JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Celebrate the holidays by planning trips to some of the the best Christmas light displays in the greater Jacksonville area!
Jax Illuminations | Located at the Morocco Shrine Center, spectators are treated to a drive-thru holiday light display that features over half a million LED lights that are synchronized to holiday music. Jax Illuminations is open Sunday through Thursday 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. until Jan. 2. Ticket prices are: $20 for cars/trucks/mini vans Sunday through Thursday and $25 for cars/trucks/mini vans Friday and Saturday (7 passenger maximum) and $35 for passenger vans.
See video of the display below:
Christmas in the Cathedral District: Let There Be Light | Every night at 6 p.m. from now through Dec. 31, you can take a self-guided driving tour of historic churches and landmark buildings, illuminated with thousands of lights, in downtown Jacksonville’s Cathedral District. You’ll see a living nativity scene, musicians performing safely outside for driving tour and families driving through the exhibit. For more information, visit the Cathedral District’s website.
Holiday Dazzle Celebration | The offices of the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus at 10131 Atlantic Blvd. will be illuminated with a holiday light display synchronized to recorded songs of the season broadcast on 94.5 FM. The lights will be on display nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from now through Jan. 1.
Christmas lights at Blackhawk Bluff | The Blackhawk Bluff neighborhood off Girvin Road is considered one of the best places to see Christmas lights in Jacksonville. They’ve been lighting up the trees for more than 15 years. The neighborhood is located off Girvin Road and Blackhawk Trail South.
See a 2018 video of the display below:
Jacksonville Beach Deck the Chairs | The annual lighted sculptural exhibit decorates the iconic chairs of The American Red Cross Life Saving Corps at the Seawalk Pavilion and Latham Plaza. The display features a one-of-a-kind display of a giant jellyfish with tentacles full of single-use plastics. The displays are lit up every night from now through Jan. 1.
RELATED: Deck the Chairs returns to Jacksonville Beach
St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights | The 27th Annual Nights of Lights dazzles the city as some three million lights adorn every corner of the historic district for two months. This award-winning holiday lights display runs from now through Jan. 31 in historic St. Augustine. Click here for more information about parking and Nights of Lights events.
RELATED: This year, St. Augustine lit up the night and kicked off the holiday season two weeks early
Christmas on Crystal Springs | This award-winning display located on Crystal Springs Road is a favorite around Jacksonville and does its display in a big way. For more information about show times and when the display will be lit up, visit the Christmas on Crystal Springs Facebook page.
See a 2018 video of the display below:
Southcreek Lights | It’s a light show synchronized to Christmas music located at 1749 Southcreek Drive in St. Johns. Sixty-four channels, 26 songs, approximately 5,000 lights and you can listen to the music on 103.9 FM. The show runs from 5:30 p.m. – midnight, 7 days a week from now through Dec. 31. You can find more info at SouthcreekLights.com.
See a 2018 video of the display below:
ZOOLights | Families can enjoy a holiday light and musical experience at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ 9th annual ZOOLights. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 17-20, 26-31 and Jan. 1-3. Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Admission is free for children ages 2 and under. Tickets must be purchased online. Click here for more information.
Viewer-submitted suggestions:
Gierlich Holiday Wonderland | A Gierlich Christmas Wonderland is a light display located in Interlachen. In addition to Christmas, Gierlich displays lights for both Halloween and Christmas and a small one for Easter. The displays all consist of lights, blow molds and inflatables. The display is located at 1400 Fowler Street in Interlachen. To get details on when this year’s display will light up, visit their Facebook page.
Nochaway Drive, St. Augustine | This display, located at 1392 Nochaway Drive off Pacetti Road in the World Golf Village area, features thousands of lights synched to 28 songs. Lights are on from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the holidays. Jonathan Landingham told us about this display and he said to hear the music, just turn your car radio to 94.7 FM.
Mikayla’s Magical Christmas Light Show | This display is located at 4568 Royal Port Drive. There are 48,000 lights on 120 channels synchronized to music. There will be a 20 foot mega tree (12,500 lights) along with a 10-foot spiral tree, nine mini trees and two leaping arches. There are outdoor speakers to hear the music. You can also enjoy the music on FM channel 102.1 on cold nights. The show is on a continuous loop that takes about 30 minutes to see from start to finish and primarily focuses on the true meaning of Christmas. It runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, depending on visitors.
See a 2020 video of the display below:
Christmas in Coventry | This display is located at 14299 Hawksmore Lane in Jacksonville. About 9,000 lights are on and dancing to music from around 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every night from Dec. 1 until the New Year.
See a 2018 video of the display when it was known as Lights on Lariat below:
Lights on Grand Parke | Taylor Mitchell said this light show is located at 776 Grand Parke Drive in St. Johns. The show runs nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Nov. 28 through New Year’s Eve. Just tune your radio to 88.5 FM to hear the music that goes with the lights. This year, the organizers are trying to raise $1,000 for Mercy Land Orphanage to help them build a new fence. For more information, visit the Facebook page.
Doctor Wizard’s Giant Musical Holiday Light Show in Orange Park | This display is located at 1252 Tumbleweed Drive and runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. starting Saturday, Nov. 28 through January 6. Dr. Wizard said the display features over 20,000 LEDs + Lasers, strobes, disco balls, projectors and more all set to holiday music. The show celebrates not only Christmas, but all the holidays in December and welcomes visitors of all faiths and beliefs. The show includes a Nativity scene and Star of Bethlehem, a giant Menorah and Star of David, a Wheel of Dharma, Yule Log, Festivus pole and more! In years past, the organizers raised money for SAFE Animal Shelter. Visit wizlights.com for more information.
Christmas Lights and Drive-Thru Living Nativity, Westside Baptist Church | The Living Nativity is a free, family-friendly drive-thru Experience designed to bring the Christmas story to life in an immersive and memorable trip. Adam from Westside Baptist Church said the 15 minute journey features some of the best Christmas lights in Jacksonville. The Nativity will be running Friday, Dec. 11 through Sunday, Dec. 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.
3119 Pine Road, Orange Park | Alexa told us about this lights display, which is located in Doctor’s Lake Estates. The animated light display is choreographed to over 30 songs. The light show runs Sunday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. See more videos of this display on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Br1A8ATSRGlAhwSEFjI0g
Arbor Glade Christmas Town | Neighbors in the Arbor Glade subdivision, on Backwind Drive located off Old St. Augustine Road, will have their lights on through the end of December. Joel Petty said multiple houses are decorated.
Candi’s Lighted D’Lites | Rodney tells us this display is located at 264 Arora Blvd in Orange Park. There are many things to see such as inflatables and projections. Display times are from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Smith’s Lights on Rue | Located at 4930 Rue Street in Jacksonville, this is a walk-through display on a acre of land. Free and open to the public.
Lights on 14th | This display, located at 15912 NE 14th Ave in Starke, uses thousands of WS28XX LED nodes controlled by a “sequence.” Shows run nightly from 5:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., on Friday and Saturday, shows end later at 10:00 p.m. For more information, visit their website.
Action News Jax put all of these locations into a map for your convenience.
If you see any locations we should add to the map, submit a photo or video below!
If you’re having trouble submitting the information, just email us at web@actionnewsjax.com!
This browser does not support the video element.