Did you know Austin's Trail of Lights has over 2 million lights? See more fun facts

Kelsey Bradshaw, Austin American-Statesman
Updated ·4 min read

It's the best time of the year — the Trail of Lights opened Dec. 8 and will run through Dec. 23.

We caught up with James Russell, executive director of the Trail of Lights Foundation, to talk about all things Trail of Lights last week. Here are some fun facts we learned about this beloved holiday tradition:

Some Trail of Lights decorations have been around since the beginning.

It was not always called the Trail of Lights. "Yule Fest" was held in 1965 and involved the lighting of a yule log and performances by carolers from local choirs. It was held south of Barton Springs Road by the moonlight tower in Zilker Park. The Trail of Lights was part of Yule Fest for years, according to American-Statesman archives.

It evolved from a four-day festival to one that lasts for nearly the entire month of December. The Trail of Lights is now a walking festival, but it used to be a driving one. Cars were eventually edged out, save for 2020 and 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic when the trail was drive-thru only.

Lights shine during the Dec. 1 preview party for the 59th annual Trail of Lights at Zilker Park. The trail features more than 2 million lights, 90 lighted holiday trees and more than 70 other holiday displays.
Lights shine during the Dec. 1 preview party for the 59th annual Trail of Lights at Zilker Park. The trail features more than 2 million lights, 90 lighted holiday trees and more than 70 other holiday displays.

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If you're a Trail of Lights devotee, you know that many of the decorations you see on the trail each December are the same as the year before and the year before and so on. But only a couple have been around since the very beginning, Russell said.

"It's like a 60-year-old time capsule," he said.

Shortly after you enter the trail, you'll find chocolate-covered strawberries with big eyes and mouths with teeth. Those have been around since the 1960s, Russell said. They look like it, too. We don't mean to call the strawberries old. We just mean they look as if they could be from that part of "Grease" in which John Travolta's Danny Zuko sings at the drive-in movie theater and all those food cartoons dance behind him.

"Pop culture had an impact on what they were putting out here at the time," Russell said, pointing to a Santa spaceship display. "I feel confident that's from the ’70s."

Spaceship Santa is among the older Trail of Lights displays. "Pop culture had an impact on what they were putting out here at the time," said James Russell, executive director of the Trail of Lights Foundation. "I feel confident that's from the ’70s."
Spaceship Santa is among the older Trail of Lights displays. "Pop culture had an impact on what they were putting out here at the time," said James Russell, executive director of the Trail of Lights Foundation. "I feel confident that's from the ’70s."

He remembers a dinosaur display and a cow jumping over a moon from when he was a kid visiting the Trail of Lights in the ’80s. The 12 Days of Christmas display has been around since the ’60s.

"As much as Austin changes, it's nice to have something that stays the same, and this is kind of one of them. We take great pride in that," Russell said.

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Today's yule log is made with trees from the Barton Creek greenbelt.

The lighting of a yule log went away at some point because of burn bans and the installation of an irrigation system at Zilker Park, but it returned in 2014. The yule log is on the west side of the park in the sand volleyball court.

Huge logs were waiting last Thursday to be put in the fire pit. The logs were made from felled greenbelt trees.

Visitors wait in line for the Ferris wheel at the Trail of Lights during the preview party Dec. 1.
Visitors wait in line for the Ferris wheel at the Trail of Lights during the preview party Dec. 1.

Trail of Lights setup happens around Halloween.

Setting up the Trail of Lights is a huge undertaking. It takes weeks of preparation and dozens of workers and volunteers. Workers start wrapping trees with strands of LED lights around Halloween, Russell said. The trees in Zilker Park have grown so much over the years that they've had to add more lights and set aside more time to wrap, he said.

The fence on the north side of the park, closest to Lady Bird Lake, is already assembled when setup starts — it is left behind by Austin City Limits Music Festival officials for the Trail of Lights. ACL Fest ends about two weeks before Halloween.

Trail of Lights officials aim to take up as little of Zilker Park as possible, Russell said. Most of the great lawn of the park stays open for daily park users, and fencing doesn't go up until it absolutely has to, he said. The fence perimeter for the Trail of Lights used to go around "Rock Island" in the middle of the park, but that was scaled back.

If you go

  • The Trail of Lights will run through Dec. 23.

  • The event features 2 million lights, 90 lighted holiday trees and more than 70 other holiday displays, including lighted tunnels.

  • Admission to the Trail of Lights is free many nights, including Wednesday through Friday this week and Tuesday of next week. Children 11 years old and under always get in free when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Tickets for everyone else are $8. Special passes start at $25.

  • Shuttle passes are $8, and parking passes are $25.

  • More information can be found at austintrailoflights.org.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Trail of Lights is back at Austin's Zilker Park with millions of lights