Walking the Dyker Heights lights block by block
The Dyker Heights lights cover a smaller area than most visitors expect. A handful of streets hold nearly all the big displays, and you can walk the core in about an hour. This guide shows where they are and what you will see on them, then gives a loop that avoids doubling back.
A small grid of streets
The main displays fill a few streets, 83rd through 86th, on the stretch from 11th to 13th Avenue. That is a compact grid of residential blocks, mostly detached houses with front yards and steps.
Outside that grid you will still find lit homes, but they thin out quickly. If you have only an hour, keep to these streets rather than chasing single houses further away.
The area sits in southwest Brooklyn with Bay Ridge to one side and Bensonhurst to the other. Our subway guide explains how to reach it from the R and D trains on your own.
84th Street draws the crowds
84th Street is the busiest of the lit streets. On a December weekend the sidewalks there fill first, as tour groups jostle with families and photographers all heading the same way.
Lucy Spata's house on 84th Street is the one the tour listings credit with starting the tradition in the 1980s. Our history guide tells how one home turned into a neighborhood habit.
Visit 84th Street early in your walk, while you still have the energy to wait for a clear view. Later in the evening the crowd moves at its own pace, not yours.
If the crowd is too thick, cross to the other sidewalk. You often get a better view of the whole house from across the street anyway.
What stands on the lawns
The displays lean big and bold rather than subtle. Expect life-size and giant nutcrackers guarding the steps and Santas perched on porches and rooftops. Toy soldiers line up along fences, and angels glow in white.
Inflatables fill the gaps on many lawns, and some houses play Christmas music from speakers by the door. Other homes go for thousands of plain white or gold bulbs wrapped around trees and railings.
No two houses on a block match, which is half the fun. Some residents reportedly hire professional decorators, and you can often tell which displays had help.
Many displays change a little from one December to the next as owners add figures or swap themes. Do not expect to find exactly what an old photo online showed.
A loop that avoids doubling back
Start at one corner of the grid (83rd Street and 11th Avenue works well) and walk the full length of 83rd toward 13th Avenue. Turn onto 84th Street and walk it back the other way.
Carry on with the same zigzag along 85th and 86th Street. Four streets end to end, with stops for photos, take about an hour at an easy pace.
Use the avenues to cut across when a block is too crowded to enjoy. The side streets are often quieter and hide a few good displays of their own.
If you came by subway, finish the loop on the side nearest your station. That saves a backtrack through the grid when your legs are tired.
- 83rd Street: a calmer warm-up before the crowds
- 84th Street: the busiest, with Lucy Spata's house
- 85th Street: worth a slow walk in both directions
- 86th Street: the southern edge of the main grid
Walking the streets with a guide
Buses cannot enter these narrow streets, so every tour parks nearby and you walk. Scatto a New York's tour from ~$63 walks the two most lit streets with a guide for about an hour.
The guide picks the order, tells the stories behind the houses and keeps the group moving through the crowd. You lose the freedom to linger, but you will not miss the main displays.
Viator asks guests to arrive 15 minutes early at 566 10th Avenue. The walk itself starts once the bus has parked near the lit blocks.
An hour on the brightest streets with someone who knows them
Scatto a New York parks by the lit blocks, walks the two busiest streets with a guide and stops for the skyline on the way back.
The private limo allows 30 to 40 minutes on foot. That covers one or two streets. Our limo guide explains who that shorter walk suits.
Photos without the crowd in them
Arrive soon after dark, when the lights are on and the sidewalks are still fairly open. Our guide to the calmer nights shows which evenings help most.
Shoot from the sidewalk and never from a lawn or the front steps. A wide angle fits a whole house in, while a close shot of one nutcracker tells more than a blurry crowd scene.
Turn off the flash, which only lights the nearest coat and flattens the display. Hold the phone steady with both hands for sharper night shots.
Cold drains phone batteries fast, so carry a power bank in an inside pocket. Our etiquette guide covers the houses that ask for no photos.
Respect the people who live here
These are homes, not a theme park. Stay on the sidewalk and keep driveways clear. As the evening gets later, lower your voice too.
Some houses have donation boxes or signs, and a few ask visitors not to photograph them. Following those requests keeps the neighborhood welcoming for everyone who comes after you.
Residential streets have few litter bins, so hold on to cups and wrappers until you find one. Leaving the street as you found it is the simplest thank-you.