Are you looking for the best places to see Christmas lights near Greenville, SC and throughout the Upstate? This list includes all of the local mega-light displays, light displays large enough to drive to see, and even some local Christmas lights at homes that deck it out for Christmas, Griswold style.

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Drive-Thru and Walk-Thru Christmas Lights: Greenville, SC and the Upstate

Night of Lights at Heritage Park in Simpsonville at Heritage Park is a walk-through light display with rides, ice skating, and a petting zoo. It runs November 21st, 2025 – December 31st, 2025. Hours are Sunday-Thursday 5-9 pm and Friday-Saturday 5-10 pm. Tickets are $12 for ages 5 – 15 and $15 for ages 16 and older. Children under 5 are free. Check their website as they have different promotions and discounts nightly. Note: Some attractions like the skating rink, petting zoo, rides, carnival games, bounce house, and photos with Santa require extra fees.

The Magical Music Holiday Light Show at Seneca’s Norton-Thompson Park runs from November 21st to December 31st 2025 from 5:30-10pm nightly. It is a FREE event and fun for the whole family! Some nights may also have visits from Santa Claus.

Anderson Christmas Lights across from the Anderson Civic Center Thanksgiving, November 27th – December 25th, 2025. It includes over 400 Christmas light displays across the 2.5 mile drive!

• Cost $15 per car

Upstate Holiday Light Show at District Park in Easley, SC opens Thanksgiving, November 27th through December 31, 2025 for the holiday season. In addition to driving through the dancing lights, guests can also visit a winter wonderland, carnival rides, and Santa’s petting zoo. It is one of the best drive Greenville Christmas lights displays to visit by car.

• Cars, SUVs, Trucks, and Minivans – $35
• Sun-Thurs 6 pm-10 pm
• Fri & Sat 6 pm-11 pm
• Out Kidding Around® Review of Upstate Holiday Light Show

Christmas Wonderland and Winterfest Village are very popular options in Tryon, NC, not too far from the Upstate. The drive-thru light experience at the Tryon Equestrian International Center runs nightly from November 14th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026. New this year, you can experience the lights walking through on foot as well. The Winterfest Village is open weekends beginning November 28th at 5pm with activities like bounce houses, carriage rides, petting zoos, shops, and visits with Santa.

• Admission: $10 parking, $45-50 per car for drive through, $24-29 per person for Winterfest Village activities, $24 for ice skating – best to reserve all tickets online in advance

Very Merry Mini Golf at Takeoff Minigolf in Greenville: You can walk through a big holiday light display while playing mini-golf. Santa also visits select nights. The special event opens every evening from November 21st, 2025 – December, excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Tickets must be reserved online and are $15/person.

Oconee State Park Holiday Light Show will be a walk-through or drive-through event from 6-10pm nightly December 1st, 2025- January 10th, 2026! Trees will be lit with beautiful lights and holiday displays free with park admission.

Holiday Lights Trolley Tours with Main Street Trolley Dates TBD – operate in Spartanburg, SC in mid-December.

Lighting Displays and Ceremonies

Festival of Trees – Come see the holiday trees on display from November 21st, 2025 to December 25th, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency Downtown and the Courtyard Marriott Greenville Downtown. FREE

Holiday Lights at Hidden Pasture Unicorn Farm – On Weekends (Fri-Sun) from November 21 to December 21, 2025 from 11am to 4pm, you can explore the unicorn farm and enjoy Christmas lights during the holiday season. Santa meet and greet is included along with bounce houses, farm games, a petting zoo, craft market, and more.

Holiday Hop: Travelers Rest, SC Tree Lighting and more (November 29th, 2025 3-7pm) There will be a train ride, jingle paws parade, a kids crafting station, a reindeer scavenger hunt, and more, all on Main Street in Travelers Rest, SC. New this year is a holiday market with 20 vendors. Oh, and don’t forget Santa! He will be there to help you capture those special memories.

City of Seneca Tree Lighting and Magical Musical Holiday Light Show in Seneca – Join the mayor on December 1st, 2025 for the annual Magic of Christmas Parade along with the Lighting of the Green. The Magical Musical Holiday Light Show runs from November 21st, 2025 – December 31st, 2025. Follow their Facebook for more information.

Dickens of a Christmas- (December 2nd, 2025 from 6 to 9 pm) Tree lighting in Spartanburg, SC. The event also includes a Victorican-style Christmas celebration throughout Downtown Spartanburg. Enjoy live music, vendors, horse and carriage rides, living window displays, and more.

A Merry Mauldin Christmas Mauldin Tree Lighting (December 4th, 2025, 5 pm – 8 pm) – Enjoy holiday music, a holiday market, pictures with Santa, train rides, and tree lighting at the Mauldin Outdoor Amphitheater behind the Mauldin Cultural Center.

Night of Lights: Greenville Christmas Tree Lighting (December 5th, 2025, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm) This FREE event in front of M. Judson Booksellers will have live music, vendors, food trucks, a visit from Santa, and more starting.

Tree Lighting Ceremony at Greer City Park (December 5th, 2025 at 5-8 pm) This family-friendly event also includes a visit from Santa. In years past, there have been craft stations, train rides, live music, carolers, food vendors, and more.

Christmas in Gaffney with Laser Light Show– (December 5th – 7th, 2025) FREE admission. From 6-10pm, the award- winning laser light show includes musical hits and fantastic graphic effects. On the 5th, there will also be an annual parade followed by a downtown festival with rides, vendors, Santa meet & greets, and more.

Lights at Hope (December 12th, 13th, and 19th): 6:30-8:30 pm, hot chocolate and candy canes are available at this light show in West Union, SC.

Holidays at the Zoo– December 13th – January 4th 2025 (various nights only – check website). Walk through the Greenville Zoo and be dazzled by thousands of lights, festive decorations, and holiday music. Tickets are timed, and advanced registration is recommended. You can purchase tickets online.

Simpsonville Tree Lighting Ceremony (December 4th, 2025 at 6 pm) – Great Lawn at Gracely Park. In past years there has been sing-a-longs, free hot chocolate, cookies, and letters to Santa.

Tiny Town Easley, SC– TBD for 2025. They usually open nightly from 5:30-10pm starting on Thanksgiving. A piece of the small town South lives on, in tiny form! Over 80 tiny structures adorned with lights, Christmas decor, and lots of character make up Tiny Town. In years past they have had hot chocolate, hot coffee, a bonfire, and select dates of visits with Santa.

Free Light Displays at Organizations

• Bethel Baptist Church | 403 Sulphur Springs Road, Greenville
  Drive-In Light Show with multiple songs, 2 mega trees, thousands of lights, and lasers, synchronized to station 88.9. Runs from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve from 6 pm – 9 pm.
  
• Original Pelzer Light People | 28 Adger St, Pelzer
  Go down Lyman Street around the river and up Adger. This is a neighborhood so please be alert for children, families, and pets.
  • Dec. 6 (they will be out after the Pelzer parade ends – 9 pm)
  • Dec. 7 (6 pm – 9 pm)
  • Dec. 13 & 14 (6 pm – 9 pm)
    

Nearby Christmas Lights: Check Out Free Holiday Light Displays

Our readers love the Kidding Around Christmas Driving Routes. Our 2025 routes will be ready soon!

• Homes with light shows that include music (and sometimes even hot chocolate and Santa). Expect to wait in traffic to see them. If visiting these displays, park on the sides of the street, being sure to leave room for traffic and not block neighbors’ driveways.
• Also, we recommend that you check the Facebook page of the light display before heading out. That’s typically where you can find current information on traffic rules, parking, and nights off.

Private Home Light Displays

Every year we create several driving routes in the Upstate to showcase homes that are totally decked out for Christmas. Our 2025 routes are still being created. The routes and a map will be found on our Christmas Light Driving Routes story. Photos are below of some of the homes we’ve seen on the routes in the past.

Greenville Area Light Displays

Spartanburg Light Displays

Anderson County Light Displays

Christmas Light Displays That Are Worth The Drive

Speedway Christmas Lights – The annual drive-thru Christmas lights at the Charlotte Motor Speedway is super popular. More than 5 million lights over 4 miles adorn this display, which runs from Friday, November 21st, 2025 to January 4th, 2026. There is also a Christmas Village where you can stop and enjoy an illuminated walking trail, photos with Santa, market vendors, food, and smores by the fire.

• Admission: $46 – $202; Weekends are more expensive. Express passes are available for an additional $35 per car.

Want more Charlotte area lights? We have that! Here’s our list of Christmas Lights in Charlotte, NC.

Holiday Lights on the River at Saluda Shoals Park in Columbia, SC (November 26th, 2025 – December 31st, 2025) Over a million lights on the 2-mile loop of the park. Includes tube slide, letters to santa, smores, and more.

• Admission: $25 – $30 for a family car (depending on the date), tickets on sale starting Nov 1st.

Looking for more lights? Check out the Christmas Lights Displays Around Columbia, SC plus more ways to celebrate the holidays in Columbia, SC.

Winter Lights – This popular light show at the NC Arboretum in Asheville is a walk-through garden lights experience. The show runs from November 15th 2025 – January 4th, 2026.

• Here’s our Kidding Around review of Winter Lights
• Ticket prices vary by date and start at $45 per car. You can purchase tickets for Winter Lights online for the best price.

Garden Lights at Atlanta Botanical Garden (November 15, 2025- January 11, 2026) This massive light display includes colored orbs, model trains, and a glittery rain forest.

Christmas Town, USA in McAdenville, NC (December 1st – 26th, 2025) This nearby town decks out completely for Christmas. You can either park and walk around the town or drive through (the 1.3 miles takes approximately 30-40 minutes to drive through). This experience is free. We recommend checking out the tree lighting ceremony, the Christmas parade and Yule Log Ceremony, or visiting during the week to avoid long lines and cars. Learn more on the Christmas Town USA Website.
Read our review of Christmas Town, USA here.

World of Illuminations is taking place at one Atlanta area location this year, the Six Flags White Water park in Marietta (November 14th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026). This light display boasts over two million lights synchronized to music and has been named to the Forbes magazine list of Best Light Displays in the US. This years theme is “candy rush”. Tickets start at $40 per vehicle and must be purchased online.

Christmas Wonderland and Winterfest Village – This drive-thru light experience at the Tryon Equestrian International Center is a real family treat. The Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland drive-thru light experience at the Tryon Equestrian International Center runs nightly from November 14th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026. New this year, you can experience the lights walking through on foot as well. The Winterfest Village is open weekends beginning November 28th at 5pm with activities like bounce houses, carriage rides, petting zoos, shops, and visits with Santa.

• Admission: $10 parking, $45-50 per car for drive through, $24-29 per person for Winterfest Village activities, $24 for ice skating – best to reserve all tickets online in advance

Holiday Light Show at Oconee State Park (December 1st 2025 – January 10th 2026) Take a spin through the campground to enjoy light displays provided by the local community and businesses. Included with park admission.

Wine in Winter Wonderland at Marked Tree in Hendersonville, NC (November 28th, 2025 – February 12th, 2026) This FREE display of lights is perfect for a romantic walk or drive. Wine can be sipped along the way if desired. Festive music also compliments the experience in collaboration with the Hendersonville Symphony on select Saturdays.

• Free Things to Do at Christmas in Greenville
• Free Holiday Things to Do in Spartanburg
• Upstate, SC Holiday Events and Things to Do
• Christmas Light Displays Near Greenville, Spartanburg and the Upstate
• Best Christmas Tree Farms Near Greenville
• Santa Sightings In The Upstate
• Parades Near Greenville SC
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