Wayzata Gets Its Highway 12 Ramps Back the Same Month Light Up the Lake Moves Up a Week

All season, the way into downtown Wayzata from the east has meant driving past it. With the eastbound Highway 12 ramp to Central Avenue closed, MnDOT's posted detour sends drivers on to Carlson Parkway, then back west on Highway 12 to Central Avenue. Leaving town has its own detour. From Shoreline Drive, the route to eastbound Highway 12 runs along Ferndale Road and Wayzata Boulevard before it reaches the highway.

Those detours are scheduled to end in November, and that matters more than usual this year. Light Up the Lake has moved to Friday, November 20, a week ahead of its usual date. So the evening that opens the holiday season on Lake Street now comes just days after the main highway ramps into downtown are scheduled to reopen. If MnDOT's schedule holds, the parade of lights will likely be the first big downtown evening with normal access since construction began in April.

The Ramps Are Scheduled to Reopen Together

The project rebuilds the stretch of Highway 12 between Shoreline Drive and Central Avenue, which dates to 1970. It also repaves and repairs the highway east to I-494, including up to 20 ramps at the Gleason Lake Road, Carlson Parkway and I-494 interchanges. MnDOT started work on April 20, 2026, and its 2026 metro construction list puts the cost at $50 million.

As of late October, three ramp closures and one lane restriction still shape most trips in and out of downtown. All four are posted through early November:

The City of Wayzata's October 2 Wayzata Weekly lays out how the season ends. Drainage work and final paving on eastbound Highway 12 at the west end run through late October. Then, "in early to mid-November, Highway 12 traffic will return to its permanent alignment, all ramps will reopen," and crews will take out the crossovers and finish the median. MnDOT's 2026 project schedule shows no 2027 construction season.

East of town, intermittent overnight lane and ramp closures between Shoreline Drive and I-494 are still posted through November. MnDOT says all of these impacts are tentative and depend on the weather, and it points drivers to 511mn.org for current conditions. Before any drive with a deadline, check 511mn.org or MnDOT's project page.

Light Up the Lake Is a Week Early, on November 20

The City's event listing is explicit about the date. Light Up the Lake 2026 is on Friday, November 20, which the City notes is one week earlier than usual and the Friday before Thanksgiving. It runs from 5 to 7 p.m. on Lake Street, and the timing inside those two hours matters, especially for families with small children.

1. 5:00 p.m. The children's candy hunt starts at Depot Park. It is limited to ages 5 and under.
2. 5:00 p.m. until the parade. Free glow wands are handed out on Lake Street, but only before the parade starts.
3. 5:45 p.m. The Wayzata Firefighter's Parade of Lights travels Lake Street from Broadway to Barry Avenue.
4. Right after the parade. Mayor Mullin leads the town lighting ceremony at Panoway Plaza.

The rest of the evening runs the whole two hours. Hot cider, treats and a reindeer-food activity for children are inside the Historic Wayzata Depot. Llamas are available for photos at Depot Park. Letters to Santa and refreshments from the Muni are at Panoway Plaza, and horse-drawn wagon rides and strolling carolers move along Lake Street.

The evening also has two donation drives. IOCP is collecting food at Panoway Plaza, and Toys for Tots donations go to the Wayzata Police Department parade float. IOCP has asked for specific items this year, starting with brand-name boxed cereal, and the City's listing has the full list.

The new date puts the parade on its own weekend, a week ahead of Thanksgiving travel. Because the ramps are scheduled to reopen before it, guests coming from the east should be able to take the Central Avenue exit straight into town without the Carlson Parkway loop.

The Parade Passes Two Restaurants That Changed This Fall

The parade starts at Broadway, and downtown dining has changed since summer, starting on that street.

In August, the Star Tribune reported that Eloise, at 326 Broadway Ave. S., would close briefly on August 31 and reopen September 4 as Bar Eloise. Lindsay Pohlad's restaurant is the sister spot to The Grocer's Table, and the paper described the change as a move to a more casual format. The planned refresh included TVs and a menu with deviled eggs, a burger, a lobster roll and steak frites. Cocktails were to be priced in the mid-teens and local draft beers under $10, and the Parker House rolls were staying. The restaurant's own website now announces that Bar Eloise is open. The Star Tribune reported that Pohlad tied the change to listening to the neighborhood and to dining trends shifting toward a more casual format.

The building is changing outside, too. At its July 21 meeting, the City Council approved a sidewalk café expansion on city right-of-way along Broadway toward Lake Street. The plans add about 470 square feet and seven small patio tables, reaching in front of Chico's.

Maggie's Family Restaurant went through its own change. FOX 9 reported that the restaurant closed September 18 through 22 during a five-day visit from Gordon Ramsay and reopened September 24 with a new look. Maggie's has served the community for 47 years, and it is adding new dishes while keeping its original menu for now.

Both changes landed while the Central Avenue and Shoreline Drive ramps were still closed. The weeks around November 20 should be the first chance for many residents to see either new space with normal access into town.

One Corner Will Stay Under Construction After the Highway Opens

Not everything on the Central Avenue approach will be finished. At Wayzata Boulevard and Central Avenue South, Walser Lamborghini is building a new dealership on the corner Mulberrys left when it moved to its new site. The City's July 31 newsletter said demolition was expected to begin the last week of July, and that residents should expect large-scale removal of contaminated soil because of the site's former dry-cleaning use. Construction fencing surrounds the property, and the City removed screening at the intersection to keep sight lines clear. The new dealership is expected to be finished by spring 2028. When the ramp from eastbound Highway 12 to Central Avenue reopens, that fenced corner will be one of the first things drivers see coming into town.

The Weeks Around the Lighting

The holiday calendar starts filling in around the parade.

• Monday, November 16, 7 to 9 p.m. The City is hosting a Muni Meetup with Mayor Mullin at Wayzata Bar & Grill, 747 Mill St. It's open to the public and falls four days before the parade. City listing.
• Friday, November 20, 5 to 7 p.m. Light Up the Lake on Lake Street and Panoway.
• Tuesday, December 1. Golfer tickets go on sale for the 2027 Wayzata Chilly Open. The tournament is Saturday, February 6, 2027, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with four nine-hole courses on Wayzata Bay. Chamber listing.
• Thursday, December 3, 4 to 6 p.m. The Wayzata/West Metro Chamber holds its annual holiday party at Wayzata Country Club, 200 Wayzata Blvd. W. The paid event includes appetizers, holiday cocktails, recognition of the Chamber Stars and the introduction of new board leadership. Chamber listing.

The same December 1 evening, the City Council meets at 7 p.m. for its final vote on the 2027 budget and property tax levy. Comments can go to [email protected] ahead of the meeting, and the meeting will air on Channel 8 and stream at wayzata.org/WCTV.

Chilly Open tickets go on sale the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, so anyone who usually forms a foursome over the holiday will want their group settled by then.

Through all of it, the ramp reopening and the parade date are separate schedules, and only one of them depends on the weather. The City has fixed Light Up the Lake for November 20. MnDOT's "early to mid-November" depends on paving weather. Checking 511mn.org the afternoon of the parade will show whether guests from the east can take the Central Avenue exit or still need the Carlson Parkway detour.

If this season of detours has you thinking about how a Wayzata home connects to Lake Street, the Depot and the bay, Devon White can walk you through it in person, on a quiet weekday or after the lights are up on Lake Street. Schedule a Private Tour.