Be dazzled by Christmas lights in Ottawa and nearby places in 2023!

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Ottawa Christmas lights and holiday lights in Eastern Ontario—along with an illuminated waterfall in the Outaouais—give this season of short days and long nights some extra sparkle. Here are some of the decorated houses, illuminated trails and drive-through holiday light shows in Ottawa and beyond created to delight you in November and December 2023. Bundle up and enjoy!

Winter Lights Across Canada in Ottawa (and elsewhere)

The Winter Lights Across Canada festival will begin on Parliament Hill on Thursday, December 7. Hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights festooning trees and buildings throughout the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau—a setup officially dubbed the Pathway of Lights—will be switched on that night (as will festive lights in other provincial capitals). The lights will glow nightly until January 7, 2024.

Fun fact for all you romantics out there: I’m such a big fan of Ottawa’s Christmas lights that my now-husband proposed to me on the Alexandra Bridge on a frosty December night.

Magic of Lights in Nepean

The Magic of Lights is a drive-through Ottawa Christmas lights attraction at Wesley Clover Parks, featuring animations and larger-than-life displays. At the Holiday Pit Stop (included with general admission), you can get out of your car to visit Santa and roast marshmallows. The event runs nightly from Friday, November 17, through Saturday, January 6. It’s open from 5pm to 9pm from Monday through Thursday, and from 5pm to 10pm from Friday through Sunday.

Admission at the gate for standard vehicles (three rows of seating or fewer, and a maximum of nine passengers) is $30 from Monday through Thursday and $35 the rest of the week. Admission for vehicles with more than three rows of seats and a capacity of 10 to 20 passengers is $60 any day of the week. Note that admission is per vehicle, not per person.

You can save money on those fees by buying your tickets in advance online. Online, Monday through Thursday tickets are $20, Friday through Sunday tickets are $25, and large-vehicle tickets are $45.

Ottawa Christmas lights extravaganza: The Turcotte house in Stittsville

So why am I singling out just one house? Because the Turcotte family—Shawn, Chantelle, Hudson and Kennedy—at 18 Cypress Gardens in Stittsville goes ALL OUT for Christmas. For the past few years, they’ve been decorating their house on a movie theme as a fundraiser. This year, they’re remounting a fan favourite—their tribute to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation—but with all-new props and 5,000 lights! They unveiled it to the public on December 1 and it will be up until December 31. Visitors are encouraged to donate to the Stittsville Food Bank. You can bring non-perishable food items to place in a bin on the lawn, or just scan the QR code on a sign on the lawn to donate money.

Taffy Lane in Orleans: An Ottawa Christmas lights tradition

Here’s another favourite DIY extravaganza for those who love Ottawa Christmas lights—the inventive home decorations put up by the residents of Taffy Lane, a small street just north of the intersection of Highway 174 and Orleans Boulevard. I’ll confess that I’ve tried to get there TWICE in recent years, but the traffic has been crazy. My advice would be to try on a weeknight. If you have friends nearby who will let you stash your car in their driveway, even better.

For other ideas for holiday fun, check out my guides to local Christmas craft sales and Santa Claus parades!

Vintage Village of Lights in Cumberland

The Vintage Village of Lights will illuminate the 1920s and 1930s homes, gas station, school and other buildings at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum in Cumberland on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from November 24 to December 17. Drop in on Santa, hear an old-timey player piano, see a blacksmith at work, learn about interwar holiday traditions, decorate gingerbread cookies and more.

Tickets are $25.50 per group (maximum of six people per group, including at least one adult). The event runs from 4pm to 9pm each night that it’s open (last admission at 8pm). Advance online ticket purchase is required. See the event’s website for details.

Stanley’s Holiday Stroll in Edwards

Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm in Edwards, on Ottawa’s rural southeastern edge, has run a Christmas Village attraction for years. But since 2022, the site has also built a Holiday Stroll, a two-kilometre illuminated network of forest trails. It’s coming in December; again, check back here in early December for details on this popular addition to the Christmas lights in Ottawa scene.

A Country Christmas Holiday Light Stroll in Munster

The ever-inventive folks at Saunders Farm in Munster, on Ottawa’s rural southwestern edge, have created a holiday attraction called A Country Christmas Holiday Light Stroll (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, hours vary, December 1 to 23). This walking trail, enhanced with a soundtrack of holiday tunes, has quickly become a favourite among Ottawa Christmas lights fans. After enjoying the light trail, you can visit with Santa; shop for gifts, Christmas trees and wreaths; nosh on BeaverTails, wood-fired pizza and other treats; decorate a cookie and a Christmas ornament; visit a miniature Christmas village; warm up at a campfire; and/or sip a cider. (That’s just the tip of the iceberg.) Everyone over age 2 requires a ticket, which is $24.99 online or $30 at the gate.

Alight at Night in Morrisburg

Alight at Night is a spectacular event at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, where the living history museum’s heritage buildings (and the surrounding trees) glitter with a million glowing Christmas lights. Enjoy carollers, shopping at the bakery and general store, and visits to Santa’s workshop (certain evenings only). You can also have dinner at Willard’s Hotel or the Harvest Barn; reservations recommended. For extra magic, book a carriage ride.

Tickets are available online only (no sales at the gate). General admission for those 15 and over is $17 plus HST ($14 plus HST for members of the military with ID, and for children aged 5 to 12); children 4 and under are admitted free. Carriage rides are $150 plus HST for a group of up to four people, which includes Alight at Night admission. The attraction is open on select evenings from Wednesday, December 1, through Saturday, January 6.

Celebration of Lights in Smiths Falls

Smiths Falls Celebration of Lights is a free, walk-through light display under the water tower in Centennial Park in downtown Smiths Falls. Dates for 2023 have not been announced yet; I’ll post them here when they are.

River of Lights in Brockville

In Brockville, River of Lights on Blockhouse Island (right downtown, on the waterfront) is a free attraction open nightly from Saturday, November 25, until Tuesday, January 2, weather permitting. You can enjoy a full sound-and-light show between 6pm and 10pm, or delight in the lights on their own from 5pm to 6pm or 10pm to 11pm.

Clow’s Christmas Trail in Brockville

You can get a dose of Christmas spirit along with some exercise and fresh air on this illuminated, decorated, 1.5km walking trail. Clow’s Christmas Trail in Brockville is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights from December 1 to 17, then daily from December 18 to 23. Admission is free for children 3 and under, $5.25 for kids aged 4 to 10, and $13.25 for everyone else.

Festival of Lights at Chutes Coulonge Park

At the Festival of Lights, you can along an illuminated trail to admire a thundering waterfall lit with coloured spotlights. The falls at Chutes Coulonge Park, an adventure park in the Pontiac region of the Outaouais, are lit up from 5pm to 9pm on festival nights (December 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16 and 29). You’ll find the park at 100 Promenade Du-Parc-des-Chutes in Mansfield-et-Pontefract. Admission is $10 for adults, and $6 for seniors and children (kids 5 and under are admitted free).

Christmas Light Tour in Kingston

In Kingston, you can hop aboard a trolley and leave the driving to others as you enjoy holiday light displays. Kingston Trolley Tours is offering a 75-minute Christmas Light Tour from Thursday through Sunday from December 1 to 24, and daily from December 25 to 31. Tickets are $38 for adults, $19 for children aged 2 to 15, and $5 for infants.

I hope this wee tour of Christmas lights in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais has given you lots of ideas for places to visit where you can chase away the winter darkness. Enjoy!

Looking for more tips on things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais, northern New York state and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your Weekend Getaway Guide.

As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.