Out, About: Where to see holiday lights in Middle Tennessee

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My mom called me this week to excitedly tell me about the fairgrounds back home being converted into “one of those drive-thru light displays like the one you took me to in Tennessee.”

She was referring to the Dancing Lights of Christmas out in Lebanon, which we drove through with Starbucks coconut milk hot chocolates back in 2019. It made more of an impression on her than I realized, but her enthusiasm explains a lot… about me — like why I obsessively compiled lists of where to go see lights in Middle Tennessee my first few years here. I get it from my mama.

Here are just a few of my favorite options:

London’s Lights

London’s Lights (1001 Ash Circle, La Vergne) is named for the homeowner’s nearly 2-year-old daughter, who tragically passed in a car accident in 2012. The family now puts up more than 300,000 lights each year in London’s memory. They only ask that you bring toys to donate to families in need and local children’s hospitals around the holidays.

Dancing Lights of Christmas

As I mentioned, this Lebanon display (1033 Sparta Pike, Lebanon) is a drive-thru option, which claims to be the largest synchronized show in Tennessee. It does cost money — $30 per vehicle — but your mom will apparently remember it from a sea of light shows four years later. There are more than two million lights along the 2.5-mile route through the Wilson County fairgrounds, all blinking along to the holiday hits on your car radio.

Christmas on the Cumberland

Christmas on the Cumberland (640 N Riverside Dr, Clarksville) displays a few million lights right along the river. This is a light show best seen up close, so get out of the car and walk through the beloved tunnel of lights and check out the Victorian Village, the penguins and so many more brightly lit friends.

Gaylord Opryland Resort’s Country Christmas

What’s a lights list without a mention of Opryland?

The Nashville resort is filled with literally millions of lights, so don’t just admire the outside. It’s free to walk around inside, though you may need to purchase a ticket to an event (like the annual ICE! exhibit of holiday ice sculptures) for entry on some of the more packed days.

And there are so many more in Davidson County… like 100+ more. You can check out our map from a few years ago for a loose guide. Just please don’t rely on the times that were accurate that year.

Also, huge shoutout to Ben Climer. He shared his spreadsheet of locations with me via the Christmas Lights in Middle Tennessee Facebook group and took our 2020 map from a light sampling to a whole buffet of options in the region.