The best places to see Christmas lights across North Carolina this holiday season

The holiday season has arrived in North Carolina, and communities across the state are switching on elaborate Christmas light displays. From drive-through farm shows in the Triangle to a 68-year-old tradition in McAdenville, here are some of the best places to take in the lights this year.

In downtown Raleigh, the Illuminate Art Walk returns to Fayetteville Street nightly from Dec. 6 to Jan. 6. The free, self-guided event features larger-than-life installations by local, regional and international artists. This year's centerpiece is the tunnel, an interactive 100-foot beacon of light framed by towering mirrored LED structures that reflect vibrant colors.

Also in Raleigh, Fieldstream Farm at 8008 Old Stage Road offers a drive-through show through Dec. 31, with 1 million lights spread across acres of farmland and an LED tunnel containing more than 200,000 lights. Advance tickets are required. In Cary, the NC Chinese Lantern Festival at Booth Amphitheatre runs most nights through Jan. 12, featuring handmade lanterns and an earlier Twilight admission option, with tickets sold online.

Christmas Lights on the Farm in Middlesex runs through Dec. 31, sending visitors on a hayride through Christmas Town to a field of lights, with stage music, s'mores by the fire pit, Santa photos, a gift shop and concessions. In Wendell, Lake Myra Christmas Lights is a free, donation-based event open nightly Nov. 27 through Dec. 31 from 5:30 to 10 p.m., weather permitting, with lights programmed to music and a walkway that passes through a tree. Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville opens its Festival of Lights nightly Dec. 1 through Dec. 30, with more than a million lights in the park. All access admission is $19.95 for ages 2 to 64, and children 2 and under get in free.

Lights on the Neuse at Boyette Family Farms in Clayton runs through Dec. 24, offering an old-fashioned 30-minute Christmas light hayride, photos at Santa's sleigh, concessions and cookie decorating. Timed tickets are $11 online or in person, and children under 2 are free. Mike's Farm in Beulaville holds its Festival of Lights hayride nightly, weather permitting, until Dec. 23, with an after-Christmas encore Dec. 26 to 28. The 30-minute ride passes lighted holiday scenes and a live nativity set to Christmas music classics. Tickets are $15 for ages 5 and up.

In Fayetteville, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden hosts Holiday Lights in the Garden on select dates from Dec. 6 to Dec. 22, including every weekend in December and nightly from Dec. 18 to 22. The walking event features lights, decorations, Santa Claus, the Grinch, entertainment, a vendor market and s'mores for purchase, with tickets available online. Separately, Fayetteville Holiday Lights runs nightly at Segra Stadium from Nov. 29 through Dec. 23, with tens of thousands of lights around the stadium, displays on the concourse and a walk-through path of lights along the warning track.

At Denton Farm Park, about two hours west of the Triangle, the Country Christmas Train runs on select dates from Nov. 29 through Dec. 28. Visitors walk a lighted candy cane path, take photos with Santa, and board a train past Christmas lights, a live nativity scene and a dedication to the military, with elves for the children. Afterward, guests can shop for fresh baked goods and gingerbread cookies or continue down the lighted pathway to a petting zoo and horse-drawn carriage rides. At Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, Speedway Christmas runs nightly through Jan. 5, closed Dec. 24, sending drivers along a 3.75-mile course lined with more than three million lights. The show runs 6 to 10 p.m. rain or shine, with lights synchronized to music on 101.3 FM and drive-in movies on the giant Speedway TV every Thursday through Sunday night until Christmas.

Tanglewood Park's Festival of Lights in Clemmons, about two hours from Raleigh near Winston-Salem, runs 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. through Jan. 1 along a five-mile route with more than 100 displays and 1 million lights. The popular show draws about 250,000 visitors a year, and the website warns that waits can stretch to four hours on a Saturday night. Horse-drawn carriage rides and hayrides are also offered. In McAdenville, Christmas Town USA marks its 68th year from Dec. 1 to 26, 5:30 to 10 p.m. nightly, when private homes light up along a 1.3-mile route that visitors can walk or drive. On weekends, the drive can take 30 to 45 minutes. McAdenville is just under three hours from Raleigh.

Farther west, Winter Lights at the NC Arboretum in Asheville runs nightly through Dec. 31. The open-air walk-through show is built from more than one million lights and brings back favorites like the famously tall 50-foot lighted tree and the Quilt Garden, along with new details designed to surprise returning visitors.