Experience winter sports, exotic animals & a world-renowned holiday light show at this unique park

Since 1985, the Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights has been a staple of the holiday season in West Virginia. The festival has grown each year, and today features more than 1 million lights throughout the six-mile display. Before making your way to the northern panhandle to see the lights, be sure to uncover everything Oglebay Park has to offer.

Unlike many light displays, you can spend an entire day at Oglebay Park leading up to your visit at the Festival of Lights. Begin your day with fresh coffee and goodies from Sarita’s Coffee Bar, located inside the lobby of Oglebay Lodge. Be sure to bundle up and make your way to the Nutting Winter Sports Complex for winter sports fun! The complex features both skiing and snowboarding, as well as tubing. After working up an appetite, make a stop at Route 88 Brew and BBQ for delicious brisket and a craft beer!

Once you’ve gotten your belly full, work your way over to the Good Zoo. The Good Zoo features more than 50 species and is home to several exhibits like the Outback Exhibit, Lorikeet Landing and Wonders of the Wetlands! At the zoo, you can find meerkats, sloths, alligators, lemurs, otters, kangaroos, cheetahs, red pandas and many other species of animals! It is the perfect place to spend the day with the whole family.

As the day winds down and the sun begins to set, the fun is just getting started. The Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights kicks off at dusk every evening from Nov. 9 to Jan. 1. It includes a six-mile drive featuring 90 light displays that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own vehicle. You can also purchase tickets in advance for the Oglebay trolley tour if you’d rather experience the lights from a different perspective. You can also make your way to the hilltop area of the park to walk down the glowing pathways. Here, you can enjoy the Gardens of Light, Christmas Tree Garden, and Nativity attractions, and you can even enjoy many of Oglebay’s unique retailers!

The Winter Festival of Lights is one of the nation’s largest holiday light shows. It attracts more than one million visitors each year and has solidified itself as a top attraction during the holiday season. Oglebay also offers a winter carnival, a reindeer training school, Christmas activities at the Good Zoo and many other holiday festivities. Oglebay offers fun for the whole family and will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.

What is your favorite lights display at Oglebay Park?

This post was last updated on March 17, 2022