Before the Cars Arrive, Watkins' 40th Festival of Lights Opens to Runners and Bikes for One Weekend

How many years have you watched the Festival of Lights through a windshield? Watkins Regional Park describes the show as one you enjoy "from the comfort of your own car," and the full season keeps that setup. There are two exceptions this year. On Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22, the trail at 301 Watkins Park Drive opens to people on foot and on bikes, before the 40th season opens to cars on Friday, November 27.

The displays are the same ones you'll drive past a week later.

A trail laid out for headlights

The festival's home page sets the scale: more than five million lights along a three-mile driving trail, open nightly through New Year's Day. Everything about the car season is built around the vehicle. You come in at the patron entrance on Route 202. Admission is a flat rate per vehicle, set by its typical seating capacity, so the count of people inside doesn't matter. A standard car costs $20 at the gate, cash or card.

During the car season, the only way to see the lights without your own car is a wagon ride. Tickets are sold online only, at $15 per adult and $10 per child. You need to be at the gate an hour before your reservation, and there are no refunds for missed or canceled rides.

So for most of its five weeks, the trail is something you watch from a moving seat. The two November nights change that.

Saturday: three miles on foot, and a turkey for someone else

Trot for a Turkey runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. It's a walk or run along a course of almost three miles through the displays. Watkins presents it as a chance to see displays you've only ever driven past "up close," and notes that visitors have driven through the festival for more than 30 years.

Registration is $35 per person, and the park says each fee provides a holiday turkey for a family in need. That makes it the priciest way onto the trail this season, but it's also the only one where your ticket pays for someone else's Thanksgiving dinner.

The event is open to all ages. The two-hour window works out to a relaxed walk for a three-mile course. Runners get the same displays faster, but that's a choice, not a requirement. Questions go to the Park Ranger office at 301-627-7755 or [email protected].

Sunday: the same loop at bike speed

The next evening, Bikes and Lights gives the trail to cyclists from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 22. No vehicles are allowed on the festival roads during the event.

The rules are short and strict. Every rider needs a helmet and a bike light. Tickets are $5 per rider, and children riding in a tagalong, a bike seat or a trailer ride free. Parks and Recreation calls it a popular event with limited space.

The free-child rule is what makes the math work for families. Two adults towing a preschooler in a trailer pay $10 total. That's half the price of one standard car on any night of the drive-through season, and the family gets to stop at any display for as long as they want.

What each way through the lights costs a household of four

The county's own prices make the comparison easy. Here's two adults and two children, taking each option at its listed price:

The car is still the bargain for a carload of grandparents. For a family that already rides together, Sunday's bike night costs the same as the car or less, and it's the only option where you set the pace. The Trot costs the most because part of every fee goes to the turkey program.

The deadlines fall before most people think about the lights

Both car-free nights need advance registration through Prince George's County Parks, and they close on different clocks. As of the county's late-October listings, both events showed open spots. In order:

1. Thursday, November 5, by 5 p.m.: registration closes for the 30th Annual Jug Bay Run/Walk for Wildlife at Patuxent River Park, 16000 Croom Airport Road, held Saturday, November 7, from 9 to 11 a.m. It's the other car-free outing on Upper Marlboro's November calendar. The course is mostly flat paved and dirt roads along the Patuxent, with certified 5K and 10K runs at $25 and a 3K walk at $20. Proceeds support conservation, research and education in the Patuxent River watershed.
2. Friday, November 20, before noon: registration closes for Trot for a Turkey, about 30 hours before the event starts.
3. Sunday, November 22, before 5 p.m.: registration closes for Bikes and Lights, the same hour the ride begins. With limited space, waiting until Sunday afternoon means hoping spots are left.

The Trot's Friday-noon cutoff is the easiest one to miss. A Saturday-night walk feels like a decision you can make Saturday afternoon, but the registration window has already closed by then.

Seeing the new displays before the traffic

This is the festival's 40th season, and Watkins is marking it with new work. The festival page promises "over 90+ new displays." The Bikes and Lights listing advertises more than 100. Either way, the trail has dozens of pieces nobody has seen yet. The weekend of November 21 and 22 is the first public look at them, and the only time you can stop in front of one without a line of headlights behind you.

The same lights stay up through Friday, January 1, 2027. The Route 202 entrance opens at 5:30 p.m. and closes at 9:30 p.m. nightly. New Year's Day is free. Through the season, the festival collects hats, scarves, gloves and socks for nearby shelters, though the park says a donation doesn't guarantee admission.

If you're planning both a car-free night and a drive-through, a few practical points from the county's listings:

• Pack a helmet and a working bike light for every rider on Sunday, including anyone pedaling a tagalong.
• Bring cash or a card for car nights, since admission is sold only at the gate.
• Buy wagon ride tickets online ahead of time, and plan to reach the gate an hour before your slot.
• Leave a hat or a pair of gloves in the car for the shelter donation.

At The Dapo Group, we love the traditions that make Prince George's County feel like home, and Watkins' 40th season is one of them. If friends or family are thinking about putting down roots near Upper Marlboro and want to know what a November weekend here really looks like, book a discovery call and we'll talk it through.