Over the past few years, Atlanta’s holiday lights scene has been booming, allowing twinkly cheer regardless of where you live in the Metro area. Before, you had to commit to a drive out of town, but now you have the option to stay inside the perimeter with hot chocolate toasted a little bit closer to home. Whether you’re looking for a large-scale venue to entertain your family or a cozy stroll with a date, check out the options below to choose the right lights outing for you.
Fantasy in Lights at Calloway Gardens
Pine Mountain
Adult tickets: $17-28
This Christmas classic is the most popular lights destinations in the Southeast. Boasting eight million lights custom designed into 15 picturesque scenes, the ambling drive through Calloway Gardens has expanded annually after its start in 1992, and is known as one of the world’s “Top 10 Places to See Holiday Lights” by “National Geographic Traveler.” Battalions of toy soldiers stand at attention, frogs leap into reflective ponds and the new Enchanted Rainbow Forest follows the progressions of the changing seasons in a spectacularly large display. If you want a big-scale light spectacle all enjoyed from the comfort of your car, this is the one for you.
Garden Lights, Holiday Nights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Atlanta
Adult tickets: $17-24
Celebrating its third year, Garden Lights has exploded as the only light show ITP, right in the heart of Midtown. When night falls, the Garden becomes the city’s loveliest walking tour as lights wind through the paths, highlighting the flora and fauna, sculptures and fountains. The tropical greenhouse gets a makeover as a dark, star-studded jungle, while the Great Lawn hosts a semicircle of opaque white orbs that are synchronized to Christmas music to change colors in an amazing light show. If you’re looking for the shortest drive and a chance to don your winter coat, look no further than Garden Lights, Holiday Nights.
Stone Mountain Christmas at Stone Mountain Park
Stone Mountain
Admission into the park: $10
Adult tickets to Stone Mountain Christmas: $28
Stone Mountain’s biggest Christmas light is completely free of charge: the white-light Christmas tree atop the mountain can be seen from miles away. However, per-car admission into Stone Mountain Park will grant you a short but scenic driving tour through some little lights such as nutcrackers and a snowflake lane. For those who want something a tad gaudier, you can park at the recreated Crossroads village to pay for admission to Stone Mountain Christmas, where you can walk through the little town decorated with more than two million lights, enjoy live music, 4-D showings of “The Polar Express,” a nightly Christmas parade and a fireworks finale. If you’re looking to stay pretty close to town but get some nostalgic, small-scale Christmas in, Stone Mountain Park retains that old-school charm.
Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier Islands
Lake Lanier, Buford
Admission to lights and Holiday Village: $60 per vehicle (up to 9 people)
Lake Lanier is more than just a drive-through lights experience, it’s a bustling Christmas festival replete with a Holiday Village, live nativity scene, carnival rides and ice-skating rink. Drive over a snowflake bridge and through the 12 days of Christmas before abandoning your car for s’mores, holiday shopping and bonfires. Similar to Calloway Gardens, Lake Lanier is a tradition for many Georgian families and is only about an hour outside of Atlanta. If you’re looking for Christmas overload with all the jingle bells and whistles, Lake Lanier checks all the boxes.