Winter Lights at Seneca Creek State Park

In an attempt to be at least somewhat relevant, I saved this post from last year’s trip through the Winter Lights at Seneca Creek State Park!

Winter Lights

This holiday event in the DC/Maryland area has been “socially distancing since 1995”! It’s a drive-thru-only attraction, so parties stay in their vehicles for the whole experience. Tickets are per-car as well, so you get more value the more people you can cram in.

As you enter, tune your car’s radio to a particular station (97.1 WASH FM) for holiday music for the event. Then you pilot your car past castles and reindeer, towns, and even mermaids. You pass under rows of arches and “animated” scenes like fish jumping over the road or teddy bears throwing a snowball at each other. I imagine it’s even more enchanting when it snows.

Almost all the lights are flat scenes you drive by. The big draw is that there are so many of them! It’s a 3.5-mile loop that takes the better part of an hour to drive through. It may not be the most stunning thing you’ve ever seen in your life, but kids will love it and it’s not very expensive for an evening out.

You can also do the loop on foot on two special preview nights, or opt for a 1-mile loop instead. I don’t know if they play the music on loudspeakers in this case, but you do get complimentary hot chocolate. Prices are cheaper but are per person instead of per carload.

Tips

A lot of families like this event, so it gets very crowded, especially as the night wears on. If you wait too late into the evening, you may spend more time waiting in line to get in than seeing the lights themselves, which is what happened during my drive-through Halloween experience. So the biggest tip is to get there early! Aim for 5:30 or before. I arrived before the official start time and they were already allowing cars in and I had hardly a wait at all. By the time I was leaving, the cars were already backed up to enter.

Other tips include: go to the bathroom before you arrive! There are no facilities and no stopping once you get in line. Bring snacks or even grab dinner to eat in the car. Make sure you have a full tank of gas and make sure your phone is fully charged, or bring a charger! Your ticket will likely be on your phone and you’ll definitely want to take lots of pictures.

Admission, Hours, & Location

Winter Lights at Seneca Creek State Park event lasts from November 26-December 31, and is closed on Christmas Day. The official start time is 6:00 pm and the last entry is at 9:00 pm Sunday-Thursday and at 10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

The price Monday-Thursday is $15 per car and $25 per car on Friday & Saturday. 15+ passenger vans cost $30 and are only allowed Monday-Thursday. You MUST buy your tickets in advance this year. NO tickets are sold at the gates. And all drivers must wear a mask at the entrance gate, but you can take it off later.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, on November 19 & 21st, you can opt to walk through the lights instead of drive. Hot chocolate is provided and food vendors are on site. But there’s no warming tent or meetings with Santa Claus this year (though I imagine they will at least have bathrooms.) The cost for walking through either the whole 3.5-mile loop or a shorter 1-mile option is $10 per person and free for kids 3 and under. Again, tickets must be purchased ahead of time. On these days, the last entry is at 8:30 pm.

Seneca Creek State Park is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, about 4o minutes/28 miles north of Washington DC.

BONUS – a few short videos