USA TODAY 10Best
Brighten up your holidays with these 10 amazing lights displays
Best Public Holiday Lights Display (2023)
For many people, the holiday season isn't complete without at least one night spent driving around and looking at the colorful lights.
To find the most festive displays, USA TODAY 10Best editors and experts combed the nation for the brightest and most beautiful holiday light shows put on by neighborhoods, cities, and parks. Then, readers voted for their favorites.
Here are the 10 best public holiday lights displays across the country.
- The Miracle on South 13th Street - Philadelphia, Pennslvania
- Holiday Spectacular presented by Mosaic - Tampa, Florida
- Light Up the Holidays - Altamonte Springs, Florida
- Christmas Town USA - McAdenville, North Carolina
- Johannessen Lights - Winter Park, Florida
- Festival of Lights at The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa - Riverside, California
- Holiday in Paradise - West Palm Beach, Florida
- Circle of Lights - Indianapolis, Indiana
- Chickasha Festival of Light - Chickasha, Oklahoma
- Bentleyville 'Tour of Lights' - Duluth, Minnesota
Photo courtesy of Photo by J. Fusco for VISIT PHILADELPHIA®
No. 10:
Philadelphia's Miracle on South 13th Street was created by a block of neighbors who wanted to bring extra Christmas cheer to the City of Brotherly Love. People gather for one of the country's best neighborhood parties, where folks go all out to deck their homes with colorful lights and decorations — even the Grinch and Philly Phanatic are on display. There's a holiday train to take you around, face painting, and plenty of money raised for charitable services, making this one of the top feel-good holiday events of the winter.
Photo courtesy of Visit Tampa Bay
No. 9:
Tampa Riverwalk is home to the magical Holiday Spectacular, which kicks off with the lighting of a 35-foot-tall Christmas tree floating in the harbor. The Riverwalk becomes aglow with festive lights and decorations, and the entire area of Water Works Park sees strings of lights draped on the oak trees, along with unique floating displays like gingerbread houses or toy trains set in the adjacent river. You can jump on a Pirate Water Taxi for the best views.
Photo courtesy of City of Altamonte Springs
No. 8:
Cranes Roost Park is the site of Altamonte Springs' Light Up the Holidays, an annual Christmas event boasting a choreographed fireworks display, a 60-foot decorated Christmas tree, and 200,000 dazzling lights. There's also live music and dance performances, Santa and Mrs. Claus visits, and an abundance of holiday activities set in this fabulous central Florida lakefront park.
Photo courtesy of Steve Rankin
No. 7:
McAdenville is nicknamed "Christmas Town USA" for good reason. Each winter, this small town in North Carolina transforms into a festive, twinkling wonderland, dotted with thousands of lights, dramatic displays, and a spirited Main Street. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Christmas Town USA every December to drive or walk by breathtaking holiday displays — a tradition that dates back to the '50s.
Photo courtesy of Eric Johannessen
No. 6:
Eric Johannessen's three favorite things in the world are his family, creating lifetime memories for his kids, and Christmas. And as the owner of Johannessen Lights, a creative holiday lighting installation business in Winter Park, he has combined all three of these by decorating his own home in a magical display of festive lights. His endeavors went viral, and these days his house is one of central Florida's top Christmas attractions. They've got a half a million lights on display here, you can buy hot chocolate and popcorn, and while it's free to stay in the front yard, do yourself a favor and pay the $10 donation to get into the backyard, where the light show is even more phenomenal.
Photo courtesy of The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa
No. 5:
The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s Festival of Lights returns to Riverside, California, yearly with millions of twinkling lights. The event features light displays and decorations both in downtown Riverside and at the hotel itself, as well as food vendors, ice skating, live music, and visits with Santa.
Photo courtesy of The City of West Palm Beach
No. 4:
Spend the holidays in West Palm Beach, Florida, with Sandi, a 35-foot-tall, 700-ton holiday tree made 100% out of sculpted sand. She watches over the festivities at the city’s annual holiday festival, which includes live music, a spectacular nightly light show, photos with Santa, and a holiday shopping bazaar.
Photo courtesy of Downtown Indy, Inc.
No. 3:
Downtown Indianapolis' Circle of Lights sees the center of the city turned into one of the country's largest volunteer-fueled holiday displays. Dating from 1962, when the iconic Soldiers and Sailors Monument was turned into the world's largest Christmas Tree, the festival has grown. Today, the entire Monument Circle is festooned with 4,784 hand-strung lights, under which a star-studded array of local and international singers, performance artists, and pop-up shops showcase their talents and wares. Best of all, the entire event is free and shows off downtown Indy's vibrant community spirit.
No. 2:
Oklahoma's Chickasha Festival of Light is all about superlatives, from more than 3.5 million twinkling lights to a 170-foot-tall Christmas tree. It's no surprise that more than 250,000 visitors come from around the world to check out this granddaddy of all light shows. You can walk a pathway, drive your own vehicle, or even take a carriage ride through the festive displays and light/music shows. And to top things off, there's even a Ferris wheel and ice skating rink to make for one very merry holiday visit.
Photo courtesy of Northern Images Photography
No. 1:
Bentlleyville "Tour of Lights," one of America’s largest free walk-through lights displays, invites visitors to stroll among more than 5 million lights spread across a 20-acre park on the shores of Lake Superior. Guests can get their photo taken with Santa and enjoy cocoa, cookies, roasted marshmallows, and popcorn.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Kristen Lummis
Kristen Lummis is a freelance writer based in... Read More
Kristen Lummis is a freelance writer based in Western Colorado. The mom of two now-adult sons, Lummis broke into her writing career through snowsports, founding the website braveskimom.com in 2010 to provide family-friendly tips across a full range of winter topics. And while skiing is Lummis’ first true outdoor love, she grew up camping, hiking, biking, kayaking and traveling extensively with her family — pursuits that she continues today. She prides herself on unbiased opinions, based on activities and destinations she’s visited and experienced. Lummis is honored to be considered an “expert” for 10Best. Follow her @braveskimom on Instagram and Facebook.
Kristen Lummis
Kristen Lummis is a freelance writer based in Western Colorado. The mom of two now-adult sons, Lummis broke into her writing career through snowsports, founding the website braveskimom.com in 2010 to provide family-friendly tips across a full range of winter topics. And while skiing is Lummis’ first true outdoor love, she grew up camping, hiking, biking, kayaking and traveling extensively with her family — pursuits that she continues today. She prides herself on unbiased opinions, based on activities and destinations she’s visited and experienced. Lummis is honored to be considered an “expert” for 10Best. Follow her @braveskimom on Instagram and Facebook.
Nicky Omohundro
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of Read More
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of LittleFamilyAdventure.com, the popular family travel & lifestyle website that inspires families to leave no child left inside. Since 2013 LFA has been providing inspiration to get families outdoors, eat well, and travel everywhere from their own backyard to around the world. Always up for a family adventure, she has traveled to 37 states and 6 countries to zip-line through a Costa Rican rainforest, see Finland’s Northern Lights, and go camping throughout the US. Nicky is the co-founder of Tourism WorX a travel consultancy group. Connect with her Twitter and Instagram.
Nicky Omohundro
Nicky Omohundro is the founder and editor of LittleFamilyAdventure.com, the popular family travel & lifestyle website that inspires families to leave no child left inside. Since 2013 LFA has been providing inspiration to get families outdoors, eat well, and travel everywhere from their own backyard to around the world. Always up for a family adventure, she has traveled to 37 states and 6 countries to zip-line through a Costa Rican rainforest, see Finland’s Northern Lights, and go camping throughout the US. Nicky is the co-founder of Tourism WorX a travel consultancy group. Connect with her Twitter and Instagram.
Nikky J
NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The... Read More
NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The Solo Theme Park Traveler’s Guide, the founder and owner of ThemeParkHipster.com, a wishful Food Critic, coffee enthusiast, and a lover of life! She currently resides in Orlando, Florida where she enjoys spending time with her husband and two little girls while discovering the beautiful attractions of Florida. You can watch her on YouTube or listen to her podcast.
Nikky J
NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The Solo Theme Park Traveler’s Guide, the founder and owner of ThemeParkHipster.com, a wishful Food Critic, coffee enthusiast, and a lover of life! She currently resides in Orlando, Florida where she enjoys spending time with her husband and two little girls while discovering the beautiful attractions of Florida. You can watch her on YouTube or listen to her podcast.
Skye Rodgers
Skye is a freelance writer that adopted Tampa as... Read More
Skye is a freelance writer that adopted Tampa as her hometown over a decade ago and never looked back. As a native of Canada, Skye has happily embraced the no snow climate, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than basking on the white sand beaches of the Gulf with rum runner in hand. Living in such a dynamic and up-and-coming city as Tampa provides plenty to write about, and Skye spends much of her time exploring new attractions and discovering hidden treasures for her readers. You can connect with Skye via her Facebook page @BestofTampa.
Skye Rodgers
Skye is a freelance writer that adopted Tampa as her hometown over a decade ago and never looked back. As a native of Canada, Skye has happily embraced the no snow climate, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than basking on the white sand beaches of the Gulf with rum runner in hand. Living in such a dynamic and up-and-coming city as Tampa provides plenty to write about, and Skye spends much of her time exploring new attractions and discovering hidden treasures for her readers. You can connect with Skye via her Facebook page @BestofTampa.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
