also said the 2024 show drew a record 17,000 visitors. The dates printed in that release started December 3 and skipped every Monday. They also left out December 29 and 30.
| 2025 run | 2026 run | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening night | December 3 | November 29 |
| Mondays | Not on the printed schedule | Open, 6 to 9 p.m. |
| December 29 and 30 | Not on the printed schedule | Open |
| Nights advertised | 25 | 31 |
| Regular adult nonmember ticket | $30 | $30 |
This year the show opens four days earlier, on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It then runs every night through January 2 except the four holidays. The garden itself is closed on Mondays during the day, so for five Mondays this season you can visit only after dark. McKee also says the 2026 show "expands farther into the historic jungle than ever before," so the light trail now covers ground that earlier editions left dark. Adult prices for both regular and premium nights are the same as last year, $30 and $35 for nonmembers.
What daylight gives you
Daytime hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last ticket sold at 4. The Children's Garden closes at 4:30. Admission is $25 for adults and $15 for youth. Children under 3 get in free, and military members and first responders with ID pay $15. Members get in free every day.
The garden covers 18 acres and holds more than 10,000 plants. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Florida Heritage Landmark. Each sculpture stands in a spot that was a stop on a garden walk long before it became a stop on a light trail. The Garden Café is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It serves only beverages and pastries in the first hour of the day, and until noon on Sundays. An early-afternoon visit gives you a full lunch menu and the sculptures in full sun.
The membership math changes at night. Membership covers daytime entry, but McKee's own visit page lists Jungle Lights as an exception to member discounts on annual events, and members pay a ticket price for it. A member can visit Return of the Wild every week this fall for free and still needs a ticket for the lights.
Picking your night
Jungle Lights tickets are tied to the date you choose. All sales are final and non-refundable, and guest passes cannot be used. The show is billed as rain or shine. If McKee itself cancels a night for inclement weather, those tickets work on any remaining Jungle Lights date. McKee encourages buying online in advance to avoid lines. If you've already seen the sculptures in daylight, a damp night on the date you booked costs you only the lanterns.
| Night type | Dates | Members, adult / child | Nonmembers, adult / child |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members Only Night | Tuesday, December 1 | $5 / $5 | Not offered |
| Regular Nights | November 29 to December 16 | $15 / $10 | $30 / $20 |
| Premium Nights | December 17 to January 2 | $20 / $10 | $35 / $20 |
Children under 3 are free on every night. Member children's prices apply to ages 3 to 16. The December 1 members' night has limited availability, and McKee warns it may sell out.
The extra $5 for a premium adult ticket buys the large-scale model train and character visits. Santa and Mrs. Claus are listed for the nights leading up to December 23, and holiday characters appear from December 27 to January 2. Every night includes the illuminated pathways, the 30-foot Christmas tree, the living bromeliad trees and the Great Reindeer Hall with its giant illuminated Rudolph. McKee describes the bromeliad tree as 15 feet tall and made from 375 bromeliads and orchids. For a household that has already seen the animals in daylight and doesn't need Santa, a regular night before December 17 is the lowest-cost way to see them lit up.
The calendar between now and opening night
The weeks before November 29 give you several more reasons to visit, and each one is a chance to see the sculptures as well.
- Friday, October 23, 6 to 8 p.m. The Kat Woods Trio plays Rhythm in Bloom. Tickets are free for members and $10 for nonmember adults, $5 for children, and registration is required. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Outside food and drinks aren't allowed, but the Garden Café sells both.
- Thursday, November 12. The launch event for McKee's commemorative book, "The Jungle Garden: Preserving a Tropical Landscape," is scheduled at the Vero Beach Book Center, according to Vero News. McKee marketing manager Christel Morat told Vero News in August, "we're so happy that it came together for the 25th reopening anniversary."
- Friday, November 13, 6 to 8 p.m. Rhythm & Sky closes out the fall Rhythm in Bloom series, with the same pricing and lawn-chair rules.
- Saturday, November 14, 3 to 4:30 p.m. Heather O'Shea discusses the book at the garden and signs copies afterward. The talk is free for members and free with garden admission for everyone else.
- Sunday, November 29. Jungle Lights opens.
The two Rhythm in Bloom evenings are the only times this fall to see the sculptures at dusk before the lanterns go up. Both end at 8 p.m., and the garden lights are not part of these events. Of everything on the list, the October 23 concert is the closest, one day after this post publishes.
If you're planning a December visit with family coming in for the holidays, and the conversation over dessert turns to life on this stretch of the Treasure Coast, Susie Wilson Real Estate would be glad to help with that conversation too. Request a free home valuation and consultation.
