7 Towns With the Best Christmas Light Displays in the Country

Theodore, Alabama, might not be on your radar, but this tradition definitely should be. Each year, Bellingrath Gardens holds a stunning light show called Magic Christmas in Lights. (2023 is the 28th anniversary of the festive event.) Three full-time employees work year-round to create the dazzling displays spread across 65 acres. The tour takes about an hour, but there's food and drink available for purchase so you can spend the entire night basking in the lights. Not to mention, Santa makes a nightly appearance through December 23.

If you're looking for a low-key Christmas light display and you're in or near the City of Angels, you're in luck. Though many cities have their own phenomenal residential light displays, the one on "Candy Cane Lane" in the Woodland Hills neighborhood has its own Trip Advisor page. This free experience is easy to drive or walk through and is the perfect date night activity.

For something a bit more structured, the Los Angeles Zoo offers an L.A. Zoo Lights experience featuring "holiday-themed Winter Wildlands, the Dazzling Desertscape, magnificent scenes of native California wildlife, and much more." With treats to purchase and alcoholic beverages if you're over 21, this fun event is one you'll keep coming back to year after year.

Just outside L.A., the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa offers a breathtaking public light display called the Festival of Lights. If you're leaving the city, make sure to drive by and experience this event that's been held since 1992.

The Blossoms of Light event held at the Denver Botanic Gardens knows it's all that and a bag of chips—why else would it have a specific section in its FAQ about popping the question to your special someone there? This magnificent light show makes efforts to be sustainable, using only LED lights. You'll feel as if you've stepped into another, colorfully illuminated world as you wander through this dazzling display.

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are beautiful all year, but its Gardens Aglow festival is a holiday celebration unlike any other. Throughout its 14 acres, more than 750,000 LED lights illuminate the greenery and flowers. Now in its ninth years, the event is getting new designs and becoming more sustainable.

The city and surrounding area of Detroit is bound to have some stunning light shows, it'll be difficult to choose which one to stop by! Well, we're here to help with that. Make sure to keep room on your Christmas lights roster for the Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo event to walk through about 500 festive displays with millions of glistening LED lights. There are so many experiences to behold, but make sure to stop by the Underwater Trail, the Field of Light, and the Wild Lights lodge to warm up and enjoy some seasonal treats.

Branson's crown jewel is Silver Dollar City, an 1880s theme park that attracts visitors year-round. It's especially shiny when it transforms into a bright Christmas wonderland. With more than 6.5 million lights, a special effects Christmas tree, and a nightly parade starring Rudolph the Reindeer, it’s easy to see why this theme park is such a holiday hit.

Get your fill of holiday lights at the River of Lights Holiday Light Show in Albuquerque, which is celebrating its 26th anniversary. Featuring more than 800 Christmas light displays including dinosaurs, a giant watering can, and glittering pegasi (yes, that's the plural of pegasus), the state's largest walk-through light show has a little something for everyone.