Okefenokee Swamp Park Christmas Lights

Over a year ago, I visited the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross, GA, and wasn’t too impressed. The folks at the park saw my bad review and invited me back to re-experience it, which I finally managed to do at the beginning of December and which I write all about here. (The short version: I’m much more impressed. And fell head over heels for the swamp itself. )

Okefenokee Swamp Park Christmas Lights

As part of my trip back to Okefenokee Swamp Park, they gave me tickets for their 2021 Christmas light show. I did receive these tickets for free, just to be fully transparent about it all.

Now, I have recently been to see the Christmas lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and at various Disney and Universal resort hotels. Compared to those, the Okefenokee Swamp Park lights are on a much smaller scale. Even so, it’s very a sweet display and you can tell they’ve put in a lot of work.

As part of the evening, not only is the park decorated, the park buildings are open for viewing, there’s a holiday train, campfires for s’mores, a small kiddie train ride, and a brass band playing holiday tunes.

Holiday Train

My first stop at the party is the holiday train. This is the regular park train with some fun light displays, a Christmas music soundtrack, and (an all-too-short) light tunnel. My favorite is a view across a small lake of Santa in his sleigh pulled by alligators – and the front gator has a red nose.

The train moves slowly in general, so everyone can get a good look at the lights. In fact, the train goes backward sometimes! Since we’re in the swamp, the train tracks get covered in condensation and get too slippery for the train wheels, so sometimes the train backs up and tries again. I found myself relieved when we made it all the way around – there were moments I wasn’t sure we would make it! (Though I’m sure they haven’t lost anyone yet.)

Other Activities

The train is the big attraction for the night (and you get a nice big “north pole express” style ticket for it.) But there’s also a great little brass band that plays live music periodically through the evening. And the central snack shop close by is open with options from a full dinner to small snacks and hot drinks. Two fire pits are available to make s’mores or to just stand around and warm up.

All the museum-style buildings are open during the event. This includes a bee-keeping history and a replica of a huge gator called Old Roy. A natural history hallway with several reptiles (including baby gators!) is on display. One room is a small theater with Christmas movies on repeat. Another building houses cross-sections of old cypress trees so you can see how big they were, plus a model Christmas train village.

Behind the snack shop is a little train ride for children. The small track surrounds a few fun Christmas inflatables.

Park Decorations

In general, the park has tons of lights and most of the fun is just in walking around. There are a few photo ops, like a heart and a wall of lights good for Instagram photos. My favorite part is a quiet section where the alligator pens are (“animal ambassadors” says the sign.) Instead of string lights, they project green specks all the way up into the cypress trees and the effect is really magical.

Visiting the 2021 Light Show

The Okefenokee Swamp Park Christmas lights are on display from November 26 to December 30, 2021, from 6-9 pm most evenings but not Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Click on “tickets” to see the calendar for availability.

Tickets cost $14 per person, which makes it a bit of a savings to see the park in general. During the day, it would cost between $15-20, excluding the boat tour.

Final Thoughts

I mentioned that this display isn’t nearly as showy as some others I’ve seen lately, and I think that’s what I like most about it. It’s not so…exhausting. It’s just a nice, low-key night out with a few experiences to add to your family’s memories. (And I really did like that swamp-projection section.) It also seems like a good activity if you’re worried about Covid. Almost everything is outside and the museum buildings are generally one-way. I definitely recommend it if you’re anywhere near the area for a fun night out.