Christmas / Lights / Cincinnati

The best Christmas lights in Cincinnati

6 displays · 1 free · Ohio

Cincinnati's claim to Christmas-lights fame is simple: its zoo runs what is regularly voted the best zoo lights display in the country, a tradition more than four decades old with millions of LEDs and a black-light Fairyland. Around it orbits a whole constellation of drive-throughs, from a sculpture park in Hamilton to a small city park in Middletown that runs entirely on donations.

The season lights up in mid-to-late November and holds through the first days of January. Cincinnati's hilly geography works in its favor here, since several displays drape their lights across real slopes and ravines, and the effect from below is worth the trip alone.

1.PNC Festival of Lights

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Avondale

Ticketed eventaround $20 to $30 per person

Millions of LED lights across the zoo's botanical grounds, with the black-light Fairyland, a light show on Swan Lake, and train rides through the glow. It has run for more than 40 years and is regularly voted the best zoo lights in America. Timed tickets are the way in, and December weekends sell out.

Season: Late November through early January

2.Christmas Nights of Lights

Clermont County Fairgrounds, Owensville

Drive-througharound $30 per car

A drive-through of more than two million lights, with massive tunnels and animated scenes synchronized to a holiday soundtrack on your car radio. Formerly a Coney Island tradition, it now runs at the Clermont County Fairgrounds east of the city. The music sync is the best in the region.

Season: Late November through early January

3.Pyramid Hill Lights

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Hamilton

Drive-througharound $30 per car

A two-mile drive winding through a 300-acre outdoor sculpture park, with over a million lights and artist-designed installations mixed among the monumental sculptures. The hilly terrain gives the route real drama. It is the area's most distinctive drive-through by a wide margin.

Season: Mid-November through early January

4.The Christmas Ranch

Morrow

Ticketed eventaround $20 per person

A family-run holiday park northeast of the city with a big synchronized light show, train and wagon rides, Christmas shops, and bonfires. It leans wholesome and hands-on rather than high-tech. Note that it wraps up around December 23, earlier than the other big displays.

Season: Late November through the week before Christmas

5.Light Up Middletown

Smith Park, Middletown

Drive-throughCash donation per car

A volunteer-built drive-through in Middletown's Smith Park where admission is whatever you choose to give at the gate. Animated displays line the park roads nightly all season. It is the metro's best pay-what-you-can lights tradition and a favorite for families keeping December cheap.

Season: Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve

6.Light Up the Square

Fountain Square, Downtown

Walk-throughFree

Fountain Square kicks off the downtown season with a free tree lighting celebration featuring live music, Santa, and fireworks, then keeps the tree, lights, and ice rink going all season. Skating costs a few dollars but the lights and atmosphere are free. It is the natural first stop before dinner Over-the-Rhine.

Season: Late November through early January

Local tip

For the PNC Festival of Lights, book the last entry window on a weeknight. Crowds thin dramatically after 7:30 pm, the black-light Fairyland is walkable without a stroller jam, and you will actually get the famous Swan Lake light show views without standing three rows deep.

Displays and prices are researched from recent seasons and stated approximately; hours, routes, and admission change year to year, so check an event's official page before you drive out.

Want your house on this list someday?

See your own home decorated before you buy a single strand: upload a photo and our free AI visualizer lights it up. Then let the light calculator tell you exactly how many bulbs the real thing needs.

Try the visualizer, freeLight calculator

Common questions

When do Christmas lights go up in Cincinnati?
Pyramid Hill Lights in Hamilton starts first, in mid-November, and the PNC Festival of Lights at the zoo follows around the third week of November. Light Up Middletown opens at Thanksgiving, and nearly everything runs through the first weekend of January.
Where can I see free or cheap Christmas lights in Cincinnati?
Fountain Square downtown is free all season, with the tree, lights, and a festive ice rink at its center. Light Up Middletown is the region's great bargain, a full drive-through where admission is simply a cash donation of your choosing at the gate.
Is the PNC Festival of Lights really the best zoo lights in the country?
It wins national reader polls year after year, and it earns it. Millions of LEDs, the black-light Fairyland, the Swan Lake show, and a train through the lights add up to the region's essential holiday outing. Buy timed tickets ahead, because prime December nights sell out.
What happened to Holiday in Lights at Sharon Woods?
That longtime drive-through is no longer running. The good news is that Christmas Nights of Lights, now at the Clermont County Fairgrounds, fills the gap with more than two million lights synced to music on your car radio, and Pyramid Hill offers an artier take on the drive-through in Hamilton.
Which Cincinnati light displays are drive-through?
Three good ones. Christmas Nights of Lights at the Clermont County Fairgrounds has the best music synchronization, Pyramid Hill Lights winds two miles through a sculpture park in Hamilton, and Light Up Middletown is a donation-based cruise through Smith Park. All three keep you warm on the coldest nights.

Share this guide

Lights in other cities

New YorkChicagoPhiladelphiaBostonWashington DCAtlantaAll cities →

Lights season, planned properly.

Seasonal decorating tips and the occasional new tool, straight to your inbox. One list, no spam.

Seasonal decorating tips and new tools. No spam.