The Ankeny Brief
When the temperature drops and the calendar hits December, central Iowa lights up. Ankeny has its own beloved neighborhood display, and two of the metro's biggest light shows are a short drive away. Here's where to go, whether you want to stay in the warm car or bundle up and walk.
The local favorite is Gingerbread Lane on Richland Court in Ankeny, where 30-plus homes decorate together every December, free to drive past. For the big shows, Jolly Holiday Lights is a drive-through at the Iowa State Fairgrounds (and it supports Make-A-Wish Iowa), and Reiman Gardens in Ames does a ticketed walk-through with more than 150,000 lights.
Gingerbread Lane, on Richland Court, is the display Ankeny is known for. More than 30 homes go all out together, many with handmade gingerbread-themed displays and thousands of twinkling lights. It's a longtime tradition, it's free, and you can roll through slowly with the heat on or park and walk. Go on a weeknight if you want to avoid the weekend crawl.
Beyond that one street, plenty of Ankeny neighborhoods put on a show. A slow evening loop through the older Uptown blocks and the newer subdivisions turns up plenty of over-the-top houses. Bring cocoa and make it the whole outing.
Jolly Holiday Lights transforms the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines into a drive-through of tunnels, arches, and animated scenes, about a 15 to 20 minute drive from Ankeny. It's a central Iowa tradition going back more than 20 years, and here's the best part: ticket sales benefit Make-A-Wish Iowa, so your night out helps grant wishes for local kids.
You stay in your car the whole time, which makes it the easy pick with little kids or on a bitter-cold night. It typically opens in late November and runs through early January, in the evenings. Dates, hours, and the per-car price change year to year, so confirm the current season at jollyholiday-lights.com before you go.
If you'd rather stroll than drive, Reiman Gardens in Ames, about 30 minutes north, runs Winter Wonderscape, a walk-through with more than 150,000 lights strung across its 17 acres of gardens. It's ticketed, it's outdoors, and it's genuinely beautiful. Dress warm, and check current dates and admission before you make the trip.
Lights pair with dinner and something warm. Grab a bite first from our best restaurants list, warm up with a cocoa or coffee, then cruise Gingerbread Lane on the way home. For more cold-weather ideas, see our winter in Ankeny guide and the family-friendly holiday events and trick-or-treat rundown. Doing a real tree this year? The choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms near Ankeny are in that guide too.
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The local favorite is Gingerbread Lane on Richland Court, where 30-plus homes go all out with gingerbread-themed displays every December. Many other Ankeny neighborhoods light up too, so a slow evening drive is worth it. For bigger displays, the Jolly Holiday Lights drive-through and the Reiman Gardens walk-through are both a short drive away.
A longtime Ankeny tradition on Richland Court, where more than 30 homes decorate together, many with handmade gingerbread-themed displays and thousands of lights. It's free to drive or walk past and draws visitors from around the metro each December.
A drive-through display at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, about 15 to 20 minutes from Ankeny. It's run more than 20 years, and ticket sales benefit Make-A-Wish Iowa. It typically opens late November and runs through early January, evenings. Confirm the current dates, hours, and price at jollyholiday-lights.com.
Yes. Reiman Gardens in Ames, about 30 minutes north, runs Winter Wonderscape, a ticketed walk-through with more than 150,000 lights across 17 acres. Bundle up, and check current dates and admission before you go.
Most displays open around Thanksgiving weekend in late November and run through early January. Neighborhood displays like Gingerbread Lane come alive in December. Dates shift each year, so confirm before you head out.