Christmas Lights in Raleigh NC: Best Triangle Holiday Light Displays (2024)

Illuminate Art Walk

📍 Downtown Raleigh/Fayetteville Street
📅 Friday December 6th – Monday January 6th
🕠 Evenings, best after dark!
💰 Pricing: Free!

Downtown Raleigh comes to light every holiday season with Illuminate Art Walk. Since the winter of 2020, Downtown Raleigh Alliance has brought energy to our Main Street–and beyond–with large-scale, interactive, and light-based art pieces.

A highlight of this year’s celebration is The TUNNEL created by BIG ART, powered by Creos. The TUNNEL is an interactive, 100-foot beacon of light with towering, mirrored LED structures that reflect vibrant colors, patterns, and mesmerizing effects.

Illuminate Art Walk is free to the public and self-guided. More info

Raleigh Christmas Lights

📍 2612 Beehnon Way, Raleigh, NC
📅 Starts December 1st
🕠 Sunday through Thursday from 5:15 to 10:30 P.M.
🕠 Friday and Saturday from 5:15 to 11:00 P.M.
💰 Pricing: Free!

This free, family-run light show is lots of fun! You’ll find this light display at 2612 Beehnon Way in Raleigh. Families should turn their radio to 90.3 FM to enjoy a playlist of holiday songs that match the light show!

You can also watch this one online at RaleighLights.com Get all the latest info from their Facebook page.

Winter Song Road in Raleigh

📍 Winter Song Road, Raleigh, NC (Bedford Neighborhood)
📅 Begins 11/28
🕠 TBA
💰 Pricing: Free!

Folks along Winter Song Road in Raleigh band together to create a true wonderland! This light display is truly special, and helps raise money for the Triangle Spokes Group. Find out more on their Instagram page.

Edward’s Battle Candyland

📍 9401 S Mere Ct, Raleigh, NC 27615
📅 Open Now
🕠 Lights on til Dark. Candyland open during the day
💰 Pricing: Free!

Come play during the day on a giant Candyland, or drive by at night to enjoy the lights! Edward’s family creates this display every year (plus a Halloween haunted house) to raise funds for Make-a-Wish Eastern NC. More info here.

Anchanew Lights

📍 1004 Quail Oaks Circle , Raleigh, NC
📅 Nov 30, 2024, to Jan 1st, 2025
🕠 Sunday to Thursday: 6 to 9:30 p.m. | Friday and Saturday: 6 to 10 p.m.
💰 Pricing: Free!

Enjoy this very merry synchronized light show! When you arrive, please park out front, cut out your headlights, and turn your radios to 90.3 FM. For your safety, please keep parking lights on. During the show, we ask you to be kind to our lovely neighbors by not blocking driveways, not littering, and minding your volume. As you exit, please continue down the road and use the cul-de-sac to turn around, avoiding any driveways. This will help us all sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! More info on Facebook.

Nelson’s Christmas Light Show

📍 3909 Falmouth Dr, Raleigh, NC 
📅 Begins 11/24
🕠 Wed-Sun 6:00pm-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: Free!

We want to share some Christmas cheer with our community. Please come out and take pictures. More info on Facebook.

Christmas Trail on Beane Drive

📍 3200 Beane Dr. Raleigh, NC
📅 Begins 12/8
🕠 Monday-Thursday 6:00pm-8:30pm, Friday 6:00pm-9:00pm, Sat&Sun 5:30pm-9:00pm
💰 Pricing: Free! Donations to St. Jude appreciated. Donate here

This epic Christmas light display is put on by the Sutphen family. They do an incredible job and the decorations are top notch, with thousands of lights, inflatables, and more. These folks also do an awesome Halloween light show when they turn their yard into “Sutphen Manor.”

While visiting this walk through Christmas trail in Raleigh is free, the family asks for donations to St. Jude. Last year they were able to collect over $5,000 in donations to this important cause! More info

Please enter Beane Drive from Castlebrook and exit via Hunter Hill Rd to keep traffic flowing.

Goldman Family Lights

📍 6331 Deerview Dr, Raleigh, NC
📅 Starts Friday 11/29 5:00pm
🕠 TBA
💰 Pricing: Free!

Another family light display in Raleigh. When you arrive, please turn off your headlights and tune your radio to 90.9 WGFL to listen to the music while watching the lights. More info

Smith Family Christmas Lights & Displays

📍 1704 Falls Church Road, Raleigh, NC
📅 2024 Details coming soon
🕠 TBA
💰 Pricing: Free!

A charming, classic Christmas lights walk-through. You can take your own picture w/Mickey Mouse & steal a kiss under the mistletoe. Donations are accepted for Raleigh Rescue Missions. More info

Happy Land Christmas Lights

📍 5504 Huntingwood Drive, Raleigh, NC
📅 2024 Details coming soon
🕠 TBA
💰 Pricing: Free!

The family says that these lights twinkle in memory of Rick Moore 1986-2004 who, in his short life, always wanted them to put up “More Lights.” More info

Lights on the Meadow

📍 9301 Hay Meadow Court, Raleigh, NC,
📅 December 7th-29th
🕠 Mon – Tues : Closed | Wednesday : 6:00PM – 9:00 PM |Thurs – Sat 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM | Sunday: 6:00PM – 9:00 PM
💰 Pricing: Free!

Tune to 88.3 FM to enjoy the lights synced to music.

Please kindly remember that our show is located in a community where many families live. We appreciate the support of our wonderful neighbors and want to ensure that they enjoy this time of the year as much as we do! Therefore, we are asking that visitors remain in their cars and turn around at the end of the cul-de-sac. More info

North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival

📍 Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary, NC
📅 November 16th, 2024 – January 25th, 2025
🕠 6:00pm-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: $11-31+, Kids 2 and under are free. (Pro tip: The most affordable option is to buy date-specific tickets.)

The Chinese Lantern Festival in Cary is one of the top holiday events around the Triangle. It is absolutely gorgeous. Held at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre, this festival’s centerpiece are big, intricate paper lanterns illuminating the night. Using thousands of LED lights, the scenes created by the lanterns are extraordinary.

In addition to the stunning lantern displays, the ticketed event offers a vibrant celebration of Chinese culture, featuring nightly performances with martial arts, traditional dances, acrobatics, drum shows, and more. In past years, they’ve also had swings and other fun interactive elements for kids. More info

Gebhardt Family Lights

📍 1033 Horton’s Creek Road, Cary NC
📅 TBA
🕠 TBA
💰 Pricing: Free!

Another awesome family light show set to music! Tune into 90.3 to enjoy the holiday tunes! More info

Durham Christmas Lights

Christmas Plugged – Synchronized Christmas Lights

📍 Rose of Sharon Baptist Church –  4109 Guess Road Durham, NC
📅 November 29th-January 5th
🕠 Dusk-midnight
💰 Pricing: Free!

For the ninth year, Rose of Sharon Baptist Church is bringing holiday cheer to the community with their dazzling light display. Featuring approximately 40,000 LED lights, this spectacular show is synchronized to music, creating a magical experience for visitors.

The display includes a playlist of nine songs, and viewers can enjoy it from their cars by tuning to 90.1 FM. Each show lasts about 30 minutes, offering plenty of time to soak in the festive atmosphere. Running nightly from dusk until midnight, this incredible light show is completely free for everyone to enjoy. Don’t miss this annual tradition that lights up the season! More info

Mangum Family Christmas Lights

📍 7510 Guess Road (Durham County), Hillsborough, NC
📅 November 17th-December 31st
🕠 5:30pm
💰 Pricing: Free!

Looking for Christmas lights in Durham NC? Join the Mangum Family Christmas Lights for a free drive-in light show running through the holidays until New Year’s Eve. Stay cozy in your car, tune your radio to 90.3 FM to enjoy festive music, and sing along as you watch over 100,000 lights dance in sync with the tunes! More info

Holiday Tour of Lights

📍 Various locations around Apex
📅 December 7th – 26th, 2024
🕠 Every night 6:00 – 9:00 pm
💰 Pricing: Free!

This is a wonderful driving tour of Christmas lights in Apex. Grab some thermoses of cocoa, put on your Christmas PJs, and hop into the car for a night of family fun!

Apex homes and businesses across town volunteer to spread holiday cheer with beautiful light displays each year! The Tour of Lights provides a map with the most efficient way to see all the stops along the tour. Hop in the car, turn on your favorite holiday playlist, and enjoy the lights! More info

Rogers Family Christmas Lights

📍 700 Bay Bouquet Lane, Apex, NC
📅 November 28th, 2024 – January 1st, 2025
🕠 Hours: 5:30-9:30 PM Sunday-Thursday & 5:30-10:30 PM Friday-Saturday
💰 Pricing: Free!

For the past 10 years, we’ve been putting up a Christmas light display in our yard. It grows each year with new things. It’s nothing fancy—just a few thousand LED lights that are synced to music, music that you can pick when you are watching the show. Tune your radio to 93.5 and pick your favorite song. Enjoy the show!

The light show runs nightly, every night from Thanksgiving thru New Years Day. More info here.

Lights on Holt

📍 1012 Holt Road, Apex, NC
📅 Select days, November 28th-December 26th, see website
🕠 6:00pm-9:00pm
💰 Pricing: $20 per vehicle, entry on 12/12 with nonperishable food item

The owners of this property in Apex put on a huge light show every year. While they offer some free nights throughout the season, on most evenings they ask for a minimum donation per car. This donation goes towards helping thousands of displaced war refugees from conflicts around the world as well to help animal rescue shelters here at home with the nonprofit MG Global Support Foundation, a 501(C)(3) organization. More info here.

PS: Take a look at our video of this incredible light show!

Lights on the Neuse

📍 1620 Loop Road Clayton, NC
📅 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays November 29th-December 15th, then open daily December 19th-24th.
🕠 Check website, generally 6:00pm-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: Age 3 and up – $11.00 (Hayride); Age 2 and under – Free

Lights on the Neuse is a Christmas light celebration held at Boyette Family Farms in Clayton. This isn’t a drive-thru light display, but an old-fashioned hay ride through the lights. After your ride you can decorate cookies, purchase hot chocolate and other treats, and take photos in Santa’s sleigh.

More info

Merry Municipal

📍 1620 Loop Road Clayton, NC
📅 Throughout December
🕠 Dark-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: Free. $2 for train rides

Stop by Municipal Park and check out our outdoor walk-thru light display! Walk through our transformed park and see the magic of Christmas before your eyes. This event is free to the public and will be available for viewing from dark – 10:00PM every evening throughout the month of December. 

December 12 – Climb aboard the Merry Municipal Express and enjoy 2 laps around Merry Municipal on a trackless train while enjoying our holiday lights and Christmas music. The perfect event to get you in the spirit! Tickets go on sale November 15th. $2/ticket. Tickets can be purchased at ClaytonParks.org/register

December 19 – Clayton Parks and Recreation staff will be on site from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with free hot cocoa, candy canes, and SANTA! Bring your camera and snap a photo with the big man himself. This event is free and open to the public. 

More info

Piper Lights

📍 5725 Fixit Shop Road, Wake Forest, NC
📅 Starts November 29th
🕠 Sunday-Thursday 5:30pm-9:00m, Friday & Saturday 5:30pm-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: Free!

Piper Lights is a free, drive-thru Christmas light display in Wake Forest. This is a family-operated light show, and now covers 7 acres. Follow their Facebook page for more info.

Hill Ridge Farms Festival of Lights

📍 703 Tarboro Road Youngsville, NC 27596
📅 November 28th- December 28th, 2024
🕠 Wed & Thur 5pm-9pm, Fri & Sat 5pm-10pm, Sun 5pm-9pm
💰 Pricing: All children less than 2 years old FREE, Ages 2-64 $19.95 includes wagon ride, train ride, carousel all play areas. Seniors 65+ $17.95, Military $17.95, Free Parking

Experience the magic of Hill Ridge Farms with over a million lights, holiday-themed displays, and cheerful characters as you journey through the farm on a classic covered wagon ride! Next, hop aboard the Hill Ridge Farms Express train for even more festive sights, and let the kids enjoy the carousel as it whirls them around in delight.

Be sure to visit Granny’s Snack Shack for hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and their famous homemade apple cider donuts. You can also grab supplies to roast marshmallows or create your own s’mores for an extra-special treat!

For the first time, our playland park will be OPEN during your visit! Our giant slide, jumping pillow, jump pad, hay jump, colorful maze, family trike races are all included with your admission.  More info.

Lights on Cedar

📍 206 W. Cedar Ave, Wake Forest, NC,
📅 11/29-12/31
🕠 5:00pm-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: Free!

This family light show in Wake Forest has become a tradition for many. From their Facebook page: “Friends, We’re so excited about our 2024 Season! You can drive around the block or park and walk along the side of the street. Come visit Santa Fridays and Saturdays as follows: December 6 and 7, 13 and 14, 20 and 21 *6-8pm*! Reminder that we run weather permitting and make sure to check the FB page before you head to the lights”. More info

P&C Holiday Lights

📍 38 Bennett Ridge Road, Chapel Hill, NC
📅 Open now-Christmas
🕠 5:30pm-9:00pm
💰 Pricing: Free!

Get ready for a holiday experience that will light up your night! P&C Holiday Lights brings Christmas magic to life with dazzling lights dancing perfectly to festive tunes. Whether you watch outside or stay cozy in your car, just tune your radio to 101.3 and enjoy the show!

✨ Special Treats: On select nights, Santa himself makes an appearance (Come by and visit us all month and join us on the 6th, 7th, 13th, and 20th-23rd to see Santa. He will be outside from 6:00pm-7:00pm waving and handing out candy canes)! And don’t miss the song that sets off a surprise snow shower—because what’s Christmas without a little magic? More info here

Lights on Birch Hollow

📍 Birch Hollow Rd., Chapel Hill, NC – Brier Chapel Neighborhood
📅 TBA
🕠 TBA
💰 Pricing: Free!

Based on their videos, this holiday light show in Chapel Hill looks super fun! More info

Christmas Lights in Fuquay-Varina

Holland Road Lights

📍 409 Holland Road, Fuquay Varina North Carolina
📅 November 29th, 2024 – January 2nd, 2025
🕠 Dusk (5 or 5:30-10:30pm)
💰 Pricing: Free!

A synchronized display of 35k+ Christmas lights and a New Years Eve light show.
Named a top 30 light show in NC! Turn your radio dial to 90.9FM to hear music synchronized to match with the lights, including a special New Year’s Eve dance party! More info here.

Christmas on the Farm at Naylor Family Farm

📍 6016 US-401 Fuquay-Varina, NC
📅 Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays November 30th-December 22nd
🕠 4:00pm-9:00pm
💰 Pricing: $16 for all guests aged 3+

Naylor Farm is a joy in every season, and Christmas is no exception! Your kids will love the cozy hay ride around the farm while taking in the sights of beautiful Christmas lights. Don’t forget to grab some hot cocoa and goodies in the old fashioned gift shop! AND Santa will be there from 5:00pm-9:00pm! More info

Light Show Geek

📍5425 Downton Grove Court Fuquay-Varina, NC
📅 Thanksgiving Weekend – January 6th
🕠 6:00-10:00pm nightly
💰Free!

A synchronized light and music show in Fuquay-Varina with a really fun playlist!

Reminders:

– Please give the right of way and make sure traffic can get by at all times.

– Be courteous to those around you.

– Dim your headlights to your parking lights so everyone can enjoy the show.

– Be mindful of your stereo volume.

Check their Facebook page for updates!

Lake Myra Lights – Wendell

📍 Corner of 3rd St and Cypress St, Wendell, NC, 27591
📅 November 27th – December 31st, 2024 | 5:30pm-10:00pm;
SANTA Saturday nights from November 30th-December 21st 7:00pm-9:00pm!
💰 Pricing: Free!

One of the Triangle area’s most beloved light displays is found in Wendell. This spectacular light show, crafted by the talented Williams family of Wendell, features over 400,000 lights perfectly synchronized to festive tunes. Each year, the family expands and refines this dazzling display, making it a must-see tradition. Visitors can watch from a designated viewing area—either parked or standing—with shows lasting 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the season. Walkways also offer a chance to get up close to some of the largest displays. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome to join the festivities!

More info – It is recommended to check their Facebook page before coming out!

Holidays on Hemby – Morrisville

📍 1001 Hemby Ridge Lane, Morrisville, NC
📅 Open Now
🕠 Display up nightly 5pm-10pm | Trains will run 6:00-8:30 on 12/7, 12/8, 12/13, 12/14, 12/20, 12/21, 12/22, and 12/23. Trains will run 10-2 on Christmas Eve.
💰 Pricing: Free!

Holidays on Hemby is such a unique display! Not only does this family deck their house out with lights and Christmas inflatables, they also have an elaborate train display! This is a walk through display that kids will love. More info on their Facebook page. You can also see our Instagram video of this light show here!

Granville Christmas Farm – Oxford

📍 4534 US-15, Oxford, NC 27565
📅 November 29th, 2024 – December 31st, 2024
🕠 See calendar below
💰 Pricing: $20 : 1-4 passengers per vehicle; $35 : 5-8 passengers per vehicle; $45 : 9 or more passengers per vehicle

A drive through Christmas wonderland! What runs in Halloween as Granville Haunt Farm transforms into a holiday landscape after Thanksgiving. More info here.

Meadow Lights – Benson

📍 4546 Godwin Lake Road, Benson, North Carolina 27504
📅 Nov. 22nd – Dec. 31st, 2024
🕠 5:00pm-10:00pm
💰 Pricing: There is no charge to see the lights. All lights are visible from the road or parking lot. However the train takes you through the main field of lights and gets you much closer.  Any age can ride.

Train Ride $3 per person
Carousel $3 per person
Visit Santa for free, Pictures are $8

Meadow Lights in Benson is the largest and oldest Christmas attraction in Eastern North Carolina! Not only is it a magnificent display of lights covering 30 acres, they also have train rides, an old-fashioned carousel, a candy store, and visits with Santa!

They open each year the Friday before Thanksgiving! Lights, train and carousel will be open every night until December 31st. Santa will be visiting every night until December 24th. The store will be open every night as long as we have candy in stock. More info here.