guides

Light Displays to Brighten Your Winter Nights

Local Holiday Lights near Takoma Park and Silver Spring

By Leah Spencer November 14, 2024

✨ Updated for 2024 ✨

It's not yet Thanksgiving, but with the sun setting earlier and the weather getting colder, soon many light displays will open for the season. Here is a guide to several of the best holiday light displays in our area. We've separated options by location and noted prices and if the display is walk-through or drive-through. 

   = Walk-through displays 

   = Drive-through displays

Maryland

✨ Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD)  

Open: November 22 to January 5 (Closed November 25-28, December 24-25 & Jan 1)

Price: $10 per person   


✨ Festival of Lights at the Mormon Temple (Kensington, MD) 

Open: December 5 to January 1

Price: FREE!  


✨ Winter City Lights (Olney, MD) 

Open: November 23 to December 29 (select days) 

Price: $31 to $39 per person  


✨ Miracle on 34th Street (Baltimore, MD)

Open: November 30 to December 31 

Price: FREE!  


✨ Frederick Sailing Through Winter Solstice (Frederick, MD)

Open: November 23 to March 2025

Price: FREE!  


✨ Merriweather Symphony of Lights (Columbia, MD) 

Open: November 29 to January 4

Price: $25 per car   / $14 per person walk through nights  


✨ Winter Lights Festival at Seneca Creek State Park (Gaithersburg, MD) 

Open: November 29 to December 31 (Closed December 25)

Price: Monday to Thursday $15 per car; Friday to Sunday $25 per car  


✨ Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park (Upper Marlboro, MD)

Open: November 29 to January 1

Price: $10 online per car; $15 per car at the gate  


✨ Lights on the Bay (Annapolis, MD)

Open: November 24 to January 1

Price: $20 per car  


DC

✨ Zoo Light at the National Zoo (NW Washington, DC) 

Open: November 22 to January 4 (check website for specific days)

Price: $6 per person and $30 parking fee  (passes needed for entry)   


✨ National Christmas Tree (NW Washington, DC) 

Open: December 5 to January 1

Price: Free!  


✨ District Dazzle (Various Locations throughout Washington, DC) 

Open: November 29 to January 5

Price: Free!  


✨ Georgetown Glow (Georgetown, DC)

Open: December 1 to January 7

Price: FREE!  


✨ CityCenter DC (NW Washington, DC)

Open:  November 25 to December 31

Price: FREE!  

Virginia

✨ Winter Lantern Festival (Tysons, VA) 

Open: October 31 to January 12 (Select Dates)

Price: $30 per adult ticket; $20 per child ticket  


✨ Meadowlark Botanical Garden's Winter Walk of Lights (Vienna, VA) 

Open: November 8 to January 5

Price: $16 to $18 per ticket depending on date  


✨ Bull Run Festival of Lights (Centreville, VA) 

Open: November 15 to January 5

Price: $30 per car