Flagstaff doesn't drop a ball on New Year's Eve. We drop a giant lit-up pinecone off the roof of a haunted hotel, and we do it three times. The Great Pinecone Drop is Thursday, December 31, 2026, at the Weatherford Hotel on the corner of Leroux Street and Aspen Avenue: once at noon for the kids, once at 10 PM, and once at midnight. Watching from the street is free. Here's how the night works, from people who walk past that corner with a lantern most nights of the year.
What time is the Great Pinecone Drop?
| Drop | What's happening | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| 12 noon | Noon Year's Eve in Heritage Square, 10 AM to 1 PM: crafts, games, face painting and pinecone decorating. Free. | Little kids, and anyone with a bedtime |
| 10 PM | The first night drop. It's midnight on the East Coast, so you get a real countdown and still get to bed. | Families with older kids, skiers with first chair plans |
| 12 midnight | The big one, with the whole town counting down in the street. | Everybody who can stay up |
The three drop times are the ones the downtown alliance and Discover Flagstaff both post. The alliance runs the noon party until 1 PM. Discover Flagstaff says there's a short fireworks show after the pinecone comes down, and it puts the crowd at upwards of 10,000 people.
Where is it, and where should you stand?
The Weatherford Hotel sits at Leroux and Aspen, one block north of Route 66 and the train station. The pinecone comes down from the hotel's roof, so anywhere on Aspen or Leroux with a line of sight to the building works. Closer isn't better. Half a block back you can see the whole hotel, and you'll have room to breathe when the countdown starts. Heritage Square, half a block east on Aspen, is where the noon party happens.
If you'd rather watch from inside, call the hotel. The Weatherford sells a limited number of tickets for its third-floor Zane Grey Ballroom and balcony, and in past years there's been dinner at Charly's and music in the Gopher Hole downstairs. Those go fast.
How did Flagstaff end up dropping a pinecone?
The Weatherford opened its doors on January 1, 1900. In 1999 the hotel's owners wanted to mark its hundredth birthday and the new millennium on the same night, so they lowered a pinecone off the building at midnight. It stuck. The pinecone is a nod to where we live, in the middle of the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world. In December 2024, USA Today 10Best readers voted it the number five New Year's Eve drop in the country, up against a pickle, a possum and a pierogi. Discover Flagstaff says it has made the list again since, at number seven.
Is the Weatherford Hotel really haunted?
That's what Flagstaff has said for generations. While you're counting down, you're standing under the Zane Grey Ballroom, where guests and staff have reported a figure people call the White Lady. Upstairs is Room 54, the room with the honeymoon legend locals still argue about. The hotel's chapter in the book Haunted Flagstaff was written by our co-founder Susan Johnson from primary sources, and our Weatherford Hotel guide has the whole story.
What should you do before the drop?
New Year's Eve is a long wait if you show up at 6 with nothing planned. Here's what's running that day, on our booking calendar as of November 12. Pick one or two.
| Time | Plan | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 AM to 1 PM | Noon Year's Eve, with the first pinecone drop at 12 | Heritage Square |
| 4 PM | Route 66 Centennial Walking Tour, 90 minutes, $29 | Heritage Square flagpole |
| 4 PM or 6 PM | Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour, 75 minutes, $29. The 4 PM is an extra departure we add December 26 to 31. The 6 PM ends at 7:15, so it doesn't pair with the 7 PM tour | Wheeler Park, 212 W Aspen Ave |
| 7 PM | Mountain Town of Madness, our 18 and up tour, 90 minutes, $39 | Wheeler Park |
| 10 PM | Second pinecone drop | Weatherford Hotel |
| 12 midnight | Third pinecone drop | Weatherford Hotel |
The ghost tour stops at the Weatherford's red sandstone corner, so you'll hear what happened inside that building a few hours before the whole town counts down in front of it. The 6 PM tour has you back by 7:15, with time for dinner before the 10 PM drop. Tours are capped at 28 people and holiday week fills up, so book ahead.
Want your own room for the night?
Standing outside for four hours isn't everyone's idea of a party. The Wild Below is our event space under the 1917 Masonic Temple on San Francisco Street, about a block from the Weatherford. Two rooms, a stage, a dance floor, under 50 people. Get your people together indoors, then walk over for the countdown.
Both rooms together run $100 an hour Monday to Thursday and $120 an hour Friday to Sunday, with a two-hour minimum. Ask us if New Year's Eve is still open, or about any other night that week.
Where do you park, and what do you wear?
Park once and walk. With a crowd that size, don't plan on driving up to the hotel. New Year's Eve is a Thursday this year, so weekday rules apply: street parking downtown is paid during ParkFlag hours, the City Hall lot at 211 W Aspen is free after 5 PM on weekdays, and some residential blocks nearby are permit-only. Read the sign where you park. Our guide to where to park in downtown Flagstaff has the lots and the kiosk details.
Then dress like you mean it. Midnight on December 31 at 7,000 feet is properly cold, and you'll be standing still. Boots, gloves, a hat, and one more layer than you think. Here's what we tell tour guests to wear in winter.
Questions people ask
What time is the Pinecone Drop in Flagstaff?
Three times on December 31, 2026: 12 noon, 10 PM and 12 midnight, all at the Weatherford Hotel.
Is the Great Pinecone Drop free?
Yes, watching from the street is free, and so is Noon Year's Eve in Heritage Square. Indoor viewing at the hotel is ticketed.
Where is the Great Pinecone Drop?
At the Weatherford Hotel, on the corner of Leroux Street and Aspen Avenue in historic downtown Flagstaff.
Is there a Pinecone Drop for kids?
Yes. The noon drop is part of Noon Year's Eve, a free family event in Heritage Square from 10 AM to 1 PM with crafts, games and face painting.
Are there fireworks at the Pinecone Drop?
Discover Flagstaff says there's a short fireworks show after the pinecone comes down.
What else is there to do in Flagstaff on New Year's Eve?
Take a walking tour before the drop, ski Snowbowl or go tubing during the day, and walk the holiday lights downtown. Our December guide has the full month, and our snow play guide has what's open.
How long has Flagstaff dropped a pinecone?
Since New Year's Eve 1999, when the Weatherford Hotel marked its hundredth anniversary. The hotel opened on January 1, 1900.
Where these facts come from
- Noon Year's Eve, Downtown Flagstaff Business Alliance (date, times, the three drops).
- Christmas and Winter Holidays and New Year's Eve in Flagstaff, Discover Flagstaff.
- Great Pinecone Drop named among 10 best in U.S., Discover Flagstaff news release, December 13, 2024 (history, crowd size, ranking).
- Our own booking calendar for tour times, read November 12, 2026.
