Christmas lights in Marietta, Georgia

We track 5 displays in Marietta — the densest city for lights in Georgia. Every one of them is free to visit.

When to go

Displays here switch on around sunset. In Marietta that means about 5:29 PM in early December and 5:31 PM by mid-month — the earliest sunsets of the year fall right in the middle of lights season. It is properly dark by about 5:58 PM, which is when the displays look their best. December nights in Marietta typically drop to around 33°F.

The Marietta lights loop — 5 stops

We ordered every display in Marietta into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 2.2 miles and 25 minutes of driving, before you count time spent parked and looking. Start wherever is closest to you and follow it round.

1. Berry Family Home — 746 Willow Ridge Ct, Marietta
2. GA Meyer Lights — 2651 Shadow Woods Circle, Marietta
3. It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year — 1705 Nordic Trace, Marietta
4. Lights of LIFE — Life University campus, 1269 Barclay Cir, Marietta, GA 30060
5. World of Illumination's Candy Rush — Six Flags White Water, Marietta

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 Marietta 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 5 displays in Marietta

Nearby towns

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