Christmas / Lights / Pittsburgh

The best Christmas lights in Pittsburgh

6 displays · 2 free · Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh opens its holidays with a bang: Light Up Night, when fireworks crack over the rivers and the whole Golden Triangle switches on at once. From that night forward, downtown glows with more than 150,000 lights, a 66-foot musical tree rises over the ice rink at PPG Place, and the city's amusement park trades roller coaster season for a million twinkling bulbs.

The season here mixes free downtown wandering with worth-the-drive traditions, from a century-old conservatory dressed for winter to a six-mile drive-through at Oglebay just over the West Virginia line. Everything runs from mid-November through the first days of January, with downtown at its best on crisp weeknights.

1.Kennywood Holiday Lights

Kennywood Park, West Mifflin

Ticketed eventAround $20-35 per person

The historic amusement park trades summer for more than a million lights, select rides running in the cold, and the tallest Christmas tree in Pennsylvania. Holiday food, character appearances, and Santa visits round out the night. Riding the classics with lights blurring past is a uniquely Pittsburgh thrill.

Season: Late November through late December

2.Phipps Conservatory Winter Flower Show and Light Garden

Oakland

Ticketed eventAround $20-25 per person

The Victorian glasshouse fills with poinsettias, orchids, and themed winter displays inside while the outdoor garden glows with lights after dark. It is the city's most elegant holiday tradition and mercifully warm for most of the visit. Evening timed tickets pair the indoor show with the full light garden.

Season: Mid-November through early January

3.Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights

Oglebay Resort, Wheeling, West Virginia

Drive-through$20-30 per car

One of the country's biggest light shows, with more than 100 lighted attractions along a six-mile drive through resort parkland, about an hour from Pittsburgh. Your vehicle pass is good for return visits all season. The 70-foot welcome tree and hillside displays make it worth the trip down I-70.

Season: Mid-November through early January

4.Downtown Pittsburgh Holiday Lights

Downtown, Golden Triangle

Walk-throughFree

From Light Up Night onward, downtown glows with over 150,000 LED lights, the 66-foot musical tree above the ice rink at PPG Place, light projections in the Cultural District, and the life-sized Pittsburgh Creche. It is one of the best free urban lights walks in the country. Skating at PPG is the only paid temptation.

Season: Mid-November through early January

5.Overly's Country Christmas

Westmoreland Fairgrounds, Greensburg

Walk-throughAround $20 per car

A charity-run Christmas village east of the city that started as one man's home display in 1956 and grew into a walk-around wonderland with lights, a nativity, bonfires, and model trains. Admission is charged by the carload and proceeds go to charitable causes. It is western Pennsylvania nostalgia at full strength.

Season: Late November through late December

6.Christmas in the Park at Alameda Park

Butler

Drive-throughFree

Butler County's park system puts on a free drive-through light display along the Odd Fellows Loop in Alameda Park, about 45 minutes north of the city. Volunteer-built displays line the wooded route, and donations are welcome but never required. It is the area's best zero-dollar car lights night.

Season: Late November through late December

Local tip

See downtown's lights on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening: the PPG Place tree runs its musical shows all week, the Creche and Cultural District projections are lit, and you can park cheaply after 5pm. Save the weekend for Kennywood or the drive to Oglebay, which both need the extra hours.

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.

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Common questions

When do Christmas lights go up in Pittsburgh?
Light Up Night in mid-November is the official switch, when downtown's 150,000-plus lights, the PPG Place tree, and the holiday market all come on together with fireworks over the rivers. Kennywood Holiday Lights and the Phipps Winter Flower Show open around the same window, and most displays run into the first days of January.
What are the best free Christmas lights in Pittsburgh?
Downtown is the star: the 66-foot musical tree over the PPG Place rink, lights throughout the Golden Triangle, projections in the Cultural District, and the life-sized Pittsburgh Creche, all free to wander. North of the city, the drive-through display at Alameda Park in Butler is also completely free, with donations optional.
Is Kennywood Holiday Lights worth it?
For families, yes. A million-plus lights, the state's tallest Christmas tree, and the novelty of riding classic Kennywood attractions in winter coats make it a different animal from a walking light show. Weeknight tickets are cheaper, and the park feels magical once the sky is fully dark by 5:30.
How far is Oglebay's Festival of Lights from Pittsburgh?
About an hour southwest, just across the West Virginia line in Wheeling. The six-mile drive-through with over 100 lighted attractions is one of the biggest in the country, and your per-car pass is valid for return trips all season. Leave Pittsburgh by late afternoon so you arrive as the displays reach full glow.
Is there still a Shadrack's drive-through light show in Pittsburgh?
Not currently; the Pittsburgh-area Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland went dark recently. The good news is the region still has strong drive-through options: Oglebay's Winter Festival of Lights in Wheeling, the free Christmas in the Park at Alameda Park in Butler, and Overly's Country Christmas near Greensburg, which charges by the carload.

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