We track 3 displays in Severn — the densest city for lights in Maryland. Every one of them is free to visit.
When to go
Displays here switch on around sunset. In Severn that means about 4:45 PM in early December and 4:45 PM by mid-month — the earliest sunsets of the year fall right in the middle of lights season. It is properly dark by about 5:15 PM, which is when the displays look their best. December nights in Severn typically drop to around 33°F.
Date
Sunset
Fully dark
Dec 1
4:45 PM
5:14 PM
Dec 15
4:45 PM
5:15 PM
Dec 25
4:50 PM
5:20 PM
The Severn lights loop — 3 stops
We ordered every display in Severn into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 5.8 miles and 26 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 Severn cluster, OpenStreetMap maps 3 public car parks and 2 public toilets. Only 21 cafés or takeaways nearby, so bring a flask if you want one.
Holiday season, roughly mid-November through early January · typically dusk – 10 PM
Freeresidentialpartially music-synchronizedwalkable or drive-by viewingSanta mailbox
A partially music-synchronized display that works for both drive-by and on-foot viewing. Kids can drop letters to Santa in a dedicated mailbox out front.