When it comes to holiday lights, only the Big Apple, Mickey Mouse and the O.C. do it better than Denver, according to Yahoo! Travel.
The website announced its Top 10 Destinations for Holiday Lights today, putting the Mile High City at number four.
The famed Rockefeller Center helped New York City top the list, followed by the Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach, Calif., and Walt Disney World in Orlando.
Writer Elissa Richard offered no rationale for the rankings, other than “we’ve rounded up a merry mix of small towns and sprawling cities that do it best” to display “a sparkling dose of over-the-top holiday spirit.”
She advised those traveling to Colorado’s ski slopes to detour to Denver for its holiday displays, including stops at the “9News Parade of Lights,” the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Zoo.
The Parade of Lights, starting at Civic Center and ending at 14th and Tremont streets, is Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.
The Denver Botanic Gardens’ Trail of Blossoms is Dec. 2 to Jan. 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. nightly.
Denver Zoo lights is Dec. 9 to Jan. 1 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The parade is free, but admission fees apply at the Botanic Gardens and zoo.
Though not mentioned in the Yahoo listing, the city’s Winter in the City holiday campaign officially kicks off Friday at 5:30 p.m. with the Illumination at Denver Union Station.
At 6:30 p.m., the celebration symbolically flips the switch on nearly 600,000 lights from Denver Union Station to the City and County Building.
Skyline Park at 16th and Arapahoe streets will have about 26,000 lights and its 34-foot Christmas tree, and Denver’s historic D&F Tower will also be festooned in holiday lights.
Denver was followed on the Yahoo! list by Chicago; Branson, Mo.; McAdenville, N.C.; the San Antonio, Texas, River Walk; Virginia’s “100 Miles of Lights” that includes Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach; and Baltimore.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
