Photo courtesy of Nicola Colombo // Getty Images
Throughout the holiday season, spectacular light shows brighten up botanical gardens across North America. Instead of spring flowers, visitors find twinkling holiday lights, often accompanied by a range of other festivities. To find the best for the 2022 holiday season, a panel of experts provided 20 nominees, then readers voted for their 10 favorites. These are the 10 best botanical garden holiday lights events.
Photo courtesy of New Mexico BioPark Society
No. 10: River of Lights at ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden – Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico’s largest walk-through light show, River of Lights at the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden, features more than 700 hand-welded light displays, animated and 3D sculptures, and millions of lights.
Photo courtesy of F. Todd Lasseigne, P.h.D., Executive Director
No. 9: Magic Christmas in Lights at Bellingrath Gardens – Theodore, Alabama
Just outside of Mobile, Alabama, Bellingrath Gardens celebrates the holidays with Magic Christmas in Lights. Over 3 million lights illuminate scenes arranged throughout the 65-acre historic garden. Choral performances and holiday finery inside the Bellingrath home add to the holiday cheer.
Photo courtesy of Rick Mcpherson
No. 8: Illuminations at Botanica – Wichita, Kansas
Illuminations at Botanica in Wichita features nights illuminated with some two million twinkling bulbs, paired with thousands of luminaries to light the way. Carolers and live music set the scene each evening, and Santa is on-site for visits with young visitors.
Photo courtesy of Kristina DeYong
No. 7: Garden Glow at Missouri Botanical Garden – St. Louis, Missouri
The Garden Glow at Missouri Botanical Garden features nearly 2 million lights, in addition to concessions selling s’mores, hot chocolate and traditional holiday treats.
Photo courtesy of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
No. 6: Lights in Bloom at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens – Sarasota, Florida
More than 2 million lights illuminate Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota during Lights in Bloom. Walkways become sensory light tunnels, and the garden comes alive with illuminated flowers, rainforest butterflies and dragonflies.
Photo courtesy of Norfolk Botanical Garden
No. 5: Dominion Energy Garden of Lights – Norfolk, Virginia
Visitors immerse themselves in a magical holiday wonderland as they walk the garden of lights under the Norfolk Botanical Garden’s canopy of trees. A million dazzling LED lights create an experience like none other in coastal Virginia.
Photo courtesy of Brookgreen Gardens, by Austin Bond Photography
No. 4: Nights of a Thousand Candles at Brookgreen Gardens – Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
On select nights in December, Brookgreen Gardens celebrates the holiday season in the glow of more than 2,700 hand-lit candles and countless more sparkling lights. Visitors can walk through the display with a warm cup of cider, cocoa or wine in hand to the sounds of live holiday music.
Photo courtesy of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Tory Paxson photo.
No. 3: Gardens Aglow at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens – Boothbay, Maine
Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay ranks among the biggest and brightest lights displays in New England, with more than 750,000 bulbs.
Photo courtesy of James H Loving Photography
No. 2: Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights – Richmond, Virginia
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond lights up with over a million LED bulbs during the Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights. Check out model trains nightly at the Kelly Education Center.
Photo courtesy of Longwood Gardens
No. 1: A Longwood Christmas at Longwood Gardens – Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
During A Longwood Christmas, Longwood Gardens celebrates the nostalgic traditions of the season. The outdoor gardens are sheer magic with more than half a million lights by way of illuminated trees to glowing orbs to dancing fountains. Outdoor fire pits and music add a note of holiday cheer. Inside, the celebration continues with elegantly adorned spaces featuring thousands of colorful poinsettias, living wreaths and towering trees inspired by the horticultural grandeur of Longwood.
The Experts
10Best Editors
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased… Read More
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
Deborah Fallows
Deborah Fallows is a writer and a linguist. She is… Read More
Deborah Fallows is a writer and a linguist. She is the co-author with her husband, James Fallows, of the national best-selling book, Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America, published in May, 2018. Our Towns, the HBO documentary based on the book was released in April, 2021. They recently launched the Our Towns Civic Foundation to support renewal efforts of communities across America.
Deb has written extensively on language, culture, travel, and China for The Atlantic, National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times and The Washington Monthly. Her previous book, Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language, is based on her 3-year experience living and working in China.
Deborah Fallows
Deborah Fallows is a writer and a linguist. She is the co-author with her husband, James Fallows, of the national best-selling book, Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America, published in May, 2018. Our Towns, the HBO documentary based on the book was released in April, 2021. They recently launched the Our Towns Civic Foundation to support renewal efforts of communities across America.
Deb has written extensively on language, culture, travel, and China for The Atlantic, National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times and The Washington Monthly. Her previous book, Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language, is based on her 3-year experience living and working in China.
Nikky J
NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The… Read More
NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The Solo Theme Park Traveler’s Guide, the founder and owner of ThemeParkHipster.com, a wishful Food Critic, coffee enthusiast, and a lover of life! She currently resides in Orlando, Florida where she enjoys spending time with her husband and two little girls while discovering the beautiful attractions of Florida.
You can watch her on YouTube or listen to her podcast.
Nikky J
NikkyJ is a theme park super fan, Author of The Solo Theme Park Traveler’s Guide, the founder and owner of ThemeParkHipster.com, a wishful Food Critic, coffee enthusiast, and a lover of life! She currently resides in Orlando, Florida where she enjoys spending time with her husband and two little girls while discovering the beautiful attractions of Florida.
You can watch her on YouTube or listen to her podcast.
Robert Niles
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of Read More
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers’ guide to the world’s leading theme and amusement parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
Robert Niles
Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, an online consumers’ guide to the world’s leading theme and amusement parks, read by more than 400,000 people each month. It has been named the top theme park site on the Internet by Forbes and Travel + Leisure magazines and was a Webby Award finalist and winner of the Online Journalism Award, presented by the Online News Association and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Robert is a former Walt Disney World cast member and has worked as a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and website editor for several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
