Must-See Holiday Light Displays in Portland and Beyond
As part of the Silverton Christmas Market, Oregon Garden Resort strings up more than one million lights.
’Tis the season to go all out with your holiday traditions: Bake those cookies, chop down that tree, chug that eggnog, shop those markets, carol til your voice box aches—and yes, let your peepers feast on some splendid holiday light displays. Whether you want to walk, drive, or sit through the lights this year, there’s a dazzling display for you.
Portland Events
Get a drive-through holiday light show at Portland International Raceway.
Winter Wonderland at Portland International Raceway
Nov 29–Dec 31
For more than 30 years, the Portland International Raceway has hosted this drive-through holiday light show, which claims to be “the largest light holiday show west of the Mississippi” with more than 250 light displays and multiple animated scenes depicting your favorite Christmas carols (five golden rings, anyone?).
Tickets are $38 per car on weeknights and $49 on weekends, but if you want to show up in a limo or other such lavishly large vehicle, be prepared to pony up $80, and more if your buds happen to spring for a bus. Three nights are car-free: December 1 is bikes only, while December 2 and 3 are dog walk nights.
All aboard the Zoo Lights train, which chugs past dozens of sparkly animals.
Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo
Nov 22–Jan 5; closed Christmas Day
The Oregon Zoo’s holiday light show began in 1988, and will display 1.5 million lights for 2024. Cozy up to bellowing purple hippos, swimming penguins, and jungle alligators and jaguars. Classic treats are on hand, like elephant ears and hot cocoa, and beer and wine for the adults.
Prices range depending on the date, with adult walk-throughs running $13–35, and $13–30 for kids under 12. (Zoo members get a 20 percent discount.) Tickets must be purchased in advance, assigned to selected entrance times (30-minute increments starting at 4:30pm). If you’re hesitant to commit to a specific date or time slot—yes, parents, we see you—you can pay $35 for anytime passes ($30 under age 12).
In addition to lots of lights, the Grotto also hosts concerts, caroling, and puppet shows.
Festival of Lights at the Grotto
NOV 29–Dec 30; closed Christmas Day
The Grotto’s Christmas festival bills itself as one of the world’s largest Christmas choral festivals, with nightly indoor concerts featuring choirs, schools, and churches from near and far. Inside the peaceful grounds, you’ll see more than two million lights and other events in the plaza, such as caroling, puppet shows, and musical guests.
General admission for those 12 and older is $16.50 ($18 at gate), ages 3 to 11 is $7.75 ($8 at gate), and those 2 and younger are free. Pro tip: Save a few bucks on the value nights, which are December 2–5 and 9–12.
Peacock Lane is a Portland rite of passage.
Peacock Lane
Dec 15–31
The festive light displays on Peacock Lane started in 1932 as a friendly competition between neighbors to see who could put up the best decorations, but it has exploded into a Portland rite of passage that pulls in hordes of Yuletiders every year. The cocoa booth offers free cocoa and cider, and pedestrian-only nights are offered December 15 and 16. You can expect dozens of enthusiastically decorated houses along the block, all done of the owners’ own volition; some are relatively low-key, while others go all-out, with interactive walk-through displays, a.k.a. Instagram-ready backdrops. (We’re partial to the house with the Peanuts gang.) Unless you’re game for a four-block drive that lasts an hour, park five to six blocks away and walk over.
The Christmas Ships Parade turns 70 this year.
Christmas Ships Parade
check website for DAILY sCHEDULES
On December 1, one of Oregon’s oldest holiday light shows sets sail for the 70th year, floating down the Columbia or Willamette River, or both, depending on the night. The Christmas Ships Parade began in 1954, with one lonely but proud vessel. Today, up to 60 individually designed boats join the fleet, covered in holiday lights and Christmas scenes with a nautical twist (think Santa fishing or the Loch Ness Monster sporting a Santa hat). The parade runs on various dates and covers various stretches of water over two weeks; to pinpoint where the boats will be on a given night, you can find schedules online for the Columbia Fleet, Willamette Fleet, and when the two come together.
Beyond Portland
Beaverton Winter Lights
Dec 1–Jan 3
Beaverton’s downtown comes to life each holiday season with free winter light displays and festivities, starting with a tree-lighting ceremony from 6–8pm on Friday, December 6. The event features live music, craft activities, and vendors.
The North Pole at Eagle Crest
Fridays–Sundays, DEC 6–22
Take a peek inside Santa’s toy factory at this free display located in the Parrett Mountain neighborhood of Newberg, 45 minutes southwest of Portland. Sip a cup of hot cocoa and write a letter to the big man himself—there’s a mailbox that’s a sure-fire direct line to the North Pole. No tickets or reservations are required, but donations are accepted and benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. New in 2024 is a market featuring handmade crafts, baked goods, jams, butters, and more.
For the Silverton Christmas Market, Oregon Garden Resort transforms into twinkle town.
Silverton Christmas Market
NOV 21–Dec 31; closed Nov 28, Dec 24 & 25
The Silverton Christmas Market, 45 minutes south of Portland, boasts more than one million lights. Stroll the paths at Oregon Garden Resort to find a biergarten, a snowless tubing hill, and an authentic German market brimming with artisan vendors (imported German nutcrackers, anyone?).
Admission is $15–22 depending on the time of week, $5–8 for kids under 12, and free for kids under 5.
Keizer Miracle of Christmas
Dec 6–26
Similar to Peacock Lane, the Gubser neighborhood light display started as a blazing bulb battle between neighbors in 1984 in this suburb an hour southwest of Portland, north of Salem. After word got around about the festive displays, the event evolved into a fundraiser for the Marion Polk Food Share nonprofit, pulling in donations totalling near $50,000 annually, and tens of thousands of pounds of food.
Umpqua Valley Festival of Lights
Nov 24–Jan 1
The Roseburg Rotary Club is hosting its 31st annual holiday lights festival, with more than 90 light displays, as well as what the festival claims is the world’s largest nutcracker. Entry is $10 per car, which also gets you into the nearby Dutch Bros Holiday Village at Riversdale Grange. Make an overnight of it: The festival is two hours and 45 minutes south of Portland.
For the holidays, the formal gardens at Shore Acres get a glittering glow-up.
Shore Acres Holiday Lights
NOV 28–Dec 31
Lumber baron and shipbuilder Louis Simpson’s mansion may have burned down a century ago, but his stunning estate garden remains a highlight in Shore Acres State Park between Coos Bay and Cape Arago. For the holidays, area businesses and community groups string up thousands of lights in the formal gardens. Many of the displays, no surprise, boast a marine theme—think jellyfish, anemones, and spouting whales. A parking permit is $5.
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