The Best Days To Visit Bentleyville In Minnesota To Avoid Enormous Crowds

The Bentleyville Tour of Lights is America’s largest free walk-through lighting display, drawing around 300,000 people each year to Duluth, Minnesota.

Not only do people from everywhere in Minnesota visit Bentleyville, but people from all over the country have made it a winter destination.

It's also earned national and regional honors, including:

• USA Today: Voted #1 Best Public Holiday Lights Display
• Minnesota Parent: Voted #1 for Best Holiday Experience In Minnesota
• Duluth News Tribune Best of Best: Voted #1 for Best Attraction

Recently, USA Today announced its list of the 20 best public light displays in 2025, and Bentleyville Tour of Lights once again has the chance to be voted the best in the country.

Now is the time to plan visits to Bentleyville for the 2025 season, as the attraction opens on Saturday, November 22. If you've ever been to Bentleyville, you know that there are times when the lines to park, walk through, and even visit Santa can be excessively long.

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However, if you want to avoid the largest crowds and longest lines, there are specific days to plan your visit.

The 17 Best Days To Visit Bentleyville To Avoid Enormous Crowds

The 2025 Bentlyville Tour of Lights season is from Saturday, November 22, through Sunday, December 27. It's open Sunday to Thursday from 5 PM to 9 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 5 PM to 10 PM.

Organizers acknowledge that the busiest times to visit are weekends (Friday and Saturday), especially early in the evening when the lights first turn on, and close to the holidays.

While weather can play a role, if you want a less crowded experience, these are the 17 days to target:

• Monday, November 24
• Tuesday, November 25
• Wednesday, November 26
• Monday, December 1
• Tuesday, December 2
• Wednesday, December 3
• Thursday, December 4
• Monday, December 8
• Tuesday, December 9
• Wednesday, December 10
• Thursday, December 11
• Monday, December 15
• Tuesday, December 16
• Wednesday, December 17
• Monday, December 22
• Tuesday, December 23
• Thursday, December 24 (Open from 5 pm to 9 pm, and the last chance to visit Santa)

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If the only days you can visit Bentleyville are Fridays or Saturdays, then try to be there later in the evening, after 8:45 PM, when there are generally fewer people.