Map: Best places to see Christmas lights in the Jacksonville area in 2021

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Celebrate the holidays by planning trips to some of the the best Christmas light displays in the greater Jacksonville area!

Dazzling Nights | Families are invited to experience Dazzling Nights at the Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens beginning Friday, Nov. 19. It’s located at 1445 Millcoe Road, off Monument Road in Arlington. The holiday exhibits will run nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. through Jan. 9, 2022. Tickets are $22 per person on weekdays and $25 per person on weekends.

St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights | The 28th Annual Nights of Lights dazzles the city as some three million lights adorn every corner of the historic district for two months. This award-winning holiday lights display runs from Saturday, Nov. 20 through Monday, Jan. 31 in historic St. Augustine. Click here for more information about parking and Nights of Lights events.

Christmas in the Cathedral District: Let There Be Light | Every night at 6 p.m. from Saturday, Nov. 27 through Friday, Dec. 31, you can take a self-guided driving tour of historic churches and landmark buildings, illuminated with thousands of lights, in downtown Jacksonville’s Cathedral District. Opening “bells” will ring at 6 p.m. with all five churches ringing simultaneously for a full five minutes.

Christmas lights at Blackhawk Bluff | The Blackhawk Bluff neighborhood off Girvin Road is considered one of the best places to see Christmas lights in Jacksonville. They’ve been lighting up the trees for more than 15 years. The neighborhood is located off Girvin Road and Blackhawk Trail South.

See a 2018 video of the display below:

Jacksonville Beach Deck the Chairs | The annual lighted sculptural exhibit decorates the iconic chairs of The American Red Cross Life Saving Corps at the Seawalk Pavilion and Latham Plaza. The display features several major art installations including the Beaches Go Green Octopus Garden, which has featured a giant jellyfish with tentacles full of single-use plastics in the past. The displays are lit up every night from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 24 through Wednesday, Jan. 1.

Deck the Chairs 2020 A holiday tradition is returning to Jacksonville Beach this weekend with a few changes in place because of COVID-19.

Deck the Chairs 2020 Deck the Chairs, a free exhibit showcasing lights, music, a 100-foot glowing Octopus and more than forty decorated lifeguard chairs, will begin Saturday.

Deck the Chairs 2020 The Seawalk and Latham Plaza public park in downtown Jacksonville Beach, where the chairs are located, will be filled with lights every night from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. from Nov. 21 and will run through Jan. 1, 2021.

Deck the Chairs 2020 The safety measures in place this year will include spacing between the chairs and hand sanitizer stations.

Deck the Chairs 2020 For more information, visit www.deckthechairs.org.

Christmas on Crystal Springs | This award-winning display located on Crystal Springs Road is a favorite around Jacksonville and does its display in a big way. For more information about show times and when the display will be lit up, visit the Christmas on Crystal Springs Facebook page.

See a 2018 video of the display below:

Southcreek Lights | It’s a light show synchronized to Christmas music located at 1749 Southcreek Drive in St. Johns. Sixty-four channels, 29 songs, approximately 5,000 lights and you can listen to the music on 103.1 FM. The show runs from 5:30 p.m. – midnight, 7 days a week starting Thanksgiving weekend through New Year’s Eve. You can find more info at SouthcreekLights.com.

See a 2018 video of the display below:

ZOOLights | Families can enjoy a holiday light and musical experience at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens’ 10th annual ZOOLights. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on December 10-12, 17-19, 22-24 & 26. Tickets are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Admission is free for children ages 2 and under. Tickets must be purchased online. Click here for more information.

ZOOLights ZOOLights at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. (Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens)

Viewer-submitted suggestions:

West Road Christmas 2021 Display | Come visit this Christmas display with over 160,000 lights and 160 channels at 1907 West Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32216. Watch the 2020 West Road Christmas 2021 Display here.

Gierlich Holiday Wonderland | A Gierlich Christmas Wonderland is a light display located in Interlachen. In addition to Christmas, Gierlich displays lights for Halloween and a small display for Easter. The displays all consist of lights, blow molds and inflatables. The display is located at 1400 Fowler Street in Interlachen. To get details on when this year’s display will light up, visit their Facebook page.

Mikayla’s Magical Christmas Light Show | This display is located at 4568 Royal Port Drive in Jacksonville. There are 48,000 lights on 120 channels synchronized to music. There will be a 20 foot mega tree (12,500 lights) along with a 10-foot spiral tree, nine mini trees and two leaping arches. There are outdoor speakers to hear the music. You can also enjoy the music on FM channel 102.1 on cold nights. The show is on a continuous loop that takes about 30 minutes to see from start to finish and primarily focuses on the true meaning of Christmas. The display typically runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, depending on visitors.

Nochaway Drive, St. Augustine | This display, located at 1392 Nochaway Drive off Pacetti Road in the World Golf Village area, features thousands of lights synched to 28 songs. Lights will be on from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the holidays. Jonathan Landingham told us about this display and he said to hear the music, just turn your car radio to 94.7 FM.

See a 2020 video of the display below:

Christmas in Coventry | This display is located at 14299 Hawksmore Lane in Jacksonville. About 9,000 lights are on and dancing to music from around 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every night from around Dec. 1 until the New Year.

See a 2018 video of the display when it was known as Lights on Lariat below:

Lights on Grand Parke | Taylor Mitchell said this light show is located at 776 Grand Parke Drive in St. Johns. The show is set to run nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Nov. 26 through Dec. 26. Just tune your radio to 88.5 FM to hear the music that goes with the lights. This year, the organizers are trying to raise $1,000 for Mercy Land Orphanage in Haiti. For more information, visit the Facebook page.

Doctor Wizard’s Giant Musical Holiday Light Show in Orange Park | This display is located at 1252 Tumbleweed Drive and runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. starting Saturday, Nov. 27. Dr. Wizard said the display features over 20,000 LEDs + Lasers, strobes, disco balls, projectors and more all set to holiday music. The show celebrates not only Christmas, but all the holidays in December and welcomes visitors of all faiths and beliefs. The show includes a Nativity scene and Star of Bethlehem, a giant Menorah and Star of David, a Wheel of Dharma, Yule Log, Festivus pole and more! The organizers will be raising money for SAFE Animal Shelter. Visit wizlights.com for more information.

Christmas Lights and Drive-Thru Living Nativity, Westside Baptist Church | The Living Nativity is a free, family-friendly drive-thru Experience designed to bring the Christmas story to life in an immersive and memorable trip. Adam from Westside Baptist Church said the 15 minute journey features some of the best Christmas lights in Jacksonville. The Nativity will be running Thursday, Dec. 9 through Sunday, Dec. 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.

3119 Pine Road, Orange Park | Alexa told us about this lights display, which is located in Doctor’s Lake Estates. The animated light display is choreographed to over 30 songs. During the holidays, the light show typically runs Sunday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. See more videos of this display on YouTube.

Arbor Glade Christmas Town | Neighbors in the Arbor Glade subdivision, on Backwind Drive located off Old St. Augustine Road, typically have their lights on from the weekend after Thanksgiving through the end of December. Joel Petty said multiple houses are decorated.

Candi’s Lighted D’Lites | Rodney tells us this display is located at 264 Arora Blvd in Orange Park. There are many things to see such as inflatables and projections. Display times are set for 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Smith’s Lights on Rue | Located at 4930 Rue Street in Jacksonville, this is a walk-through display on a acre of land. This year’s display will begin on Thanksgiving and is free and open to the public.

Lights on 14th | This display, located at 15912 NE 14th Ave in Starke, uses thousands of WS28XX LED nodes controlled by a “sequence.” Shows usually run nightly from 5:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday, shows end later at 10:00 p.m. For more information, visit their Facebook page.

Action News Jax put all of these locations into a map for your convenience.

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