Christmas lights in Dallas, Texas

We track 15 displays in Dallas — the densest city for lights in Texas. Every one of them is free to visit.

When to go

Displays here switch on around sunset. In Dallas 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 Dallas typically drop to around 36°F.

The Dallas lights loop — 15 stops

We ordered every display in Dallas into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 29.2 miles and 130 minutes of driving, before you count time spent parked and looking. Start wherever is closest to you and follow it round.

1. Swiss Avenue — Swiss Avenue, East Dallas
2. Klyde Warren Park Christmas Tree — Klyde Warren Park, downtown Dallas
3. Fairmont Dallas holiday tree — Fairmont Hotel, Dallas
4. The Adolphus Hotel holiday lobby — The Adolphus Hotel, downtown Dallas
5. AT&T Discovery District — AT&T Discovery District, downtown Dallas
6. 12 Days of Christmas on Timberhollow Circle — Timberhollow Circle, Lake Highlands (enter via Moss Haven Drive, one block south of Royal Lane off Abrams Road)
7. Astra Lumina at Trinity Forest Adventure Park — Trinity Forest Adventure Park
8. Dallas Zoo Lights — Dallas Zoo, 650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway
9. Elderoaks Lights — Elderoaks Lane, Elderleaf Drive, and Elderoaks Place, south of the old Oak Cliff Country Club
10. Galleria Dallas Christmas Tree — 13350 Dallas Parkway, Suite 3080
11. Kessler Park — North Oak Cliff; start at Colorado Boulevard and Lausanne Avenue (from I-30 take Sylvan exit south about half a mile, then west on Colorado)
12. Santa House — 3629 Southwestern Blvd., University Park
13. Viral Grinch House (Preston Hollow mansion) — 6215 Deloache Ave.
14. SNOWDAY Winter Pop-Up — Galleria Dallas, 13350 Dallas Parkway
15. Holidays at the Arboretum / Night Glow — Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road

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 Dallas cluster, OpenStreetMap maps 8 public car parks and 24 public toilets. There is no shortage of cafés and takeaways for a hot drink on the way round.

All 15 displays in Dallas

Nearby towns

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