15 Of The Coolest Christmas Light Displays Across The US (2025)

Christmas is unlike any other holiday. Many of the acts we associate with celebrating it originated thousands of years ago, with the celebration of Yule in Norse culture, and eventually came to merge with Christmas celebrations as it expanded into the rest of Europe. By the 15th and 16th centuries, the Christmas celebrations had evolved to the point where people began bringing decorated trees into their homes. In 1880, Thomas Edison created a strand of light bulbs that he hung as a decoration outside his lab. Decades later, these things would converge, and now people use light bulbs to decorate their homes for Christmas. 

Today, Christmas light displays have become quite complex, and viewing them is now seen as a fun pastime in itself, similar to scenic train rides and motorcycle road trips. There are hundreds of displays all over the world that you can check out to get a boost of Christmas spirit, and many of the best (and most iconic) Christmas displays have been around for more than 100 years. So, if you need an injection of holiday spirit, here are some of the coolest Christmas displays we could find, in the U.S. at least. 

Since I was tasked with writing this article, I decided to sneak in my hometown favorite with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's Wildlights display. The staff at the zoo decorates the entire place with lightings, culminating in a set of lights near the center that do a little light show periodically through the evening. Patrons who show up will have access to food and beverages, and some of the cold-friendly animal exhibits are also open after hours, so you can see some animals. I personally enjoy petting the stingrays. They feel like jello, it's very cool. 

It's certainly a unique way to enjoy the local zoo, and an experience you can't get any other time of the year. The Columbus Zoo is also far from the only zoo that does a lighting event. Dozens of zoos around the country have holiday-inspired events like this. They're family friendly, and attending the events helps support your local zoo. The holiday-themed merch also makes for excellent stocking stuffers, especially if you have family members who love animals. 

Dyker Heights is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of Brooklyn in New York City. This little neighborhood does quite a bit more than your average neighborhood when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Not only does every person there cover their property with enough decorations to open a shop of their own, but the neighborhood also banded together to form Dyker Heights Christmas Lights, a tourism company specifically so that people can come visit and see all of the decorations. The company hosts bus tours to offer views of the whole neighborhood, complete with a tour guide to talk about the various spectacles that you'll see. 

The company offers four types of tours, including bus, walking, private, and virtual tours. That last one is certainly a nice way to view the lights if you can't make the trip out to Brooklyn to see them. As one of New York's most prominent and iconic Christmas displays, it's also had its fair share of celebrity visits, including Sir Paul McCartney. 

While New York City certainly has some of the most recognizable Christmas light displays, other parts of the state get in on the action as well. The Peace, Love & Lights event takes place in Bethel, New York, which is about halfway between New York and Syracuse, and in the Catskill region of the state. The lighting display includes a 1.7-mile jaunt through Bethel Woods. Among its many features is a selection of lighting displays that celebrate the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Yes, the one from 1969. 

There are a couple of ways to enjoy this event. You could simply drive through it in your own vehicle, which costs $27 per car. There is also pricing for larger vehicles if you want to make a party out of it. Mondays are reserved for walking, letting people take in the sights while also getting a little bit of exercise. There are also extra events, like Dinner with Santa and a wreath-making course, that you can engage with if you want to do more than see lights. 

One wouldn't expect that one of the sunniest, warmest states in the U.S. would have an outstanding lighting display, and that person would be wrong. Honolulu, Hawaii can celebrate holidays with the best of them, and the best example of that is the Honolulu City Lights. The city gets together, decorates for the holidays, and then throws a massive block party to celebrate the festivities. They even do a Christmas tree lighting ceremony similar to the Rockefeller Center, where a 50-foot tree is lit up for residents to enjoy.

The big event happens in late November with food, drinks, partying, and a parade, along with the Christmas tree lighting. However, the lights that are put up remain up for residents and tourists to enjoy until early January, and are free for public consumption. So, if you're taking a trip to Hawaii for the holidays and you were bummed out that there wouldn't be enough Christmas, you have nothing to worry about. Just don't act out, because police there drive their own cars, and you might not see them coming.

The Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is a yearly event that takes place in Chicago, Illinois. This celebration has taken place for the last 33 years, and while it isn't technically a lighting display, most parts of the event are lit by Christmas lights, so it acts as a sort of moving display. In any case, the Magnificent Mile is a huge parade that includes tons of Christmas stuff along with cameos from Disney characters and more. Chicago also decorates over 200 trees along the path of the parade using over one million total lights. 

Unlike most of the events on this list, the Magnificent Mile only happens once, and in 2025, that was on November 22nd. You can still see all the lights on the trees, but you'll have to wait until 2026 for the next parade. The good news is that the 2025 parade was filmed and put on YouTube, and you can watch it here. The next one is scheduled for November 21, 2026, so mark your calendars if you want to go.

The EPCOT Center is one of the coolest places to go in general, so you know its Christmas celebration is probably worth the price of admission. Every year, it hosts its International Festival of the Holidays, which encapsulates several holiday traditions, not only Christmas. Guests are treated to a globally selected menu of food, holiday traditions from all around the world, and some pretty sweet decorations. One such example is the Gingerbread Spaceship Earth, which is making its return in 2025. It's a surprisingly accurate and detailed recreation of the Spaceship Earth made entirely out of real gingerbread. 

It would take a few thousand words to outline all of the various events and things that you can do, but I don't have that kind of space here, so I'll drop this helpful link to the Center's event page for your convenience. There are holiday events, food events, lighting displays, presentations, live entertainment, and a whole lot more. Then, when you get back to your hotel, you can stream some holiday classics on Disney+.

Big cities have some of the coolest lighting displays, decorating large portions with bright, colorful LED lights. However, small towns have some equally impressive lighting displays, and there is no better example of that than Clifton, Ohio. Resting there is the historic Clifton Mill, which is one of the largest water-powered grist mills in existence. Every year, the mill (and surrounding area) gets dressed up in a lighting display that can only be described as breathtaking. Over five million lights are used, and one of the displays is literally an entire field draped in red Christmas lights with a white waterfall crafted into it. 

The event display is put up and made available to the public in late November and stays up through the holiday season. The price of admission is $15 per person, with children three and under getting in for free. Once there, you can simply walk around, enjoy the decorations, and engage in other events like the Santa Museum or gift shop. Even if you don't go, look up a video. It's incredible. 

The Manatee Holiday Boat Parade proves that you can have a perfectly festive lighting display out on the water and not just on land. Like some others, this is an annual event in Palmetto, Florida, where people decorate their boats and host a parade for people to watch from the shore. These aren't the cheapest boats from Bass Pro Shop either. Some of these yachts are quite big, and owners go through a lot of trouble to heavily decorate them, and even adorning the essential components of their boats like anchors and flotation devices. 

Once the parade ends, the participants are judged. There are two categories, boats under 30 feet and boats over 31 feet. This year's parade takes place on December 13. The parade is scheduled to last for about two hours with parties happening at nearby restaurants afterward. That is probably too soon (or too late) for most people to get down there on time unless they live nearby, so you may want to mark your calendars for 2026 if you want to check it out next year. 

The Umpqua Valley Festival of Lights is a yearly drive-thru display that takes place at River Forks Park in Roseburg, Oregon. The attraction features 90 animated displays and 500,000 total lights. Like other drive-thru displays, you simply pull up in your automobile of choice and drive along the half-mile path to view and enjoy the displays. According to the local Rotary Club, roughly 8,000 cars come through to view it every year. Along with the pretty lights, the site also houses the world's largest nutcracker doll, which is known as Herr Woody Wintergard, and it stands at 41 feet tall. 

The local Rotary Club has been hosting this event since 1993, and all proceeds go to club projects and scholarships for graduating seniors. It's also one of the least expensive lighting displays on the list, costing a mere $10 per car, although there is an option to donate more if you're feeling charitable. The club also hosts a holiday village where kids can meet Santa, eat some cookies, and drink some holiday-appropriate beverages like warm apple cider. 

You can't have a list like this without paying homage to the all-time greats, and The Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center certainly qualifies. The lighting of the tree is a city-wide event that is broadcast on television, which includes commentary and live music. This year's tree lighting took place on December 3, but NBC was kind enough to upload the entire two-hour broadcast to YouTube. After the tree lighting, it's viewable for the rest of the holiday season through mid-January. 

There are a few ways to engage with the tree. For starters, you can just see it when traveling through the area. The Rockefeller Center also has services like Christmas tree photos and passes you can buy to get close-up views of the tree. Arguably, the best way to view it is from The Rink, where you can ice skate and view the tree at the same time. Skating at The Rink while the tree is lit is one of those New York City holiday traditions that's worth doing if you travel there. 

The St. Augustine Nights of Lights is one of the largest light displays in the U.S., and one the city takes quite seriously. So seriously, in fact, that the city of St. Augustine, Florida has an official app to help you get around and experience all there is to see. The city uses over three million lights to decorate everything from public spaces to storefronts in the downtown area, and people coming to see the lights have several events that they can partake in as well to make a full night of the spectacle. 

There is a lot to interact with, and the city tries to make it as easy as possible to interact with as much as you can during your visit. That includes a how-to guide on YouTube and deals on nearby lodging if you're coming in from out of town. You can muddle around downtown at your leisure or take advantage of guided tours through the area if you don't feel like walking. There's even a lighthouse you can climb for an aerial view.

Peacock Lane is a street in Portland, Oregon, and the residents there take Christmas very seriously. Similar to Dyker Heights and other neighborhoods, the residents of Peacock Lane decorate their houses to a high degree and let people go up the road to view the decorations. Unlike many such neighborhood initiatives, Peacock Lane is entirely free, and you can drive up and down the road as often as you want to, although the official website notes that the police may close the road if things get too rowdy. The event starts on December 15th and runs until New Year's Eve. 

This one is pretty simple. There aren't any special events, although the street will be closed to cars so people can walk the street safely for a couple of days. The residents are also setting up a free cocoa stand that'll serve hot cocoa and warm apple cider, although donations are accepted to help offset costs. This is one of those good old-fashioned, down-home, family-friendly Christmas displays that residents have been doing for nearly a century. 

Christmas Tree Lane is a yearly tradition in Fresno, California, and one of the longest-running Christmas displays in U.S. history. The first one occurred in 1920, and the event is still going on over 100 years later. Each year, residents turn North Van Ness Boulevard in Fresno into a one-way street where participants can drive through the area and view tons of Christmas decorations. The whole exhibit spans two miles, which is on the longer side, a distinction it shares with Michigan's Nite Lites (seven miles) and Ohio's Wonderlights (one mile of synchronized lighting). Both of those are worth your time as well. 

In any case, Christmas Tree Lane is like most other Christmas light drives. You get to use your own car, and once you pay for admission, you simply cruise down the road and enjoy all there is to see. There are also walk-only nights available if you want to get some exercise and enjoy the decorations at a slower pace. The event is totally free, but you can make an optional donation if you want to. 

Technically, this lighting display takes place in Canada, but you can see it from the New York side of Niagara Falls, so we're going to call this one close enough. The Winter Festival of Lights is a pretty cool event that takes place from late November until early January. During the event, people who participate are treated to three million Christmas lights, laser light displays, and over 75 other lighting displays stretched out over five miles. For 21 of the available days, there are also fireworks, which are unique to the Winter Festival of Lights. 

It's worth getting a passport to witness, as the event itself is entirely free. The city suggests plenty of places to eat or stay for lodging, but actually driving along the route and watching the fireworks costs you nothing. This makes it the single largest free lighting display in all of Canada, and it's close enough that you can still see the U.S., so heavy travel isn't necessary. If you go, make sure to also check out Dufferin Islands. We hear it's one of the best spots of the whole event. 

This is a list of cool Christmas light displays, so it would be a terrible mistake not to include the only one we're aware of that takes place entirely underground. Lights Under Louisville takes place in Louisville, Kentucky, inside the Louisville Mega Cavern. The city sets it up nicely, with a staggering seven million total light sources, including Christmas lights, displays, and laser lights. Since the cavern has a roof, you get to see decorations from an angle you typically don't, which is right above your head and all around as you drive through. 

The premise is super cool, and there are several ways to experience it. You can take your own car on the 30-minute drive for $43, or take an open-top bus that'll give you a more panoramic view for $22. There are also rates for larger vehicles and a motorcoach option if you want something different. Since the seven million lights are squeezed into a 1.3-mile span, the entire drive through is packed with Christmas lights. See it for yourself.