Ohio's 9 Most Festive Downtowns For The Holidays
Spend the holidays not just in style, but with substance, by visiting Ohio. This midwestern state is decked with downtowns that dazzle during December and, in some cases, November and January (in one case, all year long). No need to dine, dance, and then dash from such downtowns; rather, stay for weeks-long celebrations like the Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill, the Steubenville Nutcracker Village, and so many others. These nine Ohio hubs prove that the Midwest does the holidays best.
Medina
Medina may be the Mecca of Ohio holiday towns. Instead of waiting for Noel, you can pilgrimage in any season to Medina's Castle Noel, which is considered the largest indoor year-round Christmas entertainment attraction in America. From its 40,000-square-foot downtown space, Castle Noel offers a faux-winter wonderland with Christmas displays, Christmas activities, Christmas movie props, and even indoor snow. If you snow-storm the castle in summer, stay for Christmas in July, a hot-weather festival where Santa appears in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Of course, Medina gets even more festive during genuine Christmastime, hosting cold-weather celebrations like the Medina Candlelight Walk, Festival of Lights Parade, and Light Up the Night Fireworks in late November.
Upper Sandusky
Each December for almost three decades, Upper Sandusky has sparkled with a renowned light show. Starting in 1997 with just 10 displays, Upper's Winter Fantasy of Lights now spans roughly 100 displays and millions of lights across 33 acres of downtown-adjacent Harrison Smith Park. Thousands of people annually walk or drive through the spectacle, accessible with a small donation. Since its inception, the Fantasy of Lights has raised nearly a million dollars for charity.
Upper Sandusky's Winter Fantasy of Lights is not to be confused with the lakeside city of Sandusky's Lights on the NorthCoast nor the Sandusky County Fairgrounds Winter Wonderland in nearby Fremont. But all are worth visiting along the 2025 Ohio Holiday Lights Trail.
Clifton
Another stop on the Ohio Holiday Lights Trail is the Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill. Located in tiny Clifton, population ~130, Clifton Mill is one of the largest water-powered grist mills, and perhaps the largest water-powered grist mill that gets seasonally decorated with over 5 million lights. It takes six people around three months to string the bulbs and ready the displays, which include the Miniature Village and Santa Claus Museum. New for 2025 is the 20-foot Twinkling Tree of Lights, which adds another 7,000 bulbs to the eye-straining extravaganza. After catching the light show between late November and late December, stroll downtown to the similarly scenic Clifton Opera House, which, when not being renovated, hosts its own Christmas events.
Steubenville
Though countless coal has been mined in Steubenville, residents do not find coal in their stockings. Instead, they find that Santa has sprinkled extra cheer over their home city, especially downtown. That is where the Steubenville Christmas Parade runs in early December, Christmas at the Fort (kicked off with Steubenville Lights Up the Night) runs from late November to late December, and the Steubenville Nutcracker Village runs from late November to the first full week of January. The last of those attractions, comprising more than 200 giant versions of the slack-jawed holiday favorites, is considered the "world's LARGEST collection of life-size nutcrackers."
Ashland
Like many communities leading up to the holidays, Ashland's downtown gets decorated for a Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting, & Fireworks spectacular. But that is just the tip of Ashland's Christmas cheer. Separating itself from the holiday-honoring herd, this small city shines with the Ashland Christmas Village, and, new for 2025, the Lights & Delights Christmas Drive-Thru. Its crown jewel, however, is the Candy Cane Trail, which fills Freer Field with 800ish metal Christmas trees. In 2024, Candy Cane Trail earned a Guinness World Record for the largest display of illuminated metal structures/sculptures.
Lebanon
Ohio has tons of Christmas parades, but only one is exclusive to horse-drawn carriages. No motorized vehicles or horseback riders are allowed at the Lebanon Horse-Drawn Carriage Parade & Festival, which crosses downtown Lebanon on the first Saturday in December. More than 100 Christmas-themed carriages, pulled by the likes of Clydesdales and Percherons, are viewed by tens of thousands of pedestrians, who also enjoy local vendors, food trucks, a petting zoo, and photos with Santa at Bicentennial Park. If looking to extend your visit with Saint Nick, take the North Pole Express, which offers festive rides with Santa and his elves throughout December.
Gallipolis
Named by TODAY as one of the "Merriest Main Streets," Gallipolis' Second Avenue hosts the Gallipolis Christmas Parade during the first week of December and Ariel’s Merry TUBACHRISTMAS during the second week of December. Yet those merry events pale in comparison to Gallipolis In Lights, which runs from late November to early January in Gallipolis City Park. Sandwiched between Second Avenue and the Ohio River, the park dazzles with thousands of colorful bulbs and hundreds of decorative trees during this months-long fest. Unsurprisingly, Gallipolis In Lights is a stop on the Ohio Holiday Lights Trail.
Dennison
Make Lebanon's North Pole Express an appetizer for the main course Ohio holiday ride: Dennison's POLAR EXPRESS™. Sanctioned by Warner Brothers and operated by the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, this ride reenacts the Polar Express book via decorated coaches, designated storytellers, entertaining elves, scrumptious cookies (baked by Mrs. Claus), and a climactic visit to the North Pole to pick up Santa, who gifts passengers with jingle bells.
THE POLAR EXPRESS™, which departs at various times on eight December days, is part of Christmas in Dreamsville, a 50-day #HallmarkChristmasExperience in downtown Dennison. Other hallmarks include Light Up Dennison and Christkindlmarket.
Cambridge
Having penned the endlessly-adapted classic A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens and his Victorian vibes permeate global Christmas culture. But perhaps nowhere are Christmas festivities so Dickensian as in the little city of Cambridge, Ohio, which operates the Dickens Victorian Village. From November 1 to January 1, downtown Cambridge becomes a scene—rather, 96 scenes—from Victorian England thanks to hand-crafted mannequins, elegant activities like tea parties and carriage rides, authentic Victorian architecture, and Dickens tales. It runs alongside the Guernsey County Courthouse Light Show, which bathes the 1881-built Guernsey County Courthouse in more than 85,000 lights. Travel to Cambridge ASAP for "The Most Unique Holiday Experience in the Midwest."
As you can see, Ohio wastes no time getting festive for the holidays. Virtually all of its small-town downtowns dazzle during December, but also during November in the cases of Clifton and Cambridge, January in the cases of Steubenville and Gallipolis, and every single month in the case of Medina. No matter when you want to travel, Ohio has you covered with holiday cheer, but get there soon for the whole Santa-delivered package.
