Come acknowledge the Winter Solstice by watching the sunrise alignment in the Great Stone Circle. This will be a quiet, meditative event with a short opening rite and reading to help us welcome Winter and send Autumn on its way with blessings. Join us to celebrate as Autumn passes the seasonal “baton” to Winter.
COST: admission to Kinstone (pay in person at the Kinstone Visitor Center upon arrival, cash preferred); No Registration Required
Date: Monday, December 21, 2026
Time: 6:45am – 8:15am; coffee and tea available in the Visitor Center after the program; the Visitor Center will be open until Noon.
WHAT TO BRING: feel free to bring a poem or quote about winter, winter solstice, snow, or other winter theme to share
IMPORTANT: We will gather at 6:45am in the Kinstone Visitor Center. Please arrive early to be ready to start at 6:45. Thank you.
After the short program, weather and snow conditions permitting, we will proceed together to the center of the Great Stone Circle. Given fair weather and clear skies, we will watch the sun as it crests the ridge and beams through the Chair Stones into the center of the Circle.
Note: Actual sunrise is at 7:38am and given the topography at Kinstone it will be closer to 7:50am when we can see the sun from the center of the circle on a clear day.
Dress in layers! We will be indoors for part of this and then those who wish to will proceed outdoors later. Bring what winter gear you need for the weather and wear appropriate footwear, boots, scarves, hats, extra layers and gloves. Expect it to be colder and windier than you think. In snowy years, be prepared to walk some distance through snow and on uneven (perhaps icy – or muddy, slippery) paths to get to the circle.
Parking may be very limited if there is snow on the ground. Please follow these instructions! If there is no snow, please park in the grassy parking area near the Visitor Center. If there is snow, please park in the small staff lot adjacent to the the Visitor Center which is the only lot we keep plowed in winter. If this is the case, please park as closely to others as possible to make enough room for all. Note: we highly discourage parking along the road, however; if you absolutely must park along the road please make sure you pull as far off the roadway as possible, put on your 4-way flashing lights while parked there for this short event and do not park in front of any neighbors’ property or driveways. We will have a person outside helping direct parking – look for them and follow their instructions! Thank you!
Portions of this event are planned to be held outdoors. The whole event will be cancelled in case of snow storm or bad weather. Please note that we will not see the alignment if it is cloudy or if the horizon is obstructed by morning mist, fog, rain, snow or clouds. If it is raining or snowing heavily we will cancel. Cancellations will be posted on this event page and on the corresponding Facebook event page as soon as we can reasonably decide based on weather reports – but at least 1 hour before the scheduled start time for this event.
Interesting fact: The exact time of the astronomical Winter Solstice this year is Monday, December 21, 2026 at 2:50pm CST.
(Photo credit: Kristine Beck, Winter Solstice Sunrise Observance, December 2026)
