What Are the Best Christmas Lights in Branson for 2026?

Three drive-through Christmas light displays operate in Branson each holiday season, and they sit close enough together that a family can see two in one evening and the third on another night. Each charges one price for the whole vehicle, which keeps the cost down for a family or a group. Holiday trips booked through Branson Show Tickets carry no service fee.

This page covers the lights. If you are choosing between holiday productions on the Strip, the companion guide to which Christmas shows are playing in 2026 and what seats cost handles those.

Branson's Christmas lights switch on in stages in November 2026. Lights of Joy and Let There Be Lights both open on November 1, the Trail of Lights at Shepherd of the Hills opens on November 6, and Silver Dollar City's An Old Time Christmas starts on November 7. All three drive-throughs stay lit into the first days of January 2027.

The displays outlast most shows. Lights of Joy runs to January 3, the Trail of Lights to January 2, and the zoo lists Let There Be Lights through January 4, so a trip taken between Christmas and New Year still gets the full circuit. Anyone staying that late can pair it with Branson's New Year's Eve shows.

Silver Dollar City runs its own lights festival, walked rather than driven. An Old Time Christmas runs November 7, 2026 to January 2, 2027, and a new Stars, Lights and Christmas Nights Parade debuts on opening day. Visitors planning a park day can check how the park's 2026 festival calendar lines up before picking a date.

Branson has three drive-through Christmas light displays. Lights of Joy runs about a mile with more than 250 displays on Expressway Lane, Let There Be Lights covers two miles inside Promised Land Zoo on the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, and the Trail of Lights winds through the 160-acre Shepherd of the Hills Homestead off West 76 Country Boulevard.

Lights of Joy sits at 700 Expressway Lane and is open every night from November 1, 2026 to January 3, 2027, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM, closing only for ice or unsafe roads. Past the ticket booth the route runs about a mile with more than 250 displays, about 99 percent of them new each year by the operator's count, plus a few returning traditions such as the RGB digital light tunnel and the Nativity. Lights of Joy tickets are also on sale ahead of time.

Two small extras cut the cost and add music. Bring three cans of food for Christian Action Ministries and the gate takes $3 off the carload, and the free Tune2 app with show code LOJC plays Christmas music timed to the drive through your own car speakers. Santa photos are free on select nights.

Do not confuse it with the similarly named Lights of Joy event in Kennesaw, Georgia, which turns up in searches for the same name and is a different organization.

Let There Be Lights runs two miles of animated LED displays through the zoo's 74-acre park at 2751 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM, and the zoo lists the season as November 1 to January 4. Every carload also gets into the exotic petting zoo, with animal feed available, and the Candyland Courtyard, and the zoo says Santa is on site daily for complimentary photos. The ticket covers more than the drive itself.

The Trail of Lights runs November 6, 2026 to January 2, 2027 through the 160-acre Shepherd of the Hills Homestead, and the operator says it has run for more than 35 years. Enter from 6021 West 76 Country Boulevard, in the Inspiration Tower parking lot. It opens at dusk and closes at 10:00 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 PM Friday and Saturday, with a 9:00 PM close on December 31.

The operator allows single-axle vehicles only, so check before bringing a large motorhome or a trailer, and a ticket bought online does not skip the line. Hot cocoa is complimentary, with donations to the operator's chosen charities requested, served until an hour before closing and not on December 24. The drive is separate from the farm's North Pole Adventure.

All three Branson drive-throughs charge one price per vehicle. Lights of Joy is $25 on most Mondays and Tuesdays and $30 Wednesday through Sunday, tax included. Let There Be Lights is $30 for up to six people and $45 for seven or more. The Trail of Lights is $30 to $35 per carload, or $50 per van.

A car with up to six riders seeing all three pays about $85 to $95 in total, depending on the night and the vehicle. Anyone building a bigger holiday trip should check the current Branson specials and deals first, since holiday promotions change through November and December.

Yes. A guided holiday lights tour covers two of the drive-through displays and a stop to view the Adoration Scene on Mount Branson, with someone else at the wheel. The Adoration Parade through Historic Downtown Branson is free to watch, and Silver Dollar City's lights are seen on foot.

The Branson Holiday Lights Tour runs two of the drive-through displays, then stops to view the Adoration Scene, the nativity atop Mount Branson, and finishes with refreshments at the Historic Branson Hotel. Departures are listed at 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM on dates from November 2 to December 30, 2026, which suits groups who would rather not drive between sites after dark.

The Adoration Parade is the free option. The Branson Chamber of Commerce lists it for Sunday, December 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM, starting from the Branson Convention Center south parking lot, running through Historic Downtown Branson and finishing along Branson Landing Boulevard. The nativity scene on Mount Branson is lit at dusk the same evening and, in the Chamber's words, can be seen from miles away.

Inside Silver Dollar City, the Christmas lights are part of a full day at the park rather than a drive, so it works best as a separate day from the drive-throughs.

Pair Lights of Joy and Let There Be Lights on one evening, since both are reached from the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, and give the Trail of Lights its own night. Monday and Tuesday are the cheapest nights at Lights of Joy, and weekends are when show seats are hardest to get, so save the weekend for a show.

Ready to plan the route? Call Branson Show Tickets at 877-688-3179 to add a Christmas show or the Holiday Lights Tour to the same trip, with no service fee and freebies with every order. Before the first evening it helps to see where the displays and the Strip sit on the map.

Branson, Missouri has three drive-through Christmas light displays for 2026: Lights of Joy on Expressway Lane, Let There Be Lights at Promised Land Zoo, and the Trail of Lights at Shepherd of the Hills.

Lights of Joy and Let There Be Lights open November 1, 2026, and the Trail of Lights opens November 6. All three stay open into early January 2027.

All three charge per vehicle. Lights of Joy is $25 on most Mondays and Tuesdays and $30 other nights, tax included. Let There Be Lights is $30 for up to six people and $45 for seven or more, and the Trail of Lights is $30 to $35 per carload or $50 per van.

The Trail of Lights allows single-axle vehicles only, so check the axles before bringing a large motorhome or a vehicle towing a trailer.

Let There Be Lights at Promised Land Zoo includes the exotic petting zoo, the Candyland Courtyard and complimentary photos with Santa, who the zoo says is on site daily, so children get out of the car as well as watching the lights.

Yes. The Adoration Parade is free to watch. It runs Sunday, December 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM through Historic Downtown Branson, and the nativity on Mount Branson is lit at dusk the same evening.

Yes. The Trail of Lights runs to January 2, 2027, Lights of Joy to January 3, and the zoo lists Let There Be Lights through January 4, so the week between Christmas and New Year still gets the full circuit.