Something we started doing a couple years ago with some of our family is the Wild Winter Lights at the Cleveland Metropark’s Zoo. This runs from November until sometime around the new year. They did this year announce an extra week, the last day is January 7th. You can drive through a couple nights a week and walk the other couple nights. They use over 1.5 million lights, costumed characters, specialty drinks and some food, and carousel rides. The zip line is also open during this event but was sold out this year. Last year most of our party did ride it.
The lights are throughout the main walk areas of the zoo, up to the tiger and bear area, past and around the pond, down the hill and past the elephants back to the entrance of the zoo. Back by the beginning is where most of the costumed characters are. The grinch being my favorite but all of the characters are great and the kids love interacting with them.
If you want to see the animals this is not the event for that. It really is about the lights. Unlike the Asian Lights Festival there are not many animals out. But if you get lucky which we did the snow leopard and the red pandas were out and active. Otherwise we didn’t get to see any other animals.
It takes us a couple hours to walk the zoo. We just take our time and enjoy all there is to see and do. This is a great event whether you do the drive through or walk through. You have a couple more days this year to go enjoy all these beautiful lights and it would be something so fun to do now that the holidays are over.
Have you been to the Metroparks Zoo for Wild Winter Lights? I would love to hear your thoughts.