Christmas lights in Aurora, Colorado

We track 9 displays in Aurora — the 2nd-densest city for lights in Colorado. Every one of them is free to visit.

When to go

Displays here switch on around sunset. In Aurora that means about 4:35 PM in early December and 4:36 PM by mid-month — the earliest sunsets of the year fall right in the middle of lights season. It is properly dark by about 5:06 PM, which is when the displays look their best. December nights in Aurora typically drop to around 18°F.

The Aurora lights loop — 9 stops

We ordered every display in Aurora into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 33.8 miles and 117 minutes of driving, before you count time spent parked and looking. Start wherever is closest to you and follow it round.

1. It's A Wonderful Light — 4822 S. Picadilly Ct.
2. Troutman House Lights — 21947 E. Quincy Circle
3. Wilson House Display — 5362 S. Rome St.
4. Eaton Park Way Lights — 5241 S. Eaton Park Way
5. Rouse Family Display — 6522 S. Millbrook Way
6. McNamara Hillside Display — 7706 S. Eaton Park Ct.
7. Tialdo Family Light Show — 8220 S. White Crow St.
8. Hecht Home Display — 18791 E. Quincy Pl.
9. Maplewood Place House — 22405 E. Maplewood Pl.

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 Aurora cluster, OpenStreetMap maps 0 public car parks and 5 public toilets. There is no shortage of cafés and takeaways for a hot drink on the way round.

All 9 displays in Aurora

Nearby towns

Know a display we're missing in Aurora?Add it to the guide.