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Christmas lights at night in Nashville
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Christmas lights · Nashville, TN

Christmas lights in Nashville

Nashville's three big ones: Tennessee's largest drive-thru out in Lebanon, the Cheekwood estate lit up in the west of town, and Gaylord Opryland — free to walk through on many days, expensive to park at.

5 displays · 1 free · 3 with 2026 dates announced

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Where to see them

Where to go: with kids, on a date, with friends

With kids

Short walks, Santa, rides and something to do besides looking.

For a date

Somewhere to walk slowly, a drink in hand, and look good in the photos.

With friends

Cheap by the carload, or a long evening with food and music.

Drive-thru shows

Paid per car, not per person, so a full car is the cheap way to do it. Weekends are the busy nights.

The Dancing Lights of Christmas — illustrationIllustration
Drive-thru·Wilson County Fairgrounds, Lebanon

The Dancing Lights of Christmas

Tennessee's biggest drive-thru light show at the Wilson County fairgrounds in Lebanon: displays that dance to music on your radio, then Santa's Village with a petting zoo and rides, all on one $35 carload ticket.

🧒 With kids🎉 With friends

What's there

  • Lights dancing to your radio
  • Santa's Village and petting zoo
  • Rides by wristband
  • Open every night, rain or shine

What visitors sayGoogle 4.3 ★ · 1,616 reviews

Visitors — even from California — call it the best drive-thru they've seen, with friendly staff and displays matched to the music. Early in the season or on a Sunday there's little wait; around Thanksgiving expect about half an hour. Santa photos are an extra $30.

Worth the drive from Nashville — go early in the season or on a weeknight.

2026 season
Nov 7, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027, every night including holidays
5 – 10 pm Sun–Thu, 5 – 11 pm Fri–Sat
Cost
$35 per family car, including Santa's Village and the petting zoo (2026)
Where
Ward Ag Center, 1033 Sparta Pike, Lebanon, TN 37087

Getting in and parking

  • Use the fairgrounds entrance across from Dollar General.

On the map

Worth knowing

  • Weekends after Thanksgiving are very busy, Saturdays most of all, and Dec 19–23 is crowded.
  • Weeknights usually have little wait.

Checked 2026-09-23 · thedancinglightsofchristmas.com

Full 2026 guideOfficial site

Walk-through: gardens, zoo, parks

Mostly ticketed per person, and on foot. Check the hours before you set out.

Holiday LIGHTS at Cheekwood — illustrationIllustration
Garden·Cheekwood Estate & Gardens

Holiday LIGHTS at Cheekwood

The Cheekwood estate's gardens and Georgian mansion decorated for Christmas, with a light trail through the grounds, a model train, holiday cocktails and s'mores.

✨ Date night🧒 With kids

What's there

  • Decorated mansion
  • Light trail through the gardens
  • Holiday cocktails
  • Model train display

What visitors sayGoogle 4.7 ★ · 6,157 reviews

Visitors call it magical and thoughtfully done — the adult drinks get special praise, and one Nashville native brought his wife to show her the city at its most beautiful. A few felt it was pricey and the garden lights less elaborate than expected. Tip: start at the mansion early, before the line builds.

Nashville's best Christmas date — start at the mansion and finish with a mule in the garden.

2025 season
Nov 21, 2025 – Jan 4, 2026 (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day)
Entry every 30 min, 4:30 – 8:30 pm; closes 10 pm
Last year's dates — this year's aren't out yet.
Cost
About $26–$32 adults; 2 and under free. Parking $5 per car for non-members (2025).

Getting in and parking

  • Parking is $5 per car for non-members. Some nights use remote parking with a shuttle.

On the map

Worth knowing

  • Under-2s are free.
  • Buy for a weeknight — weekends sell out early.

Checked 2026-09-23 · cheekwood.org

Full 2026 guideOfficial site
Christmas at Gaylord Opryland — illustrationIllustration
Walk-through·OprylandFree

Christmas at Gaylord Opryland

Nine acres of indoor gardens under glass roofs at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, decorated with millions of lights, giant trees and waterfalls — free to wander on many dates — plus the ticketed ICE! sculpture show.

🧒 With kids✨ Date night🎉 With friends

What's there

  • Indoor gardens and atriums
  • Free to walk on many dates
  • ICE! show (ticketed)
  • Warm inside whatever the weather

What visitors sayGoogle 4.5 ★ · 34,364 reviews

Even non-guests come just to walk the gardens and call them magnificent — it doesn't feel like being inside a hotel. The pain is parking at $37 in the official lot.

Well worth it — and the parking trick is to eat at a sit-down restaurant and get validated.

2026 season
Nov 6, 2026 – Jan 2, 2027
Cost
Free

Getting in and parking

  • Parking in the official lot was $37 (valet $55) last season.
  • Eating at one of the resort's sit-down restaurants gets your parking validated.

On the map

Worth knowing

  • On some dates you have to arrive before 3 pm to see the decorations for free.

Checked 2026-09-23 · City Cast Nashville

Full 2026 guideOfficial site
Nashville Zoo: Glow Wild — illustrationIllustration
Zoo·South Nashville

Nashville Zoo: Glow Wild

Nashville Zoo's winter light show is changing: Zoolumination, its giant silk-lantern festival, is cancelled for 2026, and the zoo is launching a new show, Glow Wild, instead.

🧒 With kids

What's there

  • New for 2026: Glow Wild
  • Zoolumination cancelled this year
  • Petting zoo by day

What visitors sayGoogle 4.5 ★ · 21,682 reviews

The zoo is loved as clean, well organised and good for all ages. There are no reviews of Glow Wild yet — it's new.

Worth watching for Glow Wild's dates; if you were planning on Zoolumination, it isn't happening this year.

2026 season
Glow Wild: Nov 13, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027
Where
Nashville Zoo, 3777 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211

Getting in and parking

  • Nashville Zoo on Nolensville Pike, about 15 minutes south of downtown. Parking is $8–$10 per car; members park free.

On the map

Worth knowing

  • No pets anywhere on the grounds, including the parking lot.
  • Strollers and wheelchairs rent from about $10.

Checked 2026-09-23 · nashvillezoo.org

Official site
Holly Jolly Festival of Lights — illustrationIllustration
Walk-through·Lucky Ladd Farms, Eagleville

Holly Jolly Festival of Lights

A mile-long walking trail of lights on Lucky Ladd Farms south of Nashville, with holiday characters on Friday and Saturday evenings, pony rides, s'mores, cocoa and the farm's grill and bakery.

🧒 With kids

What's there

  • Mile-long walking trail
  • Characters on Fri–Sat
  • Pony rides and s'mores
  • Free parking

What visitors sayGoogle 4.5 ★ · 1,635 reviews

The farm is well liked for being clean, well decorated and kid-friendly, with great food and staff — reviewers recommend prepaid tickets for easy entry.

A relaxed farm evening with young children — buy online, it's much cheaper.

Season
Runs Nov 27 – Dec 23; this year's details are released in October.
Cost
$10–$18 per person online, $17–$26 at the gate; under-2s free. Parking free.
Where
4306 Rocky Glade Rd, Eagleville, TN 37060

Getting in and parking

  • In Eagleville, about 45 minutes southeast of Nashville. Parking is free on grass — there are no paved lots or paths.

On the map

Worth knowing

  • Buy online at least an hour ahead — it's much cheaper than the gate. Admission ends an hour before closing.

Checked 2026-09-23 · luckyladdfarms.com

Official site

Before you go

Why some dates say 2025

Most displays announce the season in October or November. Until they do, we show last year's dates and say so, rather than guess this year's. Every card shows the day we last checked it and where the facts came from.

Santa services in the USChristmas markets in Nashville

Christmas lights in other cities

Questions

Which Christmas lights in Nashville are free?
Christmas at Gaylord Opryland (Opryland). None of them sell tickets, but some charge for parking and the busiest neighborhoods have long lines, so check each card and go on a weeknight.
When do the Nashville light displays open this year?
So far The Dancing Lights of Christmas (Nov 7, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027, every night including holidays) and Christmas at Gaylord Opryland (Nov 6, 2026 – Jan 2, 2027) and Nashville Zoo: Glow Wild (Glow Wild: Nov 13, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027) have announced their 2026 dates. The rest publish in October and November; until then this page shows last year's dates, marked as such.