High Point University's free Christmas Drive runs eight nights, Dec. 19-26, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Cars enter on North University Parkway; get in line early.

High Point University’s free Christmas Drive will run from Saturday, Dec. 19, to Saturday, Dec. 26. Cars can drive through the lit campus from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. each night.

The university posted the 2026 dates on its Christmas lights page this week. The event is free, and HPU’s advice is to “plan to get in line early.”

What you will see

The page lists what is on the route:

  • more than 100,000 Christmas lights
  • a life-size Nativity scene
  • 236 nutcrackers
  • two Christmas trees, 70 feet and 58 feet tall, which HPU calls the Triad’s two largest

Last season, guests also tuned their car radios to a station playing carols performed by students and faculty from HPU’s Department of Music. That is according to the university’s January report on the 2025 drive. HPU has not yet said whether the radio program returns this year.

A record crowd last year

Nearly 33,000 people drove through during the 2025 Christmas Drive, the university said. It called that the largest turnout since it began hosting the free event more than a decade ago. Last year’s drive was the 14th, and it also ran eight nights in a row, Dec. 20-27.

How to get there

The university gives this route:

  • Enter at the North University Parkway entrance.
  • Exit at Panther Drive onto Lexington Avenue, by the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center.
  • Line up from N.C. 68 onto University Parkway, as HPU’s map directs.

The campus address is 1 University Parkway.

What it means for you

If you want to see the lights, put any of the eight nights from Dec. 19 to Dec. 26 in your calendar. Arrive close to 5:30 p.m. if you can, and expect to wait in your car. There is no ticket and no charge.

If you live or drive near North University Parkway or Lexington Avenue, expect heavier evening traffic on those roads that week.

The drive is one of several free holiday events in town. Our holiday lights and Christmas events guide covers Winter WonderPark at City Lake Park and Kersey Valley Christmas in Archdale, about six miles south. The parade and tree lighting are on our Christmas parade page, and stage shows are on our Nutcracker and holiday shows page.