7 Christmas Light Towns North Carolinians Drive Hours to See

Tanglewood Park’s Festival of Lights in Clemmons opens Nov. 13, just a week away.

Other North Carolina light towns open later, so it pays to plan your drives.

Here are the Christmas light towns North Carolinians drive hours to see.

1. McAdenville

McAdenville’s Christmas Town USA display runs December 1-26, 2026, every night from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

The tree lighting is December 1 at Dynamo 31, and the Yule Log Parade is December 10.

VisitNC lists admission as free.

The display has more than 250 decorated evergreens and more than half a million lights.

The celebration started in 1956 with nine evergreens, and the route now runs two miles.

The town expects about half a million visitors each year and asks you to come early in the month, on a weekday if possible.

2. Forest City

Forest City’s Main Street had more than one million Christmas lights in 2025 for its Hometown Holiday Festivities.

Last season the festivities ran November 27 to January 1.

You could stroll the lights nightly from 5 to 11:30 p.m. starting November 28.

Carriage rides ran on six December evenings and cost $50 for 15 minutes.

Rides had to be reserved online and weren’t sold the day of.

If booking works the same way in 2026, you’ll want to reserve a carriage early.

Each carriage seats up to four adults, or fewer adults with children, and rides left from Huntley Alley.

VisitNC’s list also describes a lighted ornament in the Pavilion on Park Square.

Hayrides were $3 a person, and ice skating was $10.

Skates were included.

The festival page lists no general admission fee for the lights, only prices for the activities.

In October, the page still showed only the 2025 schedule, so look for 2026 dates before you plan.

3. Dillsboro

Last December, Dillsboro’s Lights & Luminaries lit downtown with 2,500 candles and twinkling lights on four nights.

Those nights were December 5-6 and December 12-13, from 5 to 9 p.m.

You could stroll past historic buildings strung with twinkling lights while carolers sang, according to Discover Jackson.

Horse-and-buggy rides were part of the festivities.

Entry is free.

The festival began in 1983 as a one-night event.

The festival takes place each year on the first two weekends in December.

VisitNC lists only 2025 dates, so confirm the 2026 nights before you book a room.

4. Blowing Rock

Chetola Resort’s Festival of Lights in Blowing Rock opens November 27, 2026.

VisitNC’s list says the display has nearly 30,000 holiday lights.

They come on at dusk each evening, and you can drive or stroll around Chetola Lake.

You’ll see glittering ice skaters, a nativity scene, and Rudolph catching a big fish.

Admission is free.

5. Manteo

Manteo's WinterLights at The Elizabethan Gardens is a walk-through display of holiday lights, so you'll be on foot along the garden paths.

The gardens have posted 2026 dates for select evenings from November 20 through December 29, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The gardens close during the day for the whole run, so you'll see the lights after dark.

Santa visits from 6 to 8 p.m. every night of WinterLights, barring cancellations.

You can grab hot cocoa at the Gingerbread House or warm up by an open-air fire.

Tickets cost $22 for adults 13 and up and $14 for ages 3 to 12, and kids 2 and under are free.

Dogs need tickets too.

A well-behaved dog costs $6.

Many visitors turn the drive into a full weekend.

WinterLights is a weather-dependent event, and the gardens say a notice goes out to guests by 2 p.m.

6. Benson

Benson's Meadow Lights opens Friday, November 20, 2026, and runs through December 31, according to Johnston County's tourism listing.

Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. every night at 4546 Godwin Lake Road.

Meadow Lights' site says the display spans more than 30 acres, and you can see all of the lights from the road.

Three trains run through 10 acres of the lights, and an enclosed carousel operates rain or shine.

Concessions are open every night next to the train station, and the candy store sells over 300 varieties of candy, preserves, and drinks.

Neither the county listing nor the Meadow Lights site posts an admission price, so you'll want to ask before you go.

Santa visits nightly.

He's available for photos and conversation with children through December 24.

7. Clemmons

Clemmons' Tanglewood Park Festival of Lights opens November 13, 2026, and runs through January 1, 2027, according to Forsyth County.

You drive through miles of displays lit by more than one million LED lights, nightly from 6 to 11 p.m.

The festival draws about 300,000 visitors in 55,000 vehicles a year.

Admission is per vehicle.

A family vehicle pays $20 to $28, depending on whether you pay cash or card and which night you go.