Experience the most festive holiday cheer in the U.S. with our guide to the best Christmas towns, including Christmas markets and Hallmark worthy spots ☃️
The holiday season is upon us, which means it’s time to start planning a festive getaway to one of America’s best Christmas towns. From coast to coast, these destinations deck the halls and spread holiday cheer like nowhere else. Whether you’re looking for stunning light displays, Christmas markets, parades, or good old-fashioned holiday spirit, these towns deliver an unforgettable dose of festive magic.
Light Up Your Holidays
For dazzling displays of Christmas lights, few places shine brighter than McAdenville, North Carolina. This small town outside of Charlotte lights up Main Street with over 500,000 twinkling bulbs, earning it the nickname “Christmas Town USA.” Visitors can even drive through for a one-of-a-kind light show.
Out west, Temple Square in Salt Lake City hosts a beloved display with over 100,000 lights surrounding visitor-favorite sights like the Mormon Tabernacle. The whole town of Leavenworth, Washington transforms into a magical Bavarian village straight from a snow globe, complete with lights galore.
Of course, no discussion of holiday lights is complete without mentioning the towering Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City. Topped with a Swarovski crystal star, it’s a can’t-miss photo op for anyone visiting the Big Apple this season.
Christmas Train Rides
All aboard the holiday express! Christmas train rides make for unforgettable family memories. Hop on the beloved Polar Express ride in Durango, Colorado to meet Santa while taking in snowy mountain views. Or check out the North Pole Express in St. Moritz, Switzerland for a truly international Christmas train adventure.
Back on American soil, the Grand Canyon Railway’s Polar Express takes riders into the stunning landscapes of Northern Arizona. For an East Coast Christmas Train, book tickets in Rhode Island or Maryland. Wherever your rail journey takes you, it’s sure to get everyone’s Christmas spirit on track.
Picturesque Mountain Towns
Snow-covered peaks provide the perfect backdrop for a Christmas vacation. Visitors flock to beautiful mountain towns like Park City, Utah and Vail, Colorado for world-class skiing and après ski during the holidays. But these towns offer plenty of festive fun off the slopes as well.
Park City’s Main Street is the place to be for the annual Electric Light Parade and festival called Snowfest. Over in Vail, don’t miss the annual Christmas Market and performances by the Vilar Performing Arts Center. Others may prefer the small-town charm of North Pole, Alaska, located just south of Fairbanks. Kids especially love visiting the Santa Claus House and writing letters from the town’s special post office.
Quaint New England Villages
Idyllic New England towns positively glow during the Christmas season. Woodstock, Vermont hosts Wassail Weekend full of parades, concerts and holiday open houses. Visitors can tour the decorated Colonial-era homes in Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts by candlelight. Or walk off holiday dinner during a stroll through Newport, Rhode Island’s gilded mansions dressed in their festive finest.
Two more standout New England towns: Stockbridge, Massachusetts, made famous by Norman Rockwell’s “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas” painting, and Essex, Connecticut, where you can ride the North Pole Express. No matter where you travel in this region, town greens, covered bridges and historic buildings provide nonstop postcard-worthy shots.
Southern Hospitality
You don’t need snow to have an old-fashioned Christmas festival. Look South for antebellum architecture adorned with twinkling lights and verandahs lined with boughs of holly. Louisville, Kentucky’s historic homes shine during the Holiday Home Tour. Over in Natchez, Mississippi, candlelight tours take visitors back in time to Christmas during the antebellum era.
Or head to Charleston, South Carolina’s Holiday Festival of Lights to see the gardens of Middleton Place Plantation lit up in holiday splendor. Nearby, Beaufort’s historic homes get decked out for tours like the Candlelight Holiday Evening Tour. Whichever southern town you choose, you’ll find renowned southern hospitality mixed in with holiday charm.
Hallmark-Worthy Midwest Towns
Several charming Midwest towns look like the set of a Hallmark Christmas movie. For old-time holiday spirit, Nappanee, Indiana hosts an annual Amish Country Christmas event featuring horse-drawn carriage rides,local crafts and theater performances. Galena, Illinois transforms for Christmas in the Country, when the historic downtown gets covered in over 500,000 lights.
Another Illinois charmer, St. Charles, has traditions like Legends and Lantern Tours of its stately 1800s architecture dressed up for Christmas. Or visit Frankenmuth, Michigan, home of Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store. From these Midwest gems to others throughout heartland America, you’ll find authentic holiday magic.
Celebrate the Season
Part of the fun of Christmas travel involves celebrating beloved town traditions. For 90 years, Alexandria, Virginia has hosted the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend and Parade, where kilted clans march down the street accompanied by bagpipe music.
In Santa Claus, Indiana, it’s Christmas year-round, but the town goes all out during the holidays with events like the Festival of Lights. The Historic Triangle region of Virginia (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown) time travels to Yuletide past with traditions from English settlers and the colonial era.
Unique events abound across America this time of year, from the Yule Log Bonfire in Frankenmuth, Michigan to the Christmas Ships Parade in Portland, Oregon. Discovering each town’s distinctive holiday spirit makes for extra meaningful memories.
Park City
One of the best places to experience a magical mountain Christmas is Park City, Utah. This lively ski town really gets into the holiday spirit, hosting the annual Snowfest celebration and a parade where Santa comes down the slopes. Hop aboard the North Pole Express for a festive ride or check out the ice skating rink downtown. Visitors will discover tons of Christmas cheer, from the torchlight parade on Christmas Eve to catching a performance of “Christmas with the Celts” at the Egyptian Theater. With stunning alpine views and festivities galore, Park City is a top winter wonderland destination this Christmas.
Dahlonega
Dahlonega is a charming gold rush town nestled in the foothills of Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains that radiates holiday spirit. Historic downtown gets decked out with lights, garlands and wreaths, setting the scene for festive carriage rides, concerts, theater performances and visits with Santa. Locals proudly share their holiday cheer by hosting tourists at cozy bed and breakfast inns for a truly heartwarming southern Christmas experience.
Galena
Northeast Iowa’s picturesque countryside provides an idyllic backdrop for the charming Victorian town of Galena that hosts Christmas in the Country each December. Historic downtown gets draped in half a million sparkling lights with holiday music, shopping, sleigh rides and even an ice sculpting demonstration. Visitors can stay toasty while browsing Main Street’s old fashioned shops and inns, made all the more magical by the omnipresent Christmas spirit.
Best Christmas Towns
With so many charming towns to choose from, it’s tough to definitively name the single best Christmas destination in the U.S. But certain places like Leavenworth, Washington and Santa Claus, Indiana consistently capture the magical essence of the season. For stunning decorations, half a million twinkling lights illuminate McAdenville, North Carolina. And Natchitoches, Louisiana has proudly hosted an elaborate Festival of Lights since 1927.
Travelers looking for snowglobe mountain settings adore towns like Stowe, Vermont or Vail, Colorado. Park City, Utah and Jackson, Wyoming also rank among the country’s best places to spend Christmas with their lively mix of outdoor winter recreation and small-town charm. When it comes to celebrating the most wonderful time of year in nostalgic Americana style, historic Williamsburg, Virginia and charming towns in New England like Woodstock, Vermont or Stockbridge, Massachusetts are tough to top.
Christmas Towns in the USA
From coast to coast, tons of towns across the USA go all out with celebrating Christmas. Historic Williamsburg, Virginia transports visitors back in time to Christmas in colonial America. Down south, Louisiana’s Natchitoches has hosted elaborate Festival of Lights since 1927 with over 300,000 lights.
Two Michigan towns also top lists of best Christmas destinations thanks to their holiday cheer and traditions. Both Frankenmuth and Holland host popular German-style Christmas markets, parades, concerts and more, like the musical Grande Finale light show at Frankenmuth’s Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store.
Out west in Montana, the mountain towns of Whitefish and Park City also dazzle during the holidays with their small town charm and abundance of Christmas lights twinkling across downtown and the ski slopes. Park City also hosts the annual Snowfest winter carnival and beloved Electric Light Parade.