Where can you find the best Christmas lights in Centre County? 20+ can’t-miss spots
Centre County has come together for another holiday season to create home light displays certain to dazzle passersby.
We asked readers to submit their favorite displays, and the Centre Daily Times is traversing the county to capture the best of the best. We will continue to accept submissions via this Google Form throughout the holiday season.
Below are some of the best light displays you can see now, for free, roughly from west to east.
1284 Bald Eagle Pike, Tyrone
A long driveway of light-wrapped trees leads to a color explosion. The house and detached garage both have their roofs and doors lined with bright lights, while huge wreaths and ornaments the size of yoga balls adorn the house’s front face. Two inflatables — that may or may not be buried under snow — greet visitors at the end of the driveway.
Note that the roads leading to the property are narrow, windy, lack pavement markings and need more salt.
Parking: There isn’t much of a shoulder, but judging by the tire tracks in the snow, people park partially on the grass. Put your hazard lights on and wear a reflective vest.
111 Sheffield St., Philipsburg
Soft white icicle lights drip from the roofline and doorways at this house, and the windows are decked out with lit garlands and festive ribbons. Trees outside the house are also lit, and there are a handful of classy accent decorations, such as a reindeer. Amber Vesnesky, the owner, said the house reminds some people of a gingerbread house.
Parking: Street parking is available.
330, 510 and 545 Flat Rock Road, Port Matilda
The three houses are owned by the Bell-Woodward family, Bill Bell at 510 Flat Rock, his daughter Angel Woodward at 545 and her daughter, Skyler Woodward, at 330. The elder Woodward told the Centre Daily Times that decorating can be competitive.
The decorations at 330 Flat Rock are an exercise in restraint, with soft white lights lining the front porch and roof. Each post on the porch is covered by a large candy cane decoration, and several wreaths are placed on the roof and windows.
The house at 510 Flat Rock is much more colorful, with a large Grinch (formerly inflatable, now stuffed with insulation) greeting visitors at the top of the light-topped driveway beside an old phone booth. The pièce de résistance is the roof, which has “Merry Christmas to All” spelled out atop it in white lights. Angel Woodward said the roof tradition started 38 years ago when she, without permission, attached lights to her father’s roof with a staple gun. Bell, 70, decorates the roof himself nowadays.
Classic red, green and white lights adorn every building at 545 Flat Rock, across the street. Santa and his reindeer, led by a blinking, red-nosed Rudolph, sit out front alongside gingerbread men. The detached garage has massive stockings hung on it, along with a large wreath. Woodward said the display raises her electricity bill by about $200.
Accessing the three properties can be tricky, as they sit just off the curvy, 55 mph speed limit U.S. Route 322 East.
Parking: Visitors can park in the driveways of the properties, Woodward said.
311 Deibler Road, Pennsylvania Furnace
A star-topped grain silo. Adorable.
Parking: This is more of a drive-by kind of situation.
3051 W. Whitehall Road, Pennsylvania Furnace
Tens of thousands of lights — perhaps visible from space — shine at this property, a recurring character in Centre County Christmas light lore. Light illustrations of an ambulance and a train supplement inflatables, and children can leave letters to Santa Claus in the North Pole Express mailbox (it was empty when the CDT visited). The roof wishes visitors a merry Christmas.
Parking: The shoulder is large enough for a car. Put on your hazard lights and wear a reflective vest if you’re going to stop and get out.
Sparks Street, State College
Several houses on Sparks Street collaborate on a “12 Days of Christmas” display each year. As of Thursday, there are four calling birds, six geese a-laying, seven swans a-swimming, eight maids a-milking, 11 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming.
Parking: Street parking is available.
360 N. Burrowes Road, State College
The Alpha Zeta fraternity house at Penn State has something of a Western theme, with a large snowman cowboy and a red tractor wrapped in lights. White and multicolored lights climb the house’s Tuscan pillars, and the large “AZ” on the roof is also lit.
Parking: You can park for free in State College during the evenings through Jan. 4 and walk to the house.
1231 Shamrock Ave., State College
Close to 100 lit-up characters — dozens of snowmen, the Grinch, a cactus — take up the entire front lawn here, and are guarded by a white picket fence hand painted to resemble snowmen. The house itself, with hundreds of rainbow bulbs wrapping around the windows, is comparatively bare.
Passersby hoping to enhance their viewing experience can turn their radios to 105.3 FM for Christmas music.
Parking: Street parking across the street should be OK.
521 Squirrel Drive, State College
This property keeps it classy, with garlands and white lights wrapping the house and softly lit decorations out front.
Parking: The house is on a residential street without much of a shoulder. Pull off of it as far as possible and put your hazard lights on.
Steeplechase neighborhood, Pleasant Gap
The neighborhood is a gold mine for Christmas light enjoyers, with around one in five houses having at least some decorations. The house at 213 N. Vanessa Drive has a maximalist display of inflatables and lights on the front lawn, with appearances by the Grinch, Snoopy and Santa Claus, among others. On the flip side, 177 Arbor Bluff Drive has quaint, hand-painted Peanuts decorations.
Parking: Street parking is available.
300 Irish Hollow Road, Bellefonte
The house itself isn’t the attraction, but the old Bellefonte Central caboose across the street. The train car is driven by Santa Claus and dressed in white lights. Santa’s reindeer pull the train car.
Parking: It’s a windy road without a shoulder. Please do not park.
668 and 678 N. Harrison Road, Pleasant Gap
The two homes are a bit of a yin and yang. The one at 668 N. Harrison Road has its entire roof covered in red and white lights, and the property is fronted by a large Nativity scene. The display at 678 is much simpler: a black sign wrapped in red lights wishing for Pittsburgh sports teams that don’t suck.
Parking: There is a generous shoulder.
1291 Pine Circle, Bellefonte
The display here depicts Peanuts characters skating on a pond. Schroeder plays the piano, while Lucy mans a psychiatric help booth. The house itself is conservatively lit, with the pillars by the front wrapped in garland and the roof lined with lights.
The owner, Nancy Saxton-Mattie, asked that visitors not enter the display because there is a dog on-site.
305 and 308 Pleasantview Blvd., Milesburg
Located across the street from each other, the two houses stick largely to classic Christmas colors and have few moving lights. The entire perimeter of 308’s front lawn is bound by candy cane lights, and even the rear of the house is decorated. 305 features a live countdown to Christmas and a hypnotizing spinning snowflake decoration.
Parking: Street parking is available.
157 Oklawaha St., Milesburg
A maximalist display of lights of every color, with some neat details hidden throughout. The house itself can be difficult to see under the lights, which are on from 5 to 10 p.m. on weekdays and until 11 p.m. on weekends.
Parking: The driveway to the left of the house.
144 E. Main St., Millheim
A rainbow light show runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The show is synchronized with the music broadcast on 91.1, and a short message on the station states that viewers can request a song online if they don’t like the owners’ taste.
Parking: Park on the shoulder across the street and turn on your hazard lights.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
