We’ve visited Grant’s Farm many times, but Summer Nights gave us a completely different way to experience this St. Louis favorite. We biked in via Grant’s Trail, fed goats and parakeets, rode the glowing carousel for the first time, caught a gorgeous sunset over the Bauernhof, enjoyed a fun 90s-themed courtyard with a live band, had our best tram ride through Deer Park yet, and finished the night watching 150 drones light up the sky. The cooler evening temperatures made the entire experience especially pleasant and may have helped explain why so many animals were active during the tram ride. Our favorite drone formations included the Budweiser Clydesdales, Gateway Arch and a flying jet – making our August 2026 Summer Nights adventure one of our favorite Grant’s Farm visits yet.

🌙 Summer Nights: Grant’s Farm After Dark

Summer Nights takes the classic Grant’s Farm experience and gives it an after-dark twist, combining many of the usual animal encounters with live entertainment, food, drinks, cooler temperatures and a nighttime drone show. During our August 28, 2026 visit, the Bauernhof had a fun 90s theme and live band, while the transition from daylight to a beautiful sunset and eventually darkness made familiar parts of the farm feel completely different. Best of all, the cooler evening weather was much more comfortable than exploring during a hot summer afternoon – and the animals seemed to appreciate it too!

🎟️ Entry: Know Before You Glow

• 🎟️ Unlike regular daytime admission to Grant’s Farm, Summer Nights requires paid admission for guests arriving after 5 PM.
• 💵 Admission was ~$15 per person after taxes during our August 2026 visit.
• 🚗 Parking costs extra if you drive directly to Grant’s Farm.
• 🚴 Avoid the parking charge by biking into the farm via Grant’s Trail.
• 📍 For the quickest bike ride into Grant’s Farm, park near Grant’s Trail at 8645 Pardee Lane
• 🔒 Bike racks are available at Grant’s Farm, so bring a bike lock.
• 🎠 Some activities and animal encounters inside the farm have additional fees.
• 📅 Check the Summer Nights current event details before visiting because dates, admission prices and entertainment can change each year.

✨ Highlights: Why We Loved Summer Nights

• 🚃 Deer Park at Dusk – Our evening tram ride was the best we’ve ever had, with cooler temperatures, beautiful evening light and wildlife that seemed especially active and visible throughout the preserve.
• 🐐 Goat Feeding – We couldn’t resist returning to one of our favorite Grant’s Farm traditions and feeding the always-entertaining goats.
• 🦜 Parakeet Feeding – The colorful parakeets happily landed on our hands and heads – and remembered Scott was prime parakeet real estate.
• 🎠 Carousel After Dark – We rode the Grant’s Farm carousel for the first time, and seeing it completely illuminated made Summer Nights the perfect time to finally take it for a spin.
• 🌅 Bauernhof Sunset – The sunset over the Bauernhof was gorgeous and gave the familiar courtyard an entirely different atmosphere.
• 🍺 Beers at the Bauernhof – We could still enjoy Grant’s Farm’s famous complimentary beer samples while relaxing in the courtyard before the nighttime finale.
• 🎶 Live Entertainment – A 90s-themed live band turned the Bauernhof Courtyard into a fun outdoor party as we waited for sunset and the nighttime festivities.
• 🚁 Grant’s Farm in the Sky – 150 synchronized drones transformed into colorful illuminated images above the farm, including some of our favorite formations – the Budweiser Clydesdales, Gateway Arch and a jet soaring across the night sky.

💡 Tips: Make the Most of the Night

• 🌡️ Embrace the cooler evening temperatures – The weather was much more comfortable than a hot summer afternoon, and the animals seemed especially active during our tram ride.
• 🌅 Arrive before sunset – Watching Grant’s Farm transition from daylight through golden hour and into darkness was a big part of what made Summer Nights special.
• 🚃 Take the tram later in the evening – We’ve ridden it many times, and our Summer Nights ride was easily our best yet.
• 🐐 Leave time for the classic animal encounters – Feeding the goats and parakeets was still a highlight even though we’ve done both many times before.
• 🎠 Ride the carousel after the lights come on – We finally tried it during Summer Nights, and the illuminated carousel was much more fun and photogenic.
• 🎶 Check out the courtyard entertainment – The 90s theme and live band added a fun change of pace between attractions.
• 🌅 Spend sunset at the Bauernhof – The courtyard and surrounding buildings look especially pretty in the evening light.
• 🍺 Grab your complimentary beers – It’s the perfect excuse to relax in the Bauernhof before the drone show.
• 🚴 Bike in via Grant’s Trail – For Summer Nights, parking near 8645 Pardee Lane gave us a short ~1.1-mile ride each way, minimizing how far we had to bike after dark while also avoiding Grant’s Farm parking fees and event traffic.
• 🔦 Bring good bike lights – If you stay through the drone show, your ride back will be after dark.
• 🚁 Stay for the drone show – It was the grand finale and one of the biggest things that separated Summer Nights from our normal Grant’s Farm visits.
• 📅 Check current Grant’s Farm Summer Nights event details – Admission, themes, entertainment and drone-show programming can change from year to year.

☀️ Visits: Our Summer Nights Adventure

🚴 Biking into Grant’s Farm: Trading Traffic for Two Wheels

Instead of driving, we biked to Grant’s Farm using Grant’s Trail, which turned out to be a great choice for Summer Nights. For the shortest ride (~1.1 miles one-way), we parked near the trail at 8645 Pardee Lane and e-biked from there to the farm, where bike racks made it easy to lock up before heading inside. Besides adding a little adventure to the evening, biking meant avoiding Grant’s Farm’s parking charge and lines of cars entering the event. The cooler temperatures also made the ride especially pleasant – although staying through the drone show meant biking back in the dark, so good lights were essential.

📈 Garmin Cycling Data with Route

🚃 Deer Park at Dusk: Our Best Tram Ride Yet

We’ve taken the Grant’s Farm tram through Deer Park plenty of times, but our Summer Nights ride was the best we’ve ever experienced. Exploring the preserve later in the day gave the familiar route a completely different feel, with comfortable temperatures, softer evening light and plenty of roaming wildlife. The cooler air may have been one reason the animals seemed more active and visible than usual, giving us some of our best views yet. Between the wildlife, Mirror Lake, Hardscrabble, historic landmarks and glimpses of the Busch estate through the trees, this ride alone gave us a new appreciation for an attraction we’ve experienced many times before.

🐐 Goat Feeding: Dressed for Dinner

We’ve fed the Grant’s Farm goats plenty of times, but this group was noticeably more aggressive than usual – and apparently milk wasn’t the only thing on the menu. Between climbing all over us for bottles, the goats started chewing on my dress and another woman’s dress, turning the feeding area into equal parts petting zoo and fashion emergency. They were relentless, ridiculous and completely hilarious – just maybe don’t wear anything you’re particularly attached to unless you’re willing to let the goats conduct their own taste test.

🦜 Parakeet Feeding: Scott’s Still a Chick Magnet

The Grant’s Farm parakeets once again proved that Scott is somehow irresistible to birds. We already know they love landing on his head and neck, but this time they were especially interested in his hair – and one even gave his scalp a tiny experimental nibble. I had my own little circus act going too, somehow getting one bird to stay balanced on the feeding stick while I slowly rotated it around. They’re surprisingly agile, endlessly entertaining and always one of the most fun animal encounters at Grant’s Farm.

🎠 Carousel After Dark: Finally Taking It for a Spin

Despite all our trips to Grant’s Farm, we had somehow never ridden the carousel until Summer Nights. Waiting until evening may have worked in our favor – once illuminated, the colorful carousel looked especially festive against the darkening sky. The glowing lights and nighttime atmosphere made finally taking it for a spin much more memorable than we expected.

🌅 Grant’s Farm After Dark: From Golden Hour to Glow

One of our favorite parts of Summer Nights was simply watching Grant’s Farm change as the evening went on. The Bauernhof Courtyard looked especially beautiful during sunset, with warm light hitting the historic buildings while the 90s-themed live band played nearby. As darkness settled in, the carousel and other areas around the farm lit up, giving familiar places a completely different feel than during our daytime visits. Between the sunset, cooler temperatures, cold beer, live music and glowing nighttime atmosphere, Summer Nights made the entire farm feel new again.

🚁 Grant’s Farm in the Sky: A St. Louis Finale

The finale was Grant’s Farm in the Sky, when 150 drones rose above the farm and transformed into colorful images against the night sky. We especially loved seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales, a glowing Gateway Arch, and a jet soaring across the sky. After an evening of biking, wildlife, goats, birds, carousel rides, 90s music and sunset beers, seeing familiar St. Louis icons appear overhead was a fantastic finale – and the perfect ending to one of our favorite Grant’s Farm visits yet.