Listen to Christmas music, as you check out the North Pole and drive under jumping deer at the Winter Wonderland in Tilles Park in Ladue.
This St. Louis area holiday tradition began in 1987. Glimmering lights are fashioned into over 100 displays of festive characters and winter scenes in seventy-five acres of parkland.
At the Entrance
You can only enter the Christmas drive-through display from southbound Litzsinger at the McKnight Road entrance to Tilles Park.
Stay on the far right of southbound Litzsinger so you don’t back up traffic. You wait here until they are ready for you to enter. I came early at 5 p.m. to avoid the crowds and was third in line.
A decorated stone gatehouse can be seen on the far right.
Next, I came to the ticket booth and paid them the entrance fee of $20 cash.
The Drive
On my right, I notice the sign for Winter Wonderland Music at 90.1 FM and turn the dial to this station.
I came to the park sign and went to the right of it to start the drive. (Main Photo).
HOW TO ENTER WINTERLAND OF LIGHTS AT TILLES PARK
Drive: Take Exit 30 off of Interstate 64 go south on McKnight Road and look for the park entrance on the right just before Litzsinger Road. Vehicular traffic should stay to the right and enter the park from the McKnight Road entrance gate. All traffic will exit the park from the Litzsinger Road exit gate.
Address: 9551 Litzsinger Rd, Ladue, MO 63124
Admission
$20-Family Vehicle- Cash only if you pay at the gate. You can also reserve online for an additional $3 service fee.
Hours
The display will open November 27 and run through December 30 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (closed, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve). The busiest hour of the night is usually 6:30-7:30 p.m. If you can arrive earlier or later than that, you’re likely to have less of a wait.
MORE ST. LOUIS AREA CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Seeing Christmas Lights on Candy Cane Lane
During the holiday season, the St. Louis Hills neighborhood along the 6500 block of Murdoch Avenue lights up with hundreds of strands of Christmas lights to become Candy Cane Lane.
See Lebanon’s Winter Wonderland of Lights
Whimsical Christmas lights reflecting off a lake are found at Lebanon’s Winter Wonderland drive-thru light display at Horner Park.
BOTH TILLES PARKS IN SNOW
This is the tale of two Tilles Parks, one located in Ladue, Mo., and one in St. Louis city, and their shared origin.