The Best Christmas Light Displays In Every State

The magic of the holiday season kicks off with glimmering lights and charming displays. Christmas calls for the emergence of spectacular light shows. Regardless to which state you live in, you can find a remarkable light display.

Located in Birmingham is the famous Wells Fargo ZooLight Safari. For 17 nights the Zoo transforms into a Christmas spectacular. View over one million lights, listen to holiday music and enjoy festive snowfalls nightly. Ride the Santa Rollers, go for a ride on the Candy Cane Train and hop on the Jingle Bell Carousel.

The Santa Claus House in North Pole attracts visitors from all over the world. Admire Christmas lights like you may have never before – they are inside ice sculptures. Take photos with the World's Largest Santa, standing at nearly 50ft tall and make sure to have your picture taken in their photo sleigh.

The Phoenix Zoo transforms into the Valley's brightest holiday tradition – ZooLights. Admire millions of lights, a three-story tall holiday tree and hundreds of spectacular light displays. Enjoy Friday night entertainment and watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in their 4-D theater. This year's event runs from November 23, 2016 to January 8, 2017.

Head to the Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs from November 19 through December 31 for Holiday Lights. The gardens are situated in the Ouachita Mountains. Admire and walk through spectacular light displays.

Disneyland in Los Angeles knows just how to generate excitement around the holidays. Visit Disney California Adventure Park through January 8, 2017 for an out of this world light show – World of Color-Season of Light. The all-new show transforms water, light, song and story into incredible holiday magic.

The Denver Botanic Gardens is holding its annual Blossoms of Light display from November 26, 2016 to January 1, 2017. Put on your HoloSpex glasses and gaze around at the twinkling lights. Enjoy tasty treats and warm drinks. Click here to purchase your tickets today.

The Holiday Light Fantasia Goodwin Park is a two mile show, set to a soundtrack, that allows you to drive through holiday magic and admire over a million spectacular lights. The show is open from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.

The Faucher Family Christmas House is located in New Castle, Delaware. The family's enormous endeavor brightens the neighborhood with magical lights – about one million. The incredible Christmas display literally slows down traffic for miles.

Spend time in the historic district of St. Augustine this Christmas. Attend their Nights of Lights festival. Walk through the city or take a tour and admire its dazzling light display – approximately 3 million lights. The display is running from November 19, 2016 to January 31, 2017.

Located in Pine Mountain is the famous Callaway Gardens. Visit during the winter months for a chance to experience their Fantasy in Lights holiday lights and sound show. Admire glimmering lights, watch fireworks, visit the Christmas Village for photos with Santa and bring the kids to an hour of storytelling and Christmas carols with Mrs. Claus.

Attend the 20^th annual Festival of Lights at Kauai's Historic County Building. The opening ceremony is on Dec. 2, 2016 from 6-6:60pm. It is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, December 2-24. Families will enjoy admiring the beautiful lights and visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Located in Locomotive Park in Lewiston is this incredible community light show – Winter Spirit. Watch dancing trees and walk amongst tons of colorful interactive displays. Bonus: There is gas fireplace that you can sit by to keep warm. Winter Spirit will be held through the weekend after New Year's Day.

Presented by the Rotary Club of Aurora is the famous Aurora Illinois Festival of Lights. It is a free outdoor drive-through dazzling light display. Families will be awe-struck by the streets incredible lighted displays and twinkling trees. The show is open every night from November 27 through December 27.

Marion is hosting its Christmas City Walkway of Lights. The display spans over two miles and features over 2.5 million lights in over 120 individual displays. This is one of the longest running and largest light displays in all of the Midwest. The light show runs nightly from 6pm to 10pm through New Year's Eve.

Head out and celebrate more than 20 years of holiday lights at the Jolly Holiday Lights display in Adventureland. This drive-through light display – 2.5 miles – incorporates more than 100 displays. Tickets cost $10 per car and $20 per limo; all of the admission fees go directly to Make-A-Wish Iowa.

Located in Winfield's Beautiful Island Park is the Winfield Isle of Lights display. New displays are added to the park each year, and currently the Board of Directors for Isle of Lights is working on changing all of the Christmas Display Lights to LED. Walk under glimmering arches and admire the colorful illuminations surrounding you.

Every year the Louisville Mega Cavern is transformed into an underground holiday light spectacular – Lights Under Louisville. Enjoy a 30 minute ride through underground passageways which feature over 2,000,000 points of light and 850 lit characters. The display remains open until December 31.

New Orleans is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Celebration in the Oaks. It's a winter spectacle that attracts more than 165,000 visitors. The City Park's oaks are covered in hundreds of thousands of glimmering lights and incredible light displays are dispersed throughout 25 acres of the park. The light display runs from Nov. 25, 2016 through Jan. 1, 2017.

Enjoy the most magical time of the year with the Boothbay Festival of Lights. There are plenty of events going on throughout the season. Attend the biggest light display in Maine – Gardens Aglow – with over 350,000 LED lights at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Make sure that you go to the Annual Gingerbread Spectacular.

Open nightly from November 25 through December 21 is the Winter Lights Festival in Gaithersburg. Drive through the beautiful Seneca Creek State Park and pass over 380 illuminated displays and 65 animated vignettes. Cars, SUVs, Mini-Vans, Limos, Mini-buses and regular buses are all allowed through. The festival closes on December 25.

Located in Springfield's Forest Park is the Bright Nights holiday lighting display – the largest in New England. Explore nearly three miles of sparkling displays and don't forget to take pictures at Santa's Cottage. Bonus: Bus tours are available to take you through the 2.5 mile stretch of lights.

Walk along lit lantern paths, experience horse-drawn wagons, listen to music, view tons of lights and watch Santa with live reindeer at Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village. Also watch skilled artisan demonstrations, carolers, costumed presenters and fireworks each night.

The Bentleyville Tour of Lights is America's largest free walk through lighting display. Stoll under the glimmer of 4 million lights in a 20-acre park set on the shores of Lake Superior. Take a photo with Rudolph, visit Santa, drink delicious hot cocoa and roast marshmallows. The Tour of Lights opens November 19 and continues through December 26.

The Richardson Light Show is a drive-by Christmas light display located in Madison. View over 250 inflatables, over 100,000 LED lights and hundreds of lighted characters and messages. The lights are synchronized to music which can be broadcasted by radio. The show will run from November 25 through December 28.

Bring your family to Silver Dollar City in Branson to celebrate the season at An Old Time Christmas. Enjoy over five million dazzling lights, 1,000 decorated Christmas trees, including 5-story special effects Christmas tree, and two Broadway-style productions. While you are there don't forget to attend the Holly Jolly^TM Christmas Light Parade and ride thrilling rides.

Local residents are really into the holiday spirit every year. Walk around town for some dazzling Christmas light displays. Here is a map of "must see" and landmark homes. It's the lights, the figures, the messages, nativity sets, giant candy canes, snowflakes – everything is just astonishing.

People go all out when Christmas is around the corner. Their increasingly famous the Holiday Trolley Tour of Lights is back by popular demand.  Climb aboard the Arbor Day Farm trolley for a one-hour tour of Historic Nebraska City and the best show of Christmas lights on the weekends this December.

The completely LED 2.5-mile glittering course with sounds and vibrant colors opens on November 18. More than 3 million lights and about 500 animated exhibitions will dazzle you. Glittering Lights has entertained more than 2.2 million people over the past 15 years. The display has been on the lists of best annual events by USA Today, best places to see Christmas lights by CNN Travel, and over the top holiday displays by Huffington Post.

The show is back and organizers promise it's bigger, better and brighter than ever before. This is a perfect family event to get the kids and grownups as well into the Christmas spirit. They open at 4:30 p.m. and close at 9:00 p.m. They'll let you through if you're in line at closing.

The event has been known as New Jersey's premier Christmas exhibition for years. The display is open starting November 26. It's free to watch and park, but donations are always appreciated. Each show includes about the 120,000 lights and 20 songs. It is an hour long and will repeat for the next hour. There are going to be fire pits on cold nights.

Bring your family and marvel the magic of millions of shining lights and stunning holiday displays at the state's largest walk-through light show. In 1997, River of Lights began as a fundraiser for the BioPark. Today, proceeds continue to support a variety of ABQ BioPark projects.

Rockefeller Center is nothing compared to what residents do in this Brooklyn neighborhood. They unofficially compete with each other for who will have the most impressive Christmas display. No one benefits more than the random visitor. The spectacles, which include many inflatable ornaments, look like they have been designed by a professional. They will certainly brighten up your day.

This is a place "where young and old alike can gather and enjoy the fun, festive spirit of Christmas." Each element is physically crafted. Hundreds of thousands of lights have been programed to perform with music. Thousands of channels are simultaneously directing this orchestra of lights. If you can avoid it, don't visit on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays because the lines are very long.

The show has been around for about eight years but is already gaining popularity across the nation. The lights are on the day after Thanksgiving. Almost everything you see is handmade. All 11 family members work together to set up decorations. It takes them about a month to assemble everything – using 40,000 to 50,000 strands of lights, according to news reports.

This is an imaginative place – where you feel like you're walking through wonderland – with one million dancing Christmas lights harmonized to holiday music. The stunning display has been featured on national TV, radio and many magazines. The fun starts the day after Thanksgiving and continues through December 31.

The Chickasha Festival of Light has been known as one of the top 10 holiday light shows in the U.S. and features more than 3.5 million twinkling lights, according to TravelOK. Drive through Shannon Springs Park and gaze in wonder at over 100 alluring light scenes, animated displays and even a computer animated light show synchronized to famous holiday tunes.

For a really cool, and bright, presentation of Christmas lights, visit the Festival of Lights in The Grotto in Portland. This is the largest Christmas choral festival in the world. It features nearly 160 indoor holiday concerts performed by many of the region's finest school, church and civic choirs. Thousands of families from around the Pacific Northwest visit every year.

Do you want to see what kind of magic more than 3 million lights enlightening acres of farmland at Shady Brook Farm can do? Witness the incredible displays and see familiar characters as you drive through. You and the kids can also enjoy the show on an open air wagon ride.

The Crazy Christmas House is a display with over 100,000 lights. Its mission is "to bring happiness with the power of light and music to friends, family, and neighbors across Rhode Island." Another great option, also in Coventry, is the Conway Christmas Lights Extravaganza, which includes a nativity scene, a hot air balloon, and an army of tin soldiers.

Watch the beautiful gardens come alive amid the soft glow of more than 5,500 hand-lit candles and countless sparkling lights. Take a magical walk through the paths and enjoy the sounds of hand bells ringing and carolers singing. The highlight of the display is the 80-foot-tall fir tree decorated with 70,000 lights. The show is open December 1-3, 8-10, & 15-18.

Don't miss a chance to see a breathtaking 360-degree view of the glowing park from the five-story viewing tower. Fireworks lit up the sky on opening day, which is November 18.  This is one of the few shows that stay open after New Year – until January 8.

You won't get enough of the over 2 million light, eight acres of displays and 90 drive-thru arches. Take the kids to an actual drive-thru Santa house featuring Santa himself who is taking Christmas wish lists. There is a Christmas Train and even a dancing snowman. This year the show will include more live animals, a Nativity Scene, and new LED displays.

You can count on Austin to be original. With 4 magical tunnels, 2 million lights, 40 displays, food, music, and a 55 foot tree, the Trail of Lights is easily one of the very best Christmas festivals in the entire country. You can put your own mark by becoming a Trailblazer and adopting one of the Trail of Lights iconic displays.

You haven't seen magic until you visit the Temple Square in December. The 35 acres completely transform the day after Thanksgiving every year, when the stunning Christmas lights are lit, awesome decorations are hung and several nativities are placed on the grounds for the first time. Free concerts and performances are taken to a whole new level.

Travel back in time for Christmas and visit old-fashioned Woodstock during its annual Wassail Weekend December 8-31. Woodstock is a fairytale-like small town. Stay at the historic Woodstock Inn which dresses up for the season and don't miss the parade where riders show off their horses. Go on a horse-drawn-wagon tour to see the charming bridges, snow-white panoramas, and cheerful decorations.

Drive through more than a million flashing lights starting Thanksgiving Day. The Dominion Garden of Lights at Norfolk Botanical Garden was voted #8 best light displays in the country through USA Today/10Best contest in 2014. The show extravaganza that transforms the garden into a winter wonderland is open 5:30 – 10 p.m. nightly.

More than one million Christmas lights will be displayed. The spectacle is spread over 15 acres at Warm Beach Camp in Stanwood. The Lights of Christmas is the largest holiday light show in the Pacific Northwest that combines live entertainment, children's activities, food, and holiday shopping. It's open 5-10 p.m. December 1-4, 8-11, 15-18, 20-23, and 26-28.

This is one of the largest Christmas lights displays in the U.S. Covering more than 300 acres, it has been around since 1985. The show at the resort was listed as one of the 10 Best Christmas Light Displays in the country according to AOL Travel. The show is also listed on the American Bus Association's Top International Events. The Festival of Lights was also featured on the Travel Channel's Extreme Christmas Celebrations.

The 15-year-old holiday tradition of bringing allure and enchantment to the local community is a must-do experience. More than the three quarters of a million lights are spread over a mile through the gorgeous Menominee Park. Food pantries community-wide, scheduled by United Way, benefit from Celebration of Lights.

This is the city's biggest Christmas display. The 22-foot mega tree has new colors this year – blue and white. It consists of 8,000 lights, 68 extension cords, 16 relays, 20 feet of cat 5 white, and hundreds of hours of programming.

This is a free event that is worth every second of your spare time. More than 500,000 environmentally-friendly LED lights convert the zoo into a winter utopia with a glittering light show set to music. ZooLights includes live music performances, tasty winter treats, and lots of opportunities for holiday shopping.