
Top Christmas Experiences in Hershey
One of the Top Christmas Experiences in Hershey is to drive through over two miles of wooded trails, while gazing at illuminated and animated displays from the comfort of your own car, in addition to tuning your radio to holiday music.
Hershey Sweet Lights
- Thrill to nearly 600 animated light displays!
- A separate admission ticket per vehicle is required and can be purchased at the entrance. No advance reservation required.
- Open November 14, 2025 – January 4, 2026.
- Hershey Sweet Lights® is located at 1183 Sand Beach Road, Hershey.

Hersheypark Christmas Candylane – 5 Million + Lights! Live Reindeer!
On nearly everyone’s list of top Christmas experiences in Hershey is the long popular Christmas Candyland, where Hersheypark opens to a magical experience featuring carolers, holiday theatrical presentations, as well as these exciting features:
- Lights: Stroll through more than 5 million twinkling lights and enjoy the “NOEL” light show with dancing lights choreographed to holiday music.
- Rides and coasters: A selection of rides and roller coasters will be open, weather permitting. Coasters include Wildcat’s Revenge, Candymonium, and Laff Trakk, with many featuring special holiday light packages.
- Characters and entertainment: Meet the Hershey Characters in their holiday attire and visit Santa Claus as well as all nine of his live reindeer.
- Food and drink: Indulge in seasonal delights and warm up with signature hot chocolate.
- Everything in One Unforgettable Experience
- Every admission ticket includes family rides & select coasters, strolls through TREEvilleSM trail, 5 million twinkling lights, visits with Santa, and so much “holiday happy!”

Easiest Way to Enjoy!
Using Annville Inn as your headquarters, you are just a short distance from Hersheypark and Hershey’s Chocolate World, the epicenters of Top Christmas Experiences in Hershey. Start new traditions you can look forward to at Christmas time each year as well as cherishing “old favorite experience” at Hersheypark Christmas Candylane® events. Experience the wonder of rides & select coasters, sip a delicious hot chocolate while strolling through more than 5 million twinkling lights, and meet the Hershey Characters in their holiday best! The TREEvilleSM trail is magical, and of course one must pay a special visit to Santa and his nine live reindeer!
Included In Your Ticket to this Top Christmas Experience in Hershey:
- Admission to Hersheypark in addition to ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park are included in every Park ticket.
- Enjoy dining, shopping, and delicious treats across the Park during Christmas Candylane.
Santa & His Reindeer
Did you know Santa and all nine of his reindeer make a special stop at Hersheypark Christmas Candylane each year?
Thrill to an up-close look at your favorite reindeer, including Rudolph, at Santa’s Reindeer Stables.
Santa’s Reindeer Stables has something new! An expanded viewing platform.

Hershey’s Chocolate World
Your Top Christmas Experience in Hershey can Include Chocolate World!
Step inside a sweet experience for your senses, where there’s chocolate in the air and dessert is always on the menu. Sip milkshakes, become a “chocolatier” by designing your own candy bar! Be a kid in a candy store …
Whether it’s a stop before or after Hersheypark’s Christmas Candylane,Hershey’s Chocolate World is bustling with sweet holiday fun! Take the free Chocolate Tour where you will learn about how The Hershey Company makes your favorite delectable delights. See, touch, hear, smell, and taste chocolate at the interactive tasting attraction: Hershey’s Unwrapped.
Part of your Top Christmas Experience in Hershey, at Chocolate World, would surely include the Holiday Chocolate House, and you will usually find Santa there as well.
Santa Claus usually finds a place to sit in front of the annual Hershey’s Christmas Holiday Chocolate House; a magnificent holiday exhibit decorated entirely with Hershey’s chocolate and confections!
This blog post is focused on Christmas at Hershey, but there is so much more in our region including Christkindlmarkts, Christmas Symphony Concerts, astonishing shows at American Music Theatre and Sight N Sound, both in Lancaster, Kozier’s Christmas Village with more lights on display than anywhere else in North America…live nativity presentations, Christmas eve concerts and services throughout the Valley (our favorite is at a cathedral in Lebanon, next door to Annville). And…much, much more. No wonder we have Guests that have come every year at Christmas for 20 years—there is always something to explore, to enjoy, and new memories to be made!
Enjoy your stay here at Hershey’s Five Star Annville Inn, famous for
- Rosalie’s breakfasts and hospitality
- Our quiet country elegance
- Amazing views…
And more amenities than most inns:
- Full sized in-ground swimming pool
- Six-person hot tub
- 20-seat movie theatre with Dolby 7.1 Surround just like at the “movies”
- Plant conservatory glassed in on all sides with a wood burning fireplace for winter
- Three acres of botanical gardens with over 600 roses and 10,000 bulbs.
- Large game room with pool table
- Three dining areas for breakfast,
- Jacuzzis in Guest Rooms,
- Most rooms with private entrances and decks
- Fireplaces in all rooms
- King and queen beds throughout
- …and much more to enjoy at Annville Inn!
