Come November each year, a 2.5-mile (4km) trail of lights transforms Huntsville's Botanical Garden into a veritable winter wonderland. Visitors can choose to walk or drive through the display (selected dates apply), which includes twinkling animals, an icicle forest and fairy-tale creations such as Cinderella's Coach (pictured). Wrap up warm and remember to pick up a steaming cup of hot chocolate for the journey.

Running throughout the holiday season, from Thanksgiving through to New Year's Eve, Bright Up the Night is Alaska’s largest drive-through holiday light display, hosted in the grounds of Alaska State Fair in Palmer. The attraction features more than 70 light displays, from snowflakes and snowmen to an arch of light and many more. The drive is nearly a mile (1.6km) long and is sure to spread plenty of festive cheer.

You can get your festive fix from the end of November at Glendale Glitters, which proudly touts itself as the largest free holiday light display in the state. Some 1.6 million shimmering lights are strung over 16 blocks downtown, with live festive entertainment and plenty of fake snow to boot. The Glitter & Glow evening, on the final night of the event, is a definite highlight – thousands descend on the downtown area for a night of music and a fun hot air balloon display.

Lights of the Ozarks sees downtown Fayetteville come ablaze with holiday lights. The kaleidoscopic display, running from mid-November to 1 January, kicks off with the lighting night parade when kitsch festive floats weave through the city centre. Also expect Christmassy activities for kids, live music, carriage rides and plenty of hot chocolate.

This annual holiday event takes place in Solvang, a Californian city that wears its Danish heritage on its sleeve. Over a month-long period, lights festoon Solvang's Danish-style architecture, the Julefest Parade brightens the streets and Santa Claus takes residence in Solvang Park. You can also taste a steaming cup of gløgg (a traditional spicy warm wine) at the Skål Wine and Stein Stroll event and tour the downtown area by candlelight. 

There are few more festive places to spend the holidays than in Vail, an adorable ski resort with gabled buildings galore and celebrated ski trails. The Vail Holidays event runs from mid-December right through the Christmas period and involves a packed roster of festive activities, from the tree-lighting ceremony to thrilling outdoor ice skating shows. On New Year's Eve, don't miss the torchlight parade down the mountain and a fireworks show.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Connecticut's capital is revered year round for its world-class collections, featuring works from European masters and contemporary greats. But, come December, another kind of display pulls in the crowds. For a week and a half, the museum's masterpieces take a backseat to a horde of holiday wreaths and trees, decked out for the season by local organisations and artists.

Taking place at Milton's 18-acre Hudson Fields, Delaware's Winter WonderFEST returns for its seventh year this December, offering a mighty dose of kitsch festive fun. It's tipped as the largest holiday festival in the state. Take a whirl around the mammoth ice rink, then catch an open-air hay ride through the Light Spectacular, a 1.5-mile (2.4km) trail of Christmas lights. You can also ride the carousel or create some holiday crafts at the Christmas village.

Millions of lights adorn the historic city of St Augustine as part of Nights of Lights, a celebration that runs from November until the end of January. See dazzling displays up close on a Nights of Lights tour, which whisks visitors around the spectacle on the Old Town Trolley or the Ripley's Sightseeing Train. The event also includes special evenings such as Light Up! Night – an opening ceremony with live music from the All-Star Orchestra.

Love this? Follow our Facebook page for more travel inspiration

A much-anticipated event in Georgia's capital city, Garden Lights, Holiday Nights brightens Atlanta's Botanical Garden for almost two months. This year, the show will feature new elements, including a new exhibition in the Anne Cox Chambers Garden by French artist Cédric LeBorgne. Visitors can also admire topiary strung with festive bulbs and wander through the bright Tunnel of Light.

If you're after a dose of festive cheer, Hawaii's sun-soaked capital might not be the first place you look, but this city knows how to embrace the holidays. The Honolulu City Lights event starts at the beginning of December, with a family-friendly block party, a tree-lighting ceremony and a holiday concert. The lights stay glittering right up until New Year's Day.

Geared towards families, this celebration at the Idaho Botanical Garden has all the festive frills you could hope for. There are Christmassy music performances and 600,000 lights spread across the beautiful gardens. Little ones have the chance to write letters to Santa Claus and everyone's kept cosy with complimentary hot cocoa and cookies, which can be enjoyed by the fire pits. 

Chicago's Magnificent Mile, with its shops and teetering skyscrapers, is magnificent indeed, especially during the festive season. The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, a two-day event which took place on November 19 this year, jump starts the holiday season in the Windy City, with free concerts, festive face painting, Christmas treats and, of course, lights galore. The event culminates with the tree-lighting parade. There's still time to catch the Christkindlmarket – it's one of the longest-running Christmas markets in the US and also one of the biggest, and runs until December 24 this year.

Dubbed 'America's Christmas hometown', Santa Claus, in southern Indiana, certainly lives up to its festive name. Holiday attractions draw travellers the whole year round but, come December, this Christmassy town really pulls out all the stops. The Santa Claus Christmas Celebration is a three-week festive bonanza including a Festival of Lights, arts and crafts, and the Santa Claus Christmas Parade, when the man himself rides through the streets.

The historic Valley Junction in West Des Moines gets a festive makeover at the end of November. Hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights adorn the district and, on Thursday nights until December 15, visitors can hear carollers, see free entertainment and take advantage of late-night shopping and eating and drinking.

Illuminations at Wichita's botanical gardens has everything you could want from a festive lights display: carollers, cocoa, a carousel and, of course, plenty of Christmas lights – over two million of them, in fact. Wander through the gardens taking in glittering confections, from trees and flowers to giant sea creatures and candy canes, then make s'mores at the fire pits on the main terrace. Note that tickets must be booked in advance.

Looking for a festive lights display with a twist? Lights Under Louisville claims to be the world's only fully underground drive-through Christmas light show, and its subterranean sights will not disappoint. During the season, some six million lights and 40 themed displays take over Louisville Mega Cavern, a mighty cave of around one hundred acres. You can drive through the spectacle in your vehicle or the site's own open-top express trailer.

The Big Easy knows how to throw a party and the holidays are another great excuse to let the good times roll. For more than three decades, NOLA's Celebration in the Oaks has seen rides, fire pits and millions of twinkling lights descend on City Park and its famous moss-covered oaks. The legendary Preview Parties range from a family-friendly event to adult-only shindigs with plenty of festive cocktails and great local food.

This family-focused event takes place on the second December weekend every year. Bringing a healthy measure of festive cheer to Maine's rugged shores, the event includes tree lightings, a bonfire, fireworks craft show and Santa sightings. The highlight is the Christmas parade, stretching all the way from Perkins Cove to the Main Beach.

Discover destinations where Christmas never ends

If you're in Maryland's capital city on the second Saturday in December, you're in for a treat. The Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade draws crowds to the Annapolis Harbor, where they'll see many boats bedecked for the season. Fill up a flask, choose your spot (great options include Eastport Bridge and the City Dock), then watch the vessels sail past adorned with rainbow string lights, reindeers and even sparkling mermaids.

Since 1995, more than six million people have poured in to see Springfield's sprawling Forest Park lit up with Christmas lights. Visitors can drive through the creative displays at Bright Nights, which range from T-rex-filled Jurassic World to Seuss Land, with its glittering depiction of the Grinch. You can also swing by Santa's Magical Forest where little-ones can ride the winter carousel.

One of Michigan's premier attractions, The Henry Ford Museum near Detroit pulls out all the stops at Christmas. The Holiday Nights event sees Greenfield Village, the institution's living history museum, transformed into a Yuletide wonderland. Its streets are aglow with lanterns and filled with the scent of roasted chestnuts. You'll get to tour historic homes bedecked for the season, spin around an ice rink and catch an eye-popping holiday fireworks display.

This holiday festival in downtown Minneapolis lives up to its jaunty name: Holidazzle. Dazzle it does, with loads of twinkly lights, family-friendly rides and a large skating rink taking over Loring Park. Local vendors come out in full force, with carts hawking everything from German-style bratwurst, cheese curds and mini doughnuts to woodwork, candles and cosy mittens. Look out for dazzling displays by artist Christopher Lutter-Gardella – past creations have included a mammoth moose (pictured).

Taking over Gulfport's Jones Park, this festive jamboree runs from late November right through to New Year's Eve. You'll find 1.5 million holiday lights worked into beautiful displays, plus family-friendly rides (including Santa's Big Wheel), Santa's Village and plenty of marshmallow-roasting stations to keep you fuelled for the festivities. The top draw is a show that sees 65-foot-tall (20m) tree sculptures dancing with festive lights. 

Silver Dollar City, a theme park in southwest Missouri, embraces the season with An Old Time Christmas. A highlight of this year is tipped to be the new festive show Coming Home For Christmas. The production features 14 singers and dancers, plus a live four-piece band performing over 18 much-loved holiday tunes. Beyond the stage, there are over 6.5 million lights to see, plus festive food to munch on.

A holiday carnival in one of Montana's biggest cities, the Missoula Parade of Lights sees floats dripping in decorations, a tree-lighting ceremony downtown and an appearance from Father Christmas. The beloved community event is free and there are carollers, cookies and plenty of cocoa too. 

Every year, Omaha's Durham Museum, housed in the impressive Union Station, puts on a much-loved holiday event. The star of the show is the Christmas tree, which soars to 40 feet (12m), heaving under the weight of hundreds of glistening baubles. There's also a concert series and some interesting exhibits too. A favourite is the Holiday Cultural Tree Display which takes a look at holiday traditions around the world.

If you're in Sin City over the holiday season, there's no better place to be than at the Bellagio hotel and casino. Its decorated conservatory and botanical gardens – not to mention its soaring fountains – impress year round, and the festive period is no exception. See the conservatory bedecked for Christmas (past displays have included snow globes, polar bears and light-drenched Christmas trees) and watch the famed fountains dance to holiday music.  

Each year, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon is turned into a Christmas paradise, with more than 3.5 million LED lights warped into some 520 displays and 80 scenes. Race cars are replaced by family-filled motors who drive through the 2.5-mile (4km) light display and its stunning tunnel of lights. Once you've admired the dazzling show, hop out of your vehicle and build some s'mores at the fire pit.

Take a look at the world's most beautiful winter scenes

Cape May takes the holiday season seriously – so much so that the seaside town is transformed into a Dickensian wonderland come the end of November. As part of Christmas in Cape May, gaslights and festive garlands pepper the streets, and Christmas Candlelight House Tours allow visitors to peek inside some of the town's period homes. Make time for a trolley ride around town and a festive wine tasting too.

River of Lights has been running for more than two decades so you're guaranteed to see some spectacular holiday sculptures. This year visitors will be treated to more than 700 light displays, all made by hand, from dinosaurs to dazzling floral spectacles. Upgrade to Santa's Magical Experience which comes complete with hot chocolate, festive stories and a visit to Santa Claus as well as presents for kids, and get creative with some holiday craft workshops too.

This is the most talked-about Christmas event in the Big Apple. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular sees famed precision dance group The Rockettes grace the stage at Radio City Music Hall, as they have done annually since 1933. You have the chance to see them from early November right through to early January, and they're joined by incredible festive stage displays, digital projections and even Saint Nick himself.

America's largest home is a sight to behold whatever the time of year but there's no doubt Biltmore wears the festive season particularly well. A 35-foot (11m) dressed Fraser fir tree stands proud in the Banquet Hall, while a Norwegian spruce soars to 55 feet (17m) in the manicured grounds. Wander among the decorated rooms noticing wreaths, flickering candles and evergreen garlands, and hear Christmas tunes sung by a choir. 

You'll feel as though you've been whisked back into Victorian England and onto the pages of a Dickensian novel at this quaint festival in Garrison. Horse-drawn carriages rattle along the streets and you can even hop aboard the Queen Elizabus (pictured), which sweeps festival-goers around the town. Make time for English high tea, top hat decorating for the kids and a live performance of a Charles Dickens story too. 

Clifton Mill, a historic water-powered grist mill, is visited by history buffs and families the whole year through, but it has garnered nationwide attention for its spectacular holiday display. Come late November, the mill and its surroundings sparkle with around four million lights, including a light 'waterfall' that cascades for 100 feet (30m). You can find a Santa Claus Museum and a nostalgic collection of toys here too.

A 9,000-square-foot (836 sqm) ice rink is the highlight of this Christmassy event, which has taken place in downtown Tulsa for more than a decade. Free to enter, the festival also has a food truck doling out funnel cakes and hot chocolate, and a bar for festival drinks. You can ride the Winter Express train around the periphery of the festival and snap photos with Santa on Sundays.

Spread over 80 acres, the Oregon Garden in Silverton has plenty of space to celebrate the holidays and it uses it very well indeed. Drawing inspiration from classic European-style Christmas markets, Christmas in the Garden boasts dinky stalls, fantastic light displays and a skating rink. Festive thrill-seekers can even have a go at snowless tubing, although you might prefer to hole up with a brew in the family-friendly beer garden.

One of the finest Christmas displays in the States, Koziar's Christmas Village dates back to 1948, when William M. Koziar bedecked his home with elaborate Christmas decorations. Fast-forward more than 70 years and Koziar's house and barn is still aglow with festive lights during the season, as are the surrounding buildings and trees. You can take a self-guided tour of the glittering streets, duck inside buildings to see festive exhibits, buy souvenirs and even pay a visit to Santa Claus.

Newport's trio of sumptuous mansions – The Breakers (pictured), Marble House and The Elms – pull in the crowds year round, and from the end of November to the beginning of January there's extra reason to visit. Towering Christmas trees dot the opulent rooms alongside evergreen wreaths and dining tables lavishly laid out for the holidays, the grounds at The Breakers are transformed into a twinkling wonderland and the Chinese Tea House hosts a holiday brunch.

Four days of festivities kick off in Rock Hill in early December. The Old Town area becomes a holiday wonderland with carollers and horse-drawn carriages dotting the quaint streets. The event is also a celebration of Vernon Grant, a lauded children's illustrator known for his whimsical drawings, including depictions of Santa Claus. Come down for cookie-decorating workshops, a parade, craft market and more.

South Dakota's capital is often overlooked but the city of Pierre comes to life during the holidays. Christmas at the Capitol kicks off with the Grand Tree Lighting Ceremony at the end of November and continues in a flurry of festive musical events, from choir performances to orchestral sets. Best of all, almost one hundred glittering trees stand proud for the season and the capitol grounds get a festive makeover too.

Discover more underrated American cities you should visit here

True to the country songstress herself, the Christmas celebrations at Dolly Parton's eastern Tennessee amusement park are larger than life. The event's crowning jewel is the new Dollywood Express Light Experience with six million lights spreading the Christmas cheer. There are also Christmas shows galore – such as 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and Christmas in the Smokies – plus parades, festive food, light displays and more.

Austin's Trail of Lights has been running for more than half a century so you can count on seeing some awesome displays. The event takes place in Zilker Park, a sprawling urban space best known for its large pool, and sees some two million lights shaped into 70 displays. Beyond the lights, there are family rides, live music performances, bars serving festive drinks and the chance to visit Santa's House in the North Pole.

Once a year downtown Ogden is transformed into a magical Christmas destination with the help of magnificent light displays and plenty of festive cheer. The opening days kicks off with the Santa Run which is followed by a switching-on parade. Then, throughout the month of December, revellers can meet Santa Claus and Mrs Claus, marvel at cottages modelled after Santa's village in the North Pole and enjoy performances at the Ogden Amphitheater.

The city of Alexandria, just across the Potomac from Washington DC, knows how to do Christmas right. A perennial favourite is the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights which takes place in early December. The event sees the city's historic waterfront area glitter with light as boats bedecked for the holidays cruise along the river. On dry land you'll have plenty to keep you busy from musical performances to pop-up food and drink stands.

The picture-perfect town of Stowe is ideal for a Christmas getaway – not least because of A Traditional Christmas in Stowe, a festival taking place in early December. Local resorts such as Stowe Mountain Resort and Spruce Peak get in on the action, putting on festive activities for families, while the decorated downtown area comes to life with lantern parades and wagon rides. If you've never pulled a candy cane or made a wreath, this is your chance too. 

The Bavarian-style town of Leavenworth, in the heart of the Cascades, is a delight year round, but it really comes to life during the festive season. More than 500,000 lights decorate the town (lit in a special ceremony), and on selected evenings you'll find choirs warbling Christmas classics, sledders in Front Street Park and a tent doling out mulled wine. Keep your eyes peeled for Father Christmas too. 

Christmas events don't come much more quaint than this festive celebration in Harpers Ferry, a little town in the far east of West Virginia. The town's cute shops are decorated with lights, ribbons and garlands, and you'll likely glimpse Mr and Mrs Claus wandering the streets. 

Running from the end of November until 30 December, the popular Santa Cruise sails on vast Lake Geneva. You'll begin at the Charities of Christmas Tree Festival where a parade of glittering trees will give you a festive warm up. Then you can climb aboard a boat covered in holiday lights and cruise on over to Santa’s hideaway. It's well worth throwing in a warming dinner at Pier 290.

Discover the bucket-list attraction in every state

Every holiday season Cheyenne lets in people on a little secret – North Pole might be Santa's home but North West Pole in Cheyenne is his old ranching homestead. And so Santa has been visiting the city every December spreading the holiday cheer. There are plenty of festive activities to get involved with, holiday shopping in the downtown and a much-loved Christmas parade that's well worth braving the cold for.

Now take a look at stunning US spots to visit in your RV during winter