Photoblog: 8 Cities in the Badlands Christmas Lights Tour

This weekend

Scour the big and little towns in Western North Dakota and you’ll find Christmas Light displays like this.

Dickinson

We couldn’t find a neighborhood of light, and the city doesn’t have a community display, but downtown has a scattering of lights.

Dickinson downtown

Dunn Center

A home in Dunn Center displays Christmas lights.

Arnegard

It doesn’t take long to swing through Arnegard to see Christmas lights. After all, there are only about 150 people who call Arnegard home.

Santa rides into Arnegard on a Ford tractor.

Arnegard’s city park includes a tall Christmas tree.

Dodge

The little town of Dodge, population about 100, doesn’t have much of a community display, but the patriotism of the town is well placed in the midst of the Christmas display on Highway 200.

On Highway 200 is the city display of patriotism and Christmas in Dodge.

On Highway 200 in the little town of Dodge, one family lights up their home.

Belfield

With 1,000 people in Belfield, it’s a bit easier to find one or two well-lit houses. The town doesn’t have a community display, but that doesn’t stop residents from decorating with lights.

One of two homes across from each other in Belfield light up the neighborhood.

Across the street a second house in Belfield is decorated.

Alexander

You have to get off the Highway 85 bypass around Alexander to see the community light display. There at the city park on what used to be Highway 85, next to the landmark public water fountain is a lit up section of town.

Alexander’s park is lit up for Christmas.

Medora

Medora has lights everywhere. On the edge of town the Christmas lights give grazing deer lights to eat by. Downtown, at least one of the residents is a light display to see.

A brightly lit home in Medora.

One of the streets in Medora is well-lit.

Williston

Williston’s light display is featured in national and regional magazines – and there’s a reason why. It’ll cost ya $5.00 which goes to a local public service group such as the Parent Teacher Organization. Then, for the next five or 10 minutes, you can drive through light tunnels and past displays erected by local businesses.

The entrance to the park is one of the tunnels of lights in Williston’s Christmas Lights tour at Spring Lake Park Drive.

One of the drive-by displays is a multi-story castle from the Wizard of Oz.

A Western Star oil rig gushes oil at the Williston Spring Lake Park Drive Christmas display.

Area businesses work together to put together each of the displays at the Williston drive-through Christmas Lights display.

Here are two short video clips of the Williston Christmas Lights Display:

Williston’s Facebook page includes more information.

What did we miss? Got a photo you can share with us?

Got friends in these towns? Let ’em know we were thinking about them.

Merry Christmas!

Mike Kopp

Love to tell stories -- romantic, nostalgic stories of our explorations in the Northern Plains. 15 years a television reporter/anchor, 12 years radio news director, 3 years newspaper editor, 6 years documentary producer -- a lifetime of communication.