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One of America's most beloved holiday pastimes involves bundling up and heading out to ooh and aah at all the colorful twinkling holiday lights. Zoos across America are getting in on the fun with their own festive seasonal displays. Once the sun sets and the animals go to bed, these 10 U.S. zoos – voted by our readers as the best from a pool of 20 nominees – celebrate the season with some of the top lights displays around.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Zoo Lights are as follows:
- Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo Zoo - Toledo, Ohio
- Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo - Detroit
- Wild Lights at the Saint Louis Zoo - St. Louis
- Christmas at the Zoo at the Indianapolis Zoo - Indianapolis
- Electric Safari at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - Colorado Springs
- ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo - Phoenix
- Lights Before Christmas at the Riverbanks Zoo - Columbia, S.C.
- Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo - Denver
- LA Zoo Lights at the Los Angeles Zoo - Los Angeles
- ZooLights at the Lincoln Park Zoo - Chicago
Other nominated events included Zoo Lights at the Memphis Zoo, Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo, Zoolights at the Point Defiance Zoo, PNC Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo, Zoo Lights at the Houston Zoo, ZooLights at the Oakland Zoo, ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo, ZooLights at Smithsonian's National Zoo, ZooLights at Utah's Hogle Zoo and WildLights at the Woodland Park Zoo.
Congratulations to all our winning zoo lights, and check out our list of all 2016 holiday zoo events to find a festivity near you.
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The 10Best editorial team selected the 20 nominees... Read More
The 10Best editorial team selected the 20 nominees for Best Zoo Lights from a list of 2016 events provided by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit accreditation organization.
10Best Editors

The 10Best editorial team selected the 20 nominees for Best Zoo Lights from a list of 2016 events provided by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit accreditation organization.