Tens of thousands of twinkling bulbs create Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights. The holiday spectacle starts Friday.For most of the year, the all-but-endless views from atop Lookout Mountain are enough to draw visitors in the tens of thousands up the twisting curves of Ochs Highway to the gates of Rock City.
Every holiday season for almost 20 years, however, the gardens get a bit more oomph, courtesy of hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights, creating a nightly spectacle that makes visiting after dark just as spectacular.
The 19th annual Enchanted Garden of Lights celebration starts Friday, Nov. 22, and will continue nightly through Saturday, Jan. 4. Last year’s celebration attracted more than 50,000 guests, an increase of “a few thousand” over 2011, according to Rock City officials.
“Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights is a magical experience for family and friends of all ages,” says Rock City public relations manager Meagan Jolley in a news release. “It’s the ‘North Pole’ of Chattanooga.”
During Enchanted Garden of Lights, Rock City maintains extended evening hours, during which guests pay a slightly higher ticket price for a chance to take in more than 30 glowing “scenes” as they wander the gardens’ 4,100 feet of walking trails.