We track 4 displays in Surprise. Every one of them is free to visit.
When to go
Displays here switch on around sunset. In Surprise that means about 5:21 PM in early December and 5:23 PM by mid-month — the earliest sunsets of the year fall right in the middle of lights season. It is properly dark by about 5:50 PM, which is when the displays look their best. December nights in Surprise typically drop to around 41°F.
Date
Sunset
Fully dark
Dec 1
5:21 PM
5:48 PM
Dec 15
5:23 PM
5:50 PM
Dec 25
5:28 PM
5:55 PM
The Surprise lights loop — 4 stops
We ordered every display in Surprise into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 8 miles and 35 minutes of driving, before you count time spent parked and looking. Start wherever is closest to you and follow it round.
Driving estimate assumes a 25 mph average on residential streets plus four minutes stopped per display. Straight-line distances with a road-network allowance — treat it as a planning figure, not a satnav route.
Practicalities
Residential displays have no facilities of their own — no parking, no toilets, nowhere to warm up — so it is worth knowing what is around. Within about three miles of the Surprise cluster, OpenStreetMap maps 3 public car parks and 12 public toilets. There is no shortage of cafés and takeaways for a hot drink on the way round.
16089 N Bullard Ave (Surprise Recreation Campus) · Surprise, Arizona
Dec 5-28 · 5:30-10pm
Freeattraction200,000 lightsthemed landsfloating trees
The Surprise Recreation Campus glows with around 200,000 lights arranged into themed lands, including floating Christmas trees. The free display spans the community park and stadium area.
typically late Nov – early Jan (check before visiting) · 5pm-2am
Freeresidential75,000 lightsSanta mailbox
A 75,000-light display in Surprise with a Santa mailbox where kids can drop off letters. The lights stay on until 2 a.m., much later than most home shows.
This Surprise home runs hourly music-synced light shows between 5 and 10 p.m., set to rock, punk and hip-hop remixes of holiday songs. A livelier soundtrack than most displays.