Lights at LaFarge

Lights at Lafarge is a free winter attraction that features over 100,000 Christmas lights and festive displays around Coquitlam’s Lafarge Lake at night.

Last holiday season the event ran from November 27th until January 31st. In 2022 Lights at Lafarge opened on November 26th and ran until February 21st in 2023. The dates for the 2023/2024 season are still to be confirmed.

Christmas Lights at Lafarge

Lights at Lafarge is a free attraction that usually runs from late November until around the third or fourth week of January. The first night of the season in 2022 was on Saturday, November 26th.

The 1.2-kilometre pathway around Lafarge Lake is decorated with sparkling holiday lights. There are usually illuminated archways to walk under, Christmas light reindeer to admire and various themed areas throughout the park.

Each year the attraction seems to get more and more lights. 2018 was amazing, and 2019 was even better! The winter holiday displays at Lights at Lafarge are always beautiful and highly recommended (especially if you’re on a budget).

XMAS TIP: GET AN ANNUAL PASS AT CAP BRIDGE!

You’ve probably heard that Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver is one of the Lower Mainland’s most impressive Christmas Lights attractions. Did you know though that locals can get an annual pass for the same price as regular admission to just Canyon Lights?

So for the same price you can go to Canyon Lights this year, and to Canyon Lights again next year, plus to the world-famous bridge as many times as you want between now and when your pass expires next year! Got out-of-town friends or family visiting? Then you can join them when they visit the suspension bridge and you won’t have to pay anything!

To learn more about the famous North Shore attraction, see our article about Canyon Lights at Capilano Bridge.

Lights at Lafarge at Night — Lafarge Lake at Night

Lights at Lafarge Video

Check out the following video to see what you can expect at the event in 2023/2024 and in future years. The video is of scenes from 2019. The event looks very similar each year, although each season there are slight changes with new things added and displays switched around.

The video begins outside the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Inside that building is where the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market took place on a couple of evenings in 2019.

As you’ll see in the video, there is an extensive selection of light displays and illuminations all around the lake, and hundreds of people turn out each night to enjoy them. It’s an impressive event and well worth checking out.

Where is Lights at Lafarge?

The attraction takes place in Town Centre Park at Coquitlam’s Lafarge Lake at the corner of Guildford Way and Pinetree Way which is right next to the Evergreen Line’s new Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station.

When is Lights at Lafarge happening?

The 2022/2023 season began on November 26th and it ran until February 21st in 2023. On December 2nd and 3rd in 2022, the attraction was extra special as the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market also took place right by Lafarge Lake.

The lights are illuminated daily from dusk until 11:00 pm.

Square Tunnel at Lights at Lafarge — Lights Tunnel in 2021

November 26th Opening Night (in 2022)

On opening night of the season there is typically a special free event outdoors at Lafarge Lake and indoors at the Evergreen Cultural Centre.

In 2022 the kick-off event took place on Saturday, November 26th, between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm. The event that year was fully outdoors. The celebrations featured live entertainment, food trucks, roving performers, craft activities and more.

The entertainment lineup in 2022 included local choirs, DJ Bella and an opening fire performance. Folks could also make and decorate holiday buttons, jingle bell ornaments and holiday lanterns.

Lights at Lafarge in Coquitlam — Arbour Walk at Lights at Lafarge

Coquitlam Christmas Night Market

New for 2019, the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market took place at the Evergreen Cultural Centre right beside the Lights at Lafarge event on the evening of Sunday, December 22nd, from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm. Admission to the event was free.

In 2022 the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market happened on December 2nd and 3rd.

The night market features over 30 artisan vendors selling everything from hand-made jewellery to wood products, chocolates, clothing & apparel, health & beauty products, toys and other items that make for great Christmas gifts. It’s a really good market and highly recommended.

See our article about the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market for more details.

Advice & Suggestions

Below are some tips to help you make the most of your experience at Lights at Lafarge.

TIP #1: If you’ve never been to the event but like Christmas lights, then definitely go! It’s a beautiful venue, free and highly recommended.

TIP #2: Lights at Lafarge is worth seeing any night of the season, at least on days when it’s not pouring with rain. The best nights to go are on opening night and when the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market takes place. There are extra crowds those evenings, but there also more things to do and see.

TIP #3: Take public transit if you can. The Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station is right by the venue. There is lots of parking, but spaces can be harder to find on weekend nights with good weather and just before Christmas.

TIP #4: They sometimes give away free chocolate and family portraits at the Coquitlam Christmas Night Market (or at least they did in 2019). If this is the case again in 2023, get there early while supplies last!

TIP #5: If you don’t like crowds, don’t go on a weekend or just before Christmas on an evening with good weather. Rainy days, weekday nights and dates early in the season are usually the quietest. After the Christmas holidays, so in early January, is also typically a time with fewer people.

Lights at Lafarge