Dunn Gardens Celebrates the Solstice Early, in the Week of Seattle's Earliest Sunsets

"If we are really honest, we are cheating and holding it ahead of schedule." That's how Dunn Gardens described its Winter Solstice Stroll in 2017, when the event fell on December 10 and the astronomical solstice fell on December 21.

The 2026 celebration runs early again, on Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 13533 Northshire Road NW. This year's solstice comes on Monday, December 21, at 12:50 p.m. Seattle time. Those two December evenings are darker at 5 p.m. than the solstice evening will be.

Seattle's earliest sunset comes before its shortest day

The shortest day and the earliest sunset are two different events, and in Seattle they fall about a week apart. Here is how the December 2026 sun tables for Seattle line up:

According to timeanddate.com's Seattle sun calendar, the sun sets at 4:17 p.m. every evening from December 7 through December 14, and the year's earliest sunset falls inside that stretch. By December 21, sunset has already moved three minutes later. The solstice still has the least total daylight, but that's because mornings keep getting later until close to New Year's. Sunrise is 7:47 a.m. on December 11 and 7:54 a.m. on December 21.

For an event that opens at 5 p.m., the evening side is what counts. On both celebration nights, civil twilight ends at 4:53 p.m., seven minutes before the gates open. Anyone arriving at 5 walks in after the last usable daylight is gone, in the week of the year's earliest sunsets.

What the dark is for

The whole event depends on that darkness. The garden's 2026 Saturday listing describes lights, bonfires, warm drinks, music by Third Harbour, and the garden's "beautiful Celtic Spiral." The 2017 post explained how the spiral works. It's built from greenery cut in the garden itself. Visitors light a candle and walk inward by its light, thinking back over the old year. They stop at the center for a moment, the way the sun appears to stand still, then turn and walk out to greet the new year.

The same post links the fire pit to the Scandinavian custom of burning a yule log at the solstice. It also notes that the word "solstice" comes from the Latin solstitium, "the sun stands still." This year's listing calls the spiral "a celebration of quiet hope, of carrying light in darkness, and of sharing that light with others." On a 4:17 sunset, that darkness arrives on schedule.

From a members' stroll to a ticketed fundraiser

The event has grown since that 2017 post. Back then it was a membership benefit: members could bring guests, and donations were welcome. In 2018 the garden promoted a December 9 celebration as a favorite event for members.

In 2026 it's a ticketed fundraiser over two nights, and the garden calls it "one of our few fundraising events of 2026." A silent auction is part of the evening, so it's a chance to do some holiday shopping close to home. Ticket details from the Saturday listing:

Saturday entry is timed, with two windows, 5:00 to 6:30 and 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. You pick a window when you buy, arrive any time within it, and stay as long as you like. The garden doesn't refund event tickets but suggests giving them away if your plans change. Pets stay home.

Members should note one rule. Individual memberships, the Snowdrop and Cyclamen tiers, include one ticket at the member price. Friends and family pay the $20 not-yet-member price. On the current membership page, Snowdrop costs $50 and Cyclamen $60.

Both windows end in full dark. The earlier one starts seven minutes after twilight ends, so the choice comes down to whether you'd rather reach the spiral with the first arrivals or later in the evening.

Getting to Northshire Road NW after dark

On a weekday afternoon in spring, Dunn Gardens is easy to visit. On a dark December evening with guests arriving for timed entry, it takes some planning. The garden's planning page lists both celebration dates as closures, which means no regular daytime visits on December 11 or 12. The arrival steps are the same as on any visit:

1. Enter the Northshire Rd NW loop from NW 137th.
2. Park on the street, along the outer loop or the west side of Northshire Rd NW only. The garden notes that cars on both sides can block emergency vehicles, and asks visitors not to block driveways.
3. Walk to the white entrance gates, keep left at the Dunn Gardens sign, then keep right at the Check-in sign.
4. Check in at the kiosk across from the Trust office.

There are two ADA parking spaces inside the garden, first-come, first-served, to the south of Ed's Cottage. Cars park one directly behind the other. The garden's phone number is (206) 362-0933.

Northshire Road NW is a residential street, so following the one-side parking rule matters after dark too. Neighbors living along the loop deal with two nights of evening arrivals.

A woodland planned for daylight, lit by fire

The garden wasn't designed for evenings. Arthur Dunn bought 10 acres in Broadview in 1914. In May 1915 he asked the Olmsted Brothers to site a cottage and plan the landscape, and the firm delivered a planting plan in spring 1916, which Dunn carried out. The family used the property as a summer country retreat, a season of long light.

Edward Bernard Dunn brought it into the darker months. In 1947 he converted the garage into his home and began the woodland garden he tended until 1991. Ed Dunn left an endowment to preserve the property. According to HistoryLink, the E. B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust was founded in 1993 to own and manage it. The National Park Service record shows Dunn Gardens added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 1994. The nomination dates the garden's development to 1915 through 1920 and credits the Olmsted Brothers as its architects.

So the Celtic Spiral is woven from greenery growing in a summer retreat that became a year-round woodland. At the solstice, a garden planned for long days is walked by candlelight.

Before and after the bonfires

There's another date at the garden first. Holiday Cardmaking runs Friday, November 20, from 10 a.m. to noon at Ed's Cottage–Classroom. It's a watercolor and mixed-media session, and tickets are $45 for members and $55 for nonmembers. It's a morning session, held while the sun is still rising in the 7 o'clock hour.

Outside the two closure dates, the regular schedule continues. The garden is open for self-guided visits Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Sundays. Admission is $10 for nonmembers, and members get in free with up to four guests. From December 7 through 14, 4 p.m. closing comes 17 minutes before sunset, so daytime visits end with a little light left. Docent-led tours are by appointment from April through October at $15 per person and last about an hour to an hour and a half.

After December 14, sunset starts moving later, to 4:18 on December 15 and 4:27 by New Year's Eve. When the official solstice arrives at 12:50 p.m. on December 21, Broadview's evenings will already be getting longer. The bonfires at Dunn Gardens burn on the two nights before that turn.

If you're heading to Northshire Road NW on December 11 or 12, or thinking about which quiet corners of Broadview make the dark months easier, I'm always glad to compare notes. Brooke Davis has known this part of North Seattle for a long time. Let's Connect.