Located in northern Lancaster County, you’ll find one of the most unique Christmas light experiences in PA at Refreshing Mountain.
Refreshing Mountain is a year-round retreat and activity center that’s best known for its ropes course and ziplines. However, during the holiday season, they set up hundreds of thousands of lights throughout the space, and visitors have the chance to walk or zip line through the display.
My visit for the Christmas lights during the 2024 season was my first trip to Refreshing Mountain (though my wife and kids have visited in the past during the warmer months and really enjoyed the ropes course and zip lines). It’s worth noting upfront that this review only covers the walk-through light display.
When you arrive, make sure to check in at the office regardless of what activities you are doing. This is kind of unclear, and I was really confused for a bit as to where to go as there were no signs pointing me in the right direction.
The walk-through Christmas lights at at Refreshing Mountain are located along a half-mile trail with hundreds of thousands of lights spread throughout the woodland area. The trail is a relatively easy walk on a primarily gravel trail, so it shouldn’t pose much of a walking challenge for most.
The display starts out a bit weak, but does improve as you get further into it and have lights surrounding you in the trees. However, it’s worth noting that nearly all the lights here are static lights, and there aren’t many unique light displays like you’ll find at most other similar spots around the state.
Aside from the string lights in the trees, all of the other displays here are religious in nature including a manger scene, lights in shape of God’s names, and signs with Bible verses. Some may see this as a positive, while others may see it as a negative.
I’ll refrain from making a judgement on that, but it’s worth noting because most other displays, even those with a large religious bent, typically have other seasonal displays like Santa, reindeer, and presents. The walk-through light display at Refreshing Mountain is composed almost entirely of just string lights and religious-themed displays.
The best area of the display is definitely around the small pond. This is easy to miss, as it’s a bit off the main route, so make sure to keep your eye out for it.
Here, the entire area around the pond is beautiful decorated, and seeing the lights reflect in the water is really neat.
On the far side of the pond, there is a fun display where lights flash in a way that mimics fireflies. This is definitely the most unique and interesting display at Refreshing Mountain.
One thing that definitely struck me as odd was the lack of music along the trail, something I can’t recall being absent at any other walk-through display I’ve done in PA. While there was some Christmas music playing near the office, there was none to be heard anywhere along the walking path.
This is certainly a strange omission, and the addition of music would have made the display here significantly better. That being said, it was fun to hear people on the zip lines through the woods, so there was definitely some sound to be heard here, but music would have been a nice touch.
In addition to the lights, there are some other small activities for visitors to check out including some animals in and around the nature center, a few fire pits, and a snack bar with a selection of food and drinks to enjoy. These definitely add to the experience of visiting.
Ultimately, having visited dozens of other holiday light displays in PA, I wasn’t all that impressed with the Christmas lights at Refreshing Mountain. While there are some nice spots along the trail, the lack of unique lights and the absence of music certainly keeps this spot from being among my favorite displays.
That being said, it did look and sound like the people on the ropes course and zip lines were having a lot of fun. So, if doing those in the dark surrounded by lights sounds fun to you, I can definitely see this as being a great spot to visit. However, if you’re visiting for just the walk-through lights, I’d recommend checking out other spots such as Koziar’s Christmas Village, Christmas Magic, Christmas on the Mountain, or Village of Lights.
The Christmas Light Experience at Refreshing Mountain is open most nights from November 29, 2024 through January 5, 2025. Prices start at $14 for the walk-through display at $49 for the ropes course and zip line.
Looking for even more festive fun? Check out my favorite holiday lights in Lancaster County, the most Christmasy things to do in Philly, and Christmas Candylane at Hersheypark.
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