Two Local Towns Ranked Among Best U.S. Holiday Spots

If you’re the kind of person who starts counting down to the holidays before the Halloween candy is even gone, congratulations, your time has officially arrived. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it turns out our little corner of the Ark-La-Tex has plenty of national bragging rights to go around.

Two of our favorite nearby weekend getaway spots just made a major national list of small towns that go absolutely overboard for Christmas. And honestly? We wear that title nice and loud around here!

Home Stratosphere recently released their official ranking of the "30 Best Small Towns to Visit That Go Overboard for Christmas." To build the list, they evaluated over 60 historic communities across the country, scoring them on everything from festival scale and local tradition to downtown walkability and local shops.

Our neighbors right across the state line in Marshall, Texas, secured the  Number 25 spot thanks to their legendary Wonderland of Lights. What started back in 1987 as a simple proposal to light up the historic Harrison County Courthouse has exploded into a massive festival drawing around 75,000 visitors every season. With ice skating, carriage rides, a vintage carousel, and millions of twinkling lights surrounding the square, it’s an absolute must-visit for families.

Krystal Montez, Townsquare Media

Meanwhile, coming in at an incredible Number 3 spot on the national list is our very own Natchitoches, Louisiana! Are we a little shocked they didn’t take the #1 crown overall? Absolutely. But landing in the top three out of the entire United States is pretty darn impressive.

Krystal Montez, Townsquare Media

Since 1927, Natchitoches has been putting on a holiday masterclass. Today, their six-week celebration lights up the Cane River Lake riverfront with over 300,000 glowing lights and 100 set pieces, capped off by their famous parade and fireworks. The only two towns that managed to edge out Natchitoches were historic Williamsburg, Virginia Number 2 and coastal Newport, Rhode Island came in at Number 1.

Whether you’re heading to Texas or staying in Louisiana, we’re lucky to have world-class holiday magic right in our backyard!