Lover of Christmas Lights? Check out the best Christmas Light Tours in each state? We have a complete list that will not disappoint.
Christmas light tours are the perfect activity to get into the festive spirit. Lots of towns pull out all the stops to make their homes look as Christmassy and fun as possible. From frontyard ornaments to whole streets weighed down with streams of Christmas lights, going on a light tour is also a great way to get some inspiration for your own Christmas decorations! If you’re looking for ‘Christmas light tours near me’, we’ve got the perfect list for you. No matter where you are in the United States, here is a hand-picked selection of the best Christmas light tours in your state.
Make sure you wrap up warm, especially if it’s an open-top or walking tour. You don’t want the fun ruined when you can’t feel your fingers or toes, particularly as most of these tours happen at night.
Bring along some festive snacks to complete the fun: candy canes, gingerbread bites, and other Christmassy treats will make sure you stay well-fed and in high spirits for the whole tour.
The Best Christmas Light Tours in the USA
Without further ado, let’s dive in! Let’s find the perfect Christmas lights tour for your state.
Alabama: The Summit
The Summit, Birmingham AL, goes all out when it comes to their Christmas display. With oversized presents and intense holiday decor, it’s like an explosion of festive joy. Their light displays are complemented with Christmassy figures and decorations, with enormous Christmas trees as the centerpieces.
Alaska: Santa Claus House, North Pole
Don’t worry, you won’t be heading up to the North Pole itself! As one of the most Christmassy named town ever, it’s only natural that the best Christmas lights tour would be here. Santa Claus House is beautifully lit, plus you get to see the world’s biggest version of the man himself: Santa Claus.
Arizona: Tumbleweed Tree
For a desert state, it can be hard to get that festive feeling – but the town of Chandler made do with what they’ve got. Every year, they create a Christmas tree out of nearly 1000 tumbleweeds and jazz it up with 65 pounds of glitter more 1,200 Christmas lights. It’s truly a sight to behold!
Arkansas: The Arkansas State Capitol Building
The State Capitol Building is impressive enough on its own, but when it’s all lit up in every color imaginable, decorated with extravagant wreaths, and featuring different school choirs singing throughout the month of December, it’s a whole other level of Christmas fun. Take the whole family down for this festive event for all ages.
California: Disney’s World of Color – Season of Light
With Disney making its home in Los Angeles, it’s hard to think of a better place to find some stunning Christmas lights. Water and light dance in unison to tell festive Disney stories through music and stunning light displays for the whole family.
Colorado: Telluride’s Ski Tree
Another unusual tree display makes the list in Telluride, CL. Ever since 2013, the town has paid tribute to its history as a ski town with a tree centerpiece made entirely out of donated skis. It’s one of the most creative Christmas displays across the nation!
Connecticut: Hartford’s Holiday Light Fantasia
More than just a Christmas light display, Hartford uses lights to celebrate other winter festivals, like Hannukah and New Year’s Eve. Bring your car and drive through the wonderful displays popping up throughout Goodwin Park.
Delaware: The Faucher Family House
This regular family home is transformed throughout December by more than a million lights. Be prepared to settle in for a patient drive and bring plenty of snacks, as this incredible display often slows down traffic for miles around!
Florida: St Augustine’s Night Lights
Visit the district of St Augustine for their festive Night Lights, with over three million Christmas lights in their display. You can either walk yourself through the area, or join an informative tour group to get the full effect.
Georgia: Barnsley Resort
Choose from a self-guided walking tour or a stay for the weekend at this stunning resort, made all the more beautiful by its annual festive displays. There’s no better place for a Christmas break away than this gorgeous countryside resort.
Hawaii: Waikele Christmas Lights
The Waikele neighborhood coordinate between their houses to produce a synchronized display throughout the area. For true Christmas lovers, you can come back time and again, with daily shows happening every evening.
Idaho: Winter Spirit
It’s in the name: you’ll definitely find your Winter Spirit at this stunning display. Walk around the neighborhood to discover interactive displays and keep warm beside conveniently-placed gas fires throughout the area.
Illinois: Zoolights at Lincoln Park Zoo
For any animal lovers at Christmas, this is the only place to be. Visit under the cover of night to discover hundreds of illuminated displays and festive family activities, all under the glow of millions of colorful lights.
Indiana: Marion’s Walkway of Lights
Walk through two miles of stunning light displays with more than two and a half million lights to illuminate the way. Come back time and again, with daily shows running all the way through to midnight.
Iowa: Jolly Holiday Lights
Open seven days a wekk, get in the Jolly Holiday spirit with these illuminated displays. Two and a half miles is enough space for over 100 different displays, with all proceeds going towards the Make A Wish Foundation.
Kansas: The Botanica Witchita’s Illuminations
These gardens are stunning throughout the year, but at Christmastime they reach a whole new level. The talented team introduce two million lights to the gardens to create a gorgeous festive atmosphere for the whole family to enjoy.
Kentucky: Louisville’s Mega Cavern
Drive through an enormous cavern of Christmas displays for 30 minutes of festive delight. Two million bulbs shine above the cars for a truly awe-inspiring experience.
Louisiana: Celebration in the Oaks
Join the Celebration in the Oaks for their 34th anniversary. Enjoy over a million twinkling lights and breathtaking light displays on foot, or take the driving tour of the Park, winding throughout the displays for more than two miles.
Maine: Boothbay Lights
See how Maine’s seaside towns take on the festive spirit with their illuminated displays and colorful lights. The biggest event of the collection can be found in the Botanical Gardens, with over 350,000 LED lights, but be sure to check out all of the towns’ displays for the full effect.
Maryland: Baltimore’s 34th Street
Visit one of the most Christmassy streets in the state, featuring light displays both traditional and unique. See if you can spot Baltimore characters, like Mr. Boh, Poe the Raven, and Chesapeake crabs.
Massachusetts: Brightnights
Take a bus tour or drive yourself through three miles of festive displays. This non-profit doesn’t restrict itself to just Christmas displays, with illuminations dedicated to Hannukah and Kwanzaa as well.
Michigan: Greenfield Village’s Holiday Nights
Enjoy the smell of roasting chestnuts and the warmth of towering bonfires as you take in the local illuminations. Local carolers, and fiddlers add to the festive cheer that spreads throughout the area.
Minnesota: Bentleyville
Visit Bentleyville to see five million lights spread across 20 acres of parkland. If you aren’t sure when to visit, see if you can make it for the final day on December 26th, so you can enjoy the celebratory fireworks display.
Mississippi: Richardson Light Display
Drive by over 250 inflatables, more than 100,000 LED lights, and hundreds of lighted characters and messages. Wind down the windows to get the full effect, with all the displays synchronized to festive music.
Missouri: Silver Dollar City
Often named not just the bets display in the state, but across the whole country, this Christmas haven has over six and a half million lights and a thousand Christmas trees throughout the park. Make sure to meet some of the City’s favorite characters, including snow monster Clarice, and, of course, Rudolph the red-nosed deer.
Montana: Billings’ Christmas Lights
The community of Billings comes together for more than 35 separate displays. Visit their website before you go for their annual scavanger hunt and see if you can spot all of the characters to cross them off your list!
Nebraska: Omaha Holiday Lights Festival
Celebrating its 21st year in 2020, the city of Omaha is going all out this year. With different light displays throughout the city, explore all the sights on your own or jump on a bus tour of all the highlights.
Nevada: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas has shows all year round, so they go above and beyond to up their game at Christmas. Although it might be called a speedway, take your time to fully enjoy the two and a half miles of more than three million lights and four hundred animated displays.
New Hampshire: Vintage Christmas
Travel back in time for Portsmouth’s Vintage Christmas, with rustic light displays, ice skating, festive treats, and more for the whole family. Costumed carolors set the scene; be sure to wrap up warm, as we think you won’t want to leave in a hurry!
New Jersey: Storybook Land
Bringing Christmas stories to life for visitors both old and young, the accompanying light displays tell festive fairytales as you walk through the park. Once night falls, the area transforms into an illuminated wonderland.
New Mexico: River of Lights
Don’t worry, you don’t to swim to enjoy these beautiful illuminations. Walk through millions of twinkling lights and nearly six hundred dazzling holiday displays. Enjoy it at its best Monday through Thursday from 8pm, when the park has the fewest visitors.
New York: Dyker Heights
Lean into the community spirit of Brooklyn by visiting Dyker Heights, where locals come together to create a stunning stretch of illuminated Christmas lights. New York is the city that never sleeps, so come by anytime to see the colorful displays in action.
North Carolina: Holiday Trolley
Climb aboard the Parade of Holiday Lights Tour to see the best of Charlotte’s festive lights. The whole city competes with one another to impress visitors and raise festive spirits to whole new levels, year afteer year.
North Dakota: Minot’s Main Street
Drive or walk down Minot’s Main Street and you’ll be sure to find your Christmas spirit raised before you finish. Once the sky darkens, the streets are illuminated by hundreds of twinkling lights. It’s the perfect atmosphere for a touch of Christmas shopping or a nighttime stroll.
Ohio: Clifton Mill
This water-powered mill makes the most of their waterfall for a glittering display of over 100 feet. Visit Santa’s workshop and meet the big red man himself to complete your festive trip.
Oklahoma: Rhema Lights
The Rhema Bible School lights up their nativity scene with walk-through colorful tunnels and a Christmas tree forest with hundreds of lights to shine the way through. Walk through on foot or enjoy a rustic carriage ride through the illuminations.
Oregon: Peacock Lane
The residents of Peacock Lane come together every year with animated trees, nativity scenes, inflatable snowmen, and, as the name requires, illuminated peacocks. Streams of lights criss-cross overhead to light the way. The best way to experience the displays is on foot, as cars come from miles around, only to get stuck in traffic.
Pennsylvania: The Miracle on South 13th Street
Another local residents’ creation, these light displays became so renowned, it earned them their movie-magic nickname. Reindeers and snowmen soar overhead and every home tries to outdo their neighbors with increasingly extravagant exterior displays.
Rhode Island: Newport Mansions
These historic buildings are the perfect backdrop for the festive displays, complete with vintage ornaments and figures. Travel back in time to enjoy Christmas as it was done hundreds of years ago.
South Carolina: Nights of a Thousand Candles
Brookgreen Garden’s rustic candles create a unique atmosphere, quite apart from the usual electric or LED lights. There are actually over five thousand candles hand-lit candles scattered throughout the stunning gardens, with warm apple cider to keep you warm as you explore.
South Dakota: Christmas at the Capitol
Over 100 decorated trees light up the Capitol Building, stretching from the rotunda and throughout all three floors of the building itself. The centerpiece of the display is the wooden nativity scene, thought to be over 125 years old.
Tennessee: Smoky Mountain Christmas
Award-winning shows and mouth-watering food are the talk of the nation at Dollywood, with over five million glittering lights to set the mood. 2020 will see fireworks over head for the first time ever, so this might be the year to make your first trip!
Texas: Austin Trail of Lights
This drive-thru event promises “magic at every bend” and its nationwide popularity means it’s likely to deliver. With community performances, festive music, and interactive animations, this Trail has a new sight to see every second.
Utah: Christmas in Color
A one-mile long stream of over a million lights can only be experienced from your car, but be sure to wind down the windows to enjoy the festive tunes, perfectly synchronized to the displays.
Vermont: Church Street Marketplace
The lights down Burlington’s Church Street light up their outdoor shopping areas to perfection. It’s the perfect spot to find your last Christmas presents, or treat yourself to festive snacks and illuminated displays.
Virginia: Busch Gardens
Turning their whole park into Christmas Town requires more than eight million lights, making this display the biggest in all of North America. The more lights, the better the festive spirit, so make sure you don’t miss this stunning illuminations.
Washington: The Lights of Christmas
A drive-thru Christmas extravaganze where you can meet Santa and Mrs Claus themselves – what’s not to love? With festive displays and hundreds of lights above the roads, it’s the perfect spot for a family outing.
West Virginia: Oglebay’s Festival of Lights
Since 1985, this festival has attracted over a million visitors every year. Three hundred acres of twinkling lights spread across a six-mile drive, with ninety light displays made up of one million LED lights.
Wisconsin: Oshkosh Celebration of Lights
Half a million lights lead the way to a tree over 100 feet tall. In its 19th year, this light display have honed their illuminations to perfection, with tasty treats and warm drinks available every step of the way.
Wyoming: Cheyonne Holiday Trolley
Enjoy a vintage holiday outing on this quaint trolley ride, touring through the stunning light displays of Cheyonne. Locals decorate their homes to perfection to add to the atmosphere, so you won’t be bored for a minute while riding the trolley.
With so many stunning displays on offer this year, we’re sure you’ll be in festive spirits in no time! Wrap up warm, stock up on snacks, and get your cameras ready – you’ll want to remember these illuminations for years to come.
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