These festive light displays and Christmas tree farms are spreading holiday cheer all across Michigan.
MICHIGAN—There’s no shortage of merriment in the Mitten this holiday season. Dazzling light displays illuminate streets, parking lots, and parks across Michigan, while Christmas tree farms are full of firs, spruces, and pines waiting to be decorated.
The holiday season only rolls around once a year, and we’re here to help you make the most of it. We’ve highlighted all our can’t-miss events and must-visit farms and sorted them by region, from Detroit and Lansing to Grand Rapids and Traverse City.
Maximize your holiday enjoyment this year by visiting Michigan’s best light displays and Christmas tree farms. Keep reading to discover them all.
Metro Detroit
Wayne County Lightfest
7651 N. Merriman Road, Westland
Open Wednesday-Saturday from 6-10 p.m. through Dec. 24
$5 per car
Pack up the cookies and hot cocoa, turn on your favorite holiday playlist and head to Hines Park for a fun and festive light experience. With nearly 50 animated, themed displays and more than 100,000 lights, there’s plenty to see at Wayne County Lightfest. Spread out across a 5-mile stretch of Hines Park, this is one of the Midwest’s largest drive-thru holiday light shows.
Winter Wonder Lights
350 Estate Drive, Rochester
Open through Dec. 30
$22.50 for adults
Explore a National Historic Landmark while immersing yourself in a world of holiday magic at Winter Wonder Lights. Stroll through the grounds of Oakland University’s Meadow Brook Hall and enjoy the unique light displays set up throughout. The illuminated scenes are just the beginning though. There’s also music, specialty drinks, bonfires, and tasty treats like glow-in-the-dark cotton candy and popcorn.
Prefer to stay warm indoors? Holiday Walk offers a similar experience inside Meadow Brook Hall. The historic mansion is packed with holiday decorations including more than 50 trees, cozy fireplaces to keep you toasty, and plenty of twinkling lights.
Tickets must be purchased in advance. Get your Winter Wonder Lights here, and secure your spot for the Holiday Walk here.
HollyDazzle
12600 Dixie Highway, Holly
Open Friday-Saturday from 5-10 p.m. and Sunday from 5-9 p.m. through Dec. 31
Adults $21.95
HollyGrove Village, home of the Michigan Renaissance Festival, transforms into a winter wonderland during the month of December for HollyDazzle. Described as an event where “merriment meets Renaissance magic,” HollyDazzle consists of a 3-quarter-mile outdoor trail decorated with more than a dozen illuminated holiday scenes, including a Candy Land Castle, sledding penguins and, of course, Santa Claus.
Throughout the village, you’ll also find carolers, free hot cocoa, delicious treats, and more holiday fun. HollyDazzle is fun for the whole family—pets included—so no one will get left out of the festivities.
Magic of Lights
33 Bob Seger Drive, Clarkston
Open daily from 5:30-10 p.m. through Dec. 30. Closes at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Starts at $22.50 per car
See all your favorite holiday characters from the comfort of your car as you drive through Clarkston’s Magic of Lights. Featuring more than 2 million lights and tons of delightful displays, this event is one you won’t want to miss.
Many fan favorites will return this year, including 12 Days of Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Toyland, and Reindeer Road. The 200-foot-long Tunnel of Lights will also be back. Be sure to say hello to the 32-foot-tall animated Waving Christmas Barbie, too.
Broadview Christmas Tree Farm
4380 N. Hickory Ridge Road, Highland
Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 7
At Broadview Christmas Tree Farm, you’ll get much more than just a tree. In addition to choose-and-cut and pre-cut trees, you can also shop for wreaths and holiday gifts, sip and nibble on refreshments in the warming barn, go on a wagon ride, or visit with Santa.
This 118-acre family-run tree farm is also home to deer, turkeys, rabbits, pheasants, and foxes, and it’s not uncommon to spot these critters while visiting. Guests and their leashed pets are also welcome to tailgate in the large parking lot, so you can easily turn a trip to Broadview into an entire day of festive family fun.
Blake Farms
17985 Armada Center Road, Armada
Cut-your-own tree fields are open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The pre-cut lot is open Sunday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Blake Farms is a family-owned orchard and cider mill that also happens to be one of the best spots in metro Detroit to get a Christmas tree. At Blake’s Family Christmas, you find Fraser, concolor and Douglas fir, blue and white spruce, and scotch pine varieties spread out across more than 100 acres.
Upon arrival, you’ll be given a saw and taken on a wagon ride out to the tree fields. Staff will shake, bale, and drill your tree for free while you enjoy the rest of the property. Stroll the holiday market, go skating on the ice rink, warm up by the fire, or sip on a holiday cocktail.
Greater Lansing
Wonderland of Lights
1301 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Lansing
Open Thursday-Sunday from 5-8 p.m. until Dec. 23
$9 adults
Potter Park Zoo puts on a holiday light showcase like no other. Glistening lights galore turn the park into an expansive holiday oasis. Now in its 31st year, Wonderland of Lights also has holiday-themed activities for visitors to enjoy including photo opportunities with Santa Claus on Fridays and Saturdays.
Horrocks Nursery Farms & Garden Center
1776 N. State Road, Ionia
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
With more than 5,000 trees to choose from (plus plenty of pre-cut ones), you’re sure to find the one that’s just right for you at Horrocks Nursery Farms & Garden Center. After you cut your tree, have it shaken and baled before treating yourself to some hot cocoa in the warming barn or roasting complimentary marshmallows over the fire.
The holiday cheer doesn’t stop there, though. Head to the Funhouse to introduce your little ones to Santa and Mrs. Claus before making your way to the Christmas gift shop, which is filled with Michigan-made gifts ranging from coffee and honey to hats and hoodies. Family-owned since 1937, Horrocks is your one-stop shop for all things holiday.
Grand Rapids
Christmas Lite Show
4500 W. River Drive NE, Comstock Park
Open Sunday-Thursday from 5:30-9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 5:30-10 p.m. through Dec. 31
$30 per car
Experience the enchantment of the holiday season at the Christmas Lite Show in Grand Rapids. More than 1 million lights are packed into a spectacular 2-mile stretch, making this West Michigan’s largest animated drive-thru light show. If you don’t feel like driving, you can take the Memory Lane Train instead.
Now in its 26th year, the Christmas Lite Show was founded by West Michigan resident and military veteran Bill Schrader with the goal of bringing smiles to the faces of local children. The Christmas Lite Show and its team, made up mostly of veterans, keeps growing each year, and this season is slated to be the biggest and brightest yet.
Vormittag Tree Farm
9921 Linden Drive NW, Grand Rapids
Open Monday-Friday from 3-5:30 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Whether you want to cut your own or have someone else do it for you, Vormittag Tree Farm has you covered. This third-generation farm has several Christmas tree species to choose from, including Fraser fir, blue spruce, and white pine.
Drilling, shaking, and baling is all complimentary, and there is also a large selection of wreaths and porch pots available for purchase.
Traverse City
Lights Gone Wild
1132 US-31, Traverse City
Open daily from 5-11 p.m. through Dec. 31. Closed on Christmas day.
$20 per car
If you want to try something new this holiday season, check out the first annual Lights Gone Wild extravaganza at Traverse City State Park. This is the first holiday display held in a Michigan state park. The half-mile drive-thru exhibit pays homage to the animals that once resided in Traverse City’s Clinch Park Zoo, which closed in 2006. As such, the displays feature various animals, such as Santa Claws, pictured above.
Note: Because Lights Gone Wild is held in a state park, a Michigan Recreation Passport is required for entry. If you don’t already have one, you can register at the gate when you arrive.
Robinson Family Christmas Tree Farm
6777 Herkner Road, Traverse City
Open Monday-Thursday from noon-7 p.m. and Friday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Clear your schedule because there’s plenty to do at the Robinson Family Christmas Tree Farm. After you get your tree, shop for ornaments, scented candles, centerpieces, and wreaths or purchase a s’mores kit to make your own s’mores at one of the fire pits. Craving cookies instead? Rhonda, one of the owners, makes them fresh and serves them up with delicious hot chocolate. Speaking of food, you can also ask the staff for carrots to feed the farm animals.
There’s a Tot Lot with toys for the kids, and this year, there’s cute cutouts to pose in for holiday photos. And if all that’s not enough, Robinson Family Christmas Tree Farm is environmentally verified by the Grand Traverse Conservation District.
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