Christmas at House on the Rock: A Unique Experience

The Magic of Christmas at the House on the Rock

The House on the Rock is open for the Christmas Experience from mid-November to December. During this time the complex is transformed into a Santa wonderland for the Christmas season. Featuring twinkling lights, garland, and there are over 6,000 collectible Santas to see. 

As you walk through you will hear Christmas songs and they even have holiday scents.  

This is a self-guided tour. You will need at least 3 hours to get through Sections 1 and 2. Section 3 is closed for the Christmas Experience. 

Want to see a video walk through? Link to our video walkthrough at the bottom. You will enjoy it!

Made by hand, some call it House of the Rock, rock house, either way, I hope these House on the Rock photos help with your decision to visit. It truly is a remarkable place.  

House on the Rock Location and Hours

House on the Rock Location

It will take about 3 hours to get here from Chicago and 2 from Milwaukee.
Address:
House on the Rock
5754 WI-23
Spring Green, WI 53588

House on the Rock Christmas Hours

Open: Thursday – Monday from 9 AM to 5 PM 
Closed: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 
Last tickets sold at 3:30 PM 

House on the Rock Christmas Ticket prices

Regular Admission (Ages 18+)…$29.95 
Child Admission (Ages 7-17)…$16.95 
Children 6 and under…$3.95 
Senior Admission (Ages 65 and up)…$27.95 

What you need to know

Useful Information:   

1. Tickets – Your House on the Rock Christmas Experience tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Discounted tickets are available online. When you get to the Welcome Center, go to a ticket kiosks or the ticket counter to get your tickets. You can easily print out your pre purchased tickets at these kiosks.

2. Tokens – Make sure to grab some tokens, you will want them throughout the house for different coin operated machines and music machines. You will be able to use them on some antique coin machines and hydraulic orchestras. I suggest getting at least 10 tokens.

3. Time – They say you can get through sections 1 and 2 in 2 hours, but don’t. You will not be able to appreciate or even get close to seeing everything. We have been there a couple times and I see something new each time. You can easily spend the whole day here.

4. Clothing/Shoes/Backpack/Purse – The house is heated, but since it’s fall/winter, they will have the heated turned down generally in anticipation of you wearing a coat. You do have to travel outside between buildings, and it is a bit of a walk. Wear good walking shoes, there is a lot of uneven ground and stairs.  

5. Food/Picnic – The concession area has pizza, hot dogs, nachos, and veggies. Prices are ok. It is open 10-3PM. Plenty of tables and chairs are available. 

6. Pets – No pets are allowed. Daycare is available in Dodgeville and Spring Green a few miles away.  

7. Accessibility – Handicap parking is available. Because of the design and the fact that this was originally built as Alex Jordan’s home, some areas of the house are not accessible by wheelchair. Other places have uneven ground. Section 2 does have a lift and they try to accommodate as much as possible.  

8. Babies – Changing tables are available.  Strollers will have some difficulty and wagons are not allowed. There are some tights turns and plenty of stairs. 

9. Parking – Plenty of free parking is available on the hill above the visitor center. RV and bus parking is available as well. There is room for everyone.  At the entrance of the RV parking there is a porta-potty and picnic tables.

10. Food/Drink – Outside food and drink are not allowed inside. Water is ok to bring in, there are a couple water fountains with the bottle refill option if you do bring your own bottle.   

Sections

Here is an overview of the sections that are open and you will be going through during the Christmas Experience.

Welcome Center

Here is where you will pick up your tickets and map and use the bathroom if needed. The bathrooms are also decorated with the Christmas theme. There are ticket kiosks here where you can print out purchased tickets (you HAVE TO have printed tickets) or purchase new ones. When the tour is over, you will also exit through the Welcome Center.   

Token machines are located here as well. A new machine was just added that takes credit card. I did not see any more of these machines in the house, so if you do not have cash, make sure to get a couple dollars’ worth of tokens while in the Welcome Center. If you do have cash, there are cash token machines thought the house. Also, if you have any left over tokens at the end, you can cash them back in. 

You will start your tour through the left side of the Welcome Center. Hold onto your tickets until you get to the Gate House.  

Alex Jordan Center

This is where you will learn all about the Man who started it all, Alex Jordan. You will wind around and do a loop back around to almost where you started. There you will head down the Santa hallway. Christmas Santas line both sides of your walk. At the end you will need to show your tickets. 

Then you will be able to enter the Gate House on the Right. 

Bathrooms are located here. 

The Gate House

Here is where the Christmas experience really starts. Alex Jordan’s unique designs are first mainly showcased here, giving you a glimpse of what to expect in the Original House. 

You will get to hear and see the first music machine.  

Once you exit you will go to the right next to the Buddah (rub his tummy for good luck) and then up the long ramp to the Original House. 

The Gate House is not wheelchair or stroller accessible and there is no restroom. 

The Original House

When you get here there are two doors, you will enter on the left. The door on the right is where you will be exiting. The Original House, a house of rocks, consists of 13 rooms.   

The Original House and the Infinity Room are not wheelchair or stroller accessible and does not have a bathroom.

Infinity Room

Part of the Original House, it juts out over the valley 218 feet and is full of glass. No Santas to see here, just a great view.

Mill House

Going back down the ramp you took to get to the Original House you will pass the exterior of Gate House and enter back into the original hallway where you showed your tickets. You will head right, go outside once again and into the Mill House and through to the Streets of Yesterday. 

There are bathrooms here and it is wheelchair accessible. 

The Streets of Yesterday

A recreation of a 19^th Century Street. Peek into the shops decorated with Christmas lights and garland and make your way down to the Gladiator. The Gladiator is one of Alex Jordan’s large music machines. 

On the left you will continue to the Heritage of the Sea.  

Heritage of the Sea

A three-level walk around featuring a giant whale fighting with an octopus and over 200 model ships. Here there is a 12-foot Christmas tree, to show you the scale of the whale.  Can you see it in the background?

You will head up the ramp, try to make it here before 2:00, that is when they close off the top level. Once you are done staring into the mouth of the 200-foot-tall whale, you will head back down the ramp to the second level and into the Tribute to Nostalgia.  

Tribute to Nostalgia

Head down the ramp and through other store fronts. You will also see vintage automobiles. Through the Atrium if the concessions area. Have a quick bit to each before heading off towards the end of the seating area to get to the Music of Yesterday.  

There are restrooms just to the right of the concessions.   

Music of Yesterday

Heading into the Music of Yesterday you are going need those tokens. There are many music machines and hydraulic powered instruments in here that you will want to listen to. The one in the Red Room plays the Nutcracker, getting you even more into the Christmas spirit.  

Spirit of Aviation

Around the corner is the Spirit of Aviation. The sky is full of model planes and there is a café display. Next is the last stop of the Christmas Experience, the Carousel Room, one of the most talked about features.  

Restrooms can also be found here as well as a water fountain. 

Carousel Room

You will be in awe when you walk into the Carousel Room. Right in front of you is the world’s largest carousel featuring 269 unique animals and characters. 

You will exit to the top right and take the winding ramp to the gift shop. In the gift shop is where you can exchange any unused tokens. When you exit the gift shop, you will have to head around the back corner to another ramp that will take you to the back of the Welcome Center. And that concludes your tour of the House on the Rock Christmas Experience. 

To read more about this unique attraction and to see a more in-depth walkthrough, use this link: House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin  

Watch our Video Walk through HERE

The information is courtesy of The House on the Rocks website and personal experience. www.thehouseontherock.com

Thanks for reading, glad you were here!