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We visited the Holiday Light Show & Winter Garden at Sayville Falls when it opened in mid-November and nearly had the place to ourselves. A brand new offering for this popular mini golf attraction and beer garden, folks might not have even known about it yet, but it will appeal to all age groups. 

Once you pay to get in, you have several options. You can head straight to the walk-through holiday light display, explore the grounds, grab a bite to eat, or rent a heated igloo. While the mini-golf course is not playable during the winter garden run, it will return in early 2025.

We started our evening in a reserved igloo and snuggled up with provided blankets, beginning a friendly Yahtzee match while waiting for our food to arrive. Local Burger, with multiple locations on Long Island's south shore, has a food truck permanently on site and ordering was super easy. We just scanned a QR code and opened a tab.

After we gobbled down our burgers, fries, wings, and onion rings, we bundled up and headed to the mini golf course that's been transformed with holiday lights. The course is hilly but easy enough to navigate for little legs. Photo ops were sprinkled throughout and my three boys hit all of them. Always in goofball mode, they had a lot of fun with these.

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Sayville Falls' holiday light show has thousands of lights and tons of holiday decorations

My favorite areas were the waterfalls and lit archways. Walking underneath the twinkling canopy of lights just instantly makes me smile. Be sure to keep your eyes on the skies, too. Even though Long Island hasn't seen much snow lately, Sayville Falls provides its own!

We meandered through once, but you can certainly have another go around. We headed back to our igloo to warm up a bit and order a round of hot cocoas before setting off to explore the rest of the grounds.

Adults can enjoy a beverage from the beer garden area and settle in for a holiday movie under the stars in a comfy Adirondack chair. That level of relaxation will probably be short-lived, though, as there's more to explore.

There's an enormous, walled-in turf field that provides space for lawn hockey, soccer, and other sports. Giant, white bouncy houses are ready for little jumpers. Pop into the inflatable igloo to pen a letter to Santa and drop it in one of the provided mailboxes. Another tented area boasts a holiday train display. But the wow factor is really in evidence at the faux ice rink, where some of the tiniest guests can sit on rideable Zambonis just like the hockey pros have. 

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Holiday cheer abounds as you wander through the twinkling lights and lit archways.  

Know Before You Go to Sayville Falls Holiday Lights & Winter Garden

• Tickets: Admission is $23 for adults and $18 for kids ages 12 and under. You can purchase tickets in advance or on-site upon arrival. The planned run is through early January 2025.
• Igloos: They're available 7 days a week, heated and comfortably seat 7-8 people. Prices are $30 per hour Monday-Thursday on non-holiday weeks; $40 per hour Friday-Sunday, holidays, and holiday weeks. While the light show opens at 5pm nightly, the igloos are also available during the day.
• Food and Drink: If the grounds are open, folks can order food and drinks from Local Burger, including fun boozy options for adults and kids' meals that come with fries and a drink. Pro tip: don't skip the hand-spun milkshakes! We had one at the Southampton location recently and my kids can't stop talking about it. 
• Other amenities: There are bathrooms on site and pavilions with picnic tables as well. 
• Sayville: This town also has a booming downtown area full of restaurants and shops, as well as a ferry service to central Fire Island. With delicious eateries, seasonal festivals, and play areas for kids, you can find something for every member of the family. 

Photos by the author