The 6 Best Christmas Lights: St. Louis, Missouri

If you are looking for holiday cheer, look no further than the Christmas Lights in St. Louis, Missouri. Each Christmas light display is unique and offers different holiday fun for your family. Please choose one or all of them. Each of these dazzling arrays of Drive-Thru Christmas Lights Displays around St. Louis, Missouri, and Southern Illinois will be an excellent addition to your holiday festive traditions for you and your family. So, let us grab those car keys, pile the family into the vehicle, and head out into the bright, colorful world of Christmas Lights in St. Louis, Missouri.

Celebration of Lights – Fort Zumult Park

The Celebration of Lights is an entertaining family adventure during the holidays. We packed up the car and headed into the park when I went through this light display. We had so much fun with the windows rolled down, climbing over each other to take pictures and videos of the animated displays. Since 1991, this light display has brought joy to thousands of families during the holiday season.

Driving through the always-present light tunnel and taking in the decorated trees and holiday structures, including classic themes and even a Lampoon vacation theme, is exciting. The Celebration of Lights can always bring a smile to your face as your children yell out, “Look at that!”, “Did you see that?” “Look over there!” In addition to driving through the light display, you can purchase tickets to have your family ride through on a horse-drawn carriage. You are making it a truly memorable evening of holiday festiveness! 

Important things to note: There is a lot of traffic around this park during the light display times. Bring your patience. The Celebration of Lights turns on November 28th and runs Monday to Sunday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., until December 30th. You must purchase tickets in advance. There is a $16/vehicle fee when entering the light display. The Celebration of Lights is at 1000 Jessup Drive West in O’Fallon. 

Winter Wonderland – Tilles Park

Winter Wonderland is one of the most enjoyable Holiday Light Displays I have seen in St. Louis. The display is 1.5 miles long, filled with over a million lights that decorate more than 100 displays featuring festive characters, trees, classic holiday scenes, and even some modern ones. Have you ever seen Santa on a jet ski? You will see it here! You can also coordinate your car’s radio with the music on the speakers while driving through the display. There is also an opportunity to buy tickets for a horse-drawn carriage ride through the park. From what I observed, all the riders in the carriage wore face masks. Horse-drawn carriages stay on the left, so make sure your vehicle stays on the right side of the drive.

Important note: Traffic is heavy immediately before the entrance to Tilles Park. You must queue up on the shoulder to enter the light display. The light show turns on every night, starting November 26th, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., until January 3rd. When you leave the light display, you must pay a $20 cash fee per vehicle. Please bring the exact amount or purchase your tickets in advance. No credit cards are accepted. Winter Wonderland is in Tilles Park at 9551 Litzsinger Road in St. Louis. Several walk-up carriage rides are available each night at the McCarthy Construction parking lot south of Tilles Park. Please note that walk-up ride prices are higher than those for pre-registration.

Winter Wonderland is my favorite Christmas Light display in St. Louis. If you visit on a lovely evening, roll down the windows and enjoy the lights and wonderful Christmas music. I even saw a kid poking his head out of the sunroof, enjoying the light display. I’m not recommending that. Still, the cars do drive slowly through the lights. 

Remember to turn off your headlights when you visit any drive-thru Christmas Light Displays. It is inconsiderate to the vehicle in front of you and ruins their light experience when your lights shine into their car the whole time. I’m sure you don’t want the person behind you to do the same. If you are unsure how to turn them off, check before entering the light displays. And above all else, enjoy the canopy of lights glistening throughout the seventy-five acres of Tilles Park.

Check the schedule to determine if it is a walk night or if vehicles are permitted to drive through Tilles Park.

Christmas Wonderland – Alton

Christmas Wonderland’s light display features over 4 million lights, decorating trees in Rock Spring Park, Alton. You are welcomed by the giant cascading waterfall of lights when you enter the park. A different group decorates each area of the park. You might think it would be disconnected, but with so many lights, they blend. When you reach the park’s high point and look down, it appears to be a river flowing with colorful lights, with lit trees lining the banks. If you want to listen to Christmas tunes while driving through the light display, tune your radio to 87.9 FM or 102.5 FM for Christmas music from St. Louis. 

Important things to note: Traffic is heavy as you go through the lights. Please be patient when viewing the lights, as the cars will stop and start throughout the display. The entrance is at 2100 College Ave in Alton. The light show is turned on from November 28th, Monday through Friday, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays & Sundays, until December 28th. Admission is $10 per car or $1 per person for vehicles with more than ten people. 

Christmas Wonderland is a drive-thru light display that my mom and I have visited almost every time I come into town for the holidays. The year I went, I was pleasantly surprised when the truck paid for my car’s donation in front of me. Thank you for the fantastic pay-it-forward gift! 

Christmas Lights Wonderland – Greenville

This is one light display that you can easily see from I-70, but most people don’t take the time to visit it. What a lovely surprise it was! The light display is located in the American Tractor Museum and features a single one-way route through the exhibits. I was so glad not to rush through this, as there are over 50 lightboxes. Most of them are on the car’s passenger (right) side. While driving solo, I had to stop the vehicle at each light box to see what was inside.

These lightboxes are so creative. You can find everything here, from traditional nativity and holiday scenes, Santa and Rudolph, to even the Peanuts gang making an appearance. Hot Chocolate and cookies will be available in the Lil’ Red Barn. Hopefully, that sways you to visit this fascinating light display in Greenville. 

Important note: The entry is located at the American Tractor Museum, 1395 Museum Ave, in Greenville. The light boxes and displays turn on nightly from November 28th at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. until December 31st. Your donation amount determines the entry fee.

Way of Lights – Belleville

Another unique holiday event to add to your list is to explore the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. You can expect an incredible light display featuring over a million lights each year. However, there are more than lights here. You can make stops at a couple of places for more family fun. The first stop is filled with live animals. Go ahead and take some beautiful photos of your children feeding the animals in the petting zoo or riding camels, donkeys, or ponies.

The second stop is indoors in the chapel. Inside, you can find the choir singing beautiful Christmas carols. After listening to the lovely music, you can browse through the creatively decorated Christmas trees and wreaths before heading back to your vehicle to finish driving through the light display.

For over 50 years, Our Lady of the Snows has welcomed over 350,000 visitors during each holiday season, sharing the story of the Birth of Christ. Attending the Way of Lights is a magical evening of laughter and smiles, serving as a great reminder of what the Christmas season is all about. 

Important things to note: Traffic is heavy entering the Light Display. The entrance is located at 442 South DeMazenod in Belleville. The light show runs daily from November 21st at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. until December 31st. There is no cost to enter the light display. However, additional costs exist to feed the animals and for the camel and pony rides. See more photos in my Way of Lights blog post.

Wonderlight’s Christmas – World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison

Wonderlight’s Christmas is the largest synchronized holiday light show in the St. Louis area. The light display has over a million lights in a two-mile route in the raceway center. You must turn your radio to 89.5 FM to hear the lights synced with the music. There is a 50-minute loop of music timed with the lights. And this is about the time to get through the entire display. It is bumper-to-bumper at the beginning of the route with the dancing candy canes and lollipops. As you wind through the presentation, the cars start to space out, allowing you to enjoy the floating snowflakes, dancing trees, and the five long tunnels of lights.

Important things to note: Traffic is extremely heavy. Two lanes of traffic wind outside the display, and they all merge into one line for the light display. Please bring your patience, as it took me an hour and a half to arrive at the light show entrance, which I reached at 6 p.m. The line behind me looked even longer than when I arrived. The good news is that porta-johns are sporadically placed while you wait in line to enter the Raceway.

The entrance to the Raceway is located on Collinsville Road. The light show begins on November 14th from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and continues until January 4th. he car pass is $30. You can purchase your tickets at the gate or online. The World Wide Technology Raceway is at 700 Raceway Blvd in Madison. 

I was not impressed with how long I had to wait to get into the display, and it seemed a little slow afterward. The last portion of the show was more exciting, but by then, you were driving too fast to capture anything on your phone without it blurring. Would I go again? Probably not, but I enjoyed rocking out to the Carol of Bells and even the Christmas Vacation song. 

Where to find the best Christmas Lights: St. Louis, Missouri

Christmas is my favorite holiday, and even when I get busy with life, it is nice to step back and measure what is truly important. Taking a break and making time to drive through these magical Christmas Light Displays helps you refocus your busy life on a simpler time, where thoughts are filled with what you want to get for Christmas and having fun spending time with your family. Drive through these spectacular Christmas Lights in St. Louis, Missouri, this holiday season, with your family. It’s time for some laughter, Smiles, and Family Fun. Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Have you been to one of these dazzling drive-thru Christmas Light Displays in St. Louis, Missouri? Which one is your favorite?

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Further Reading

If you are exploring Alaska, check out these posts for extra travel inspiration:

• Top 8 Activities to do at Chena Hot Springs Resort
• Arctic Circle and Beaver Village Flightseeing Tour
• Shooting the Northern Lights in Alaska
• Alaskan Dog Sled Adventure and Lots of Puppies
• Yes, There is a Santa Claus!