A Winter Evening at Spring Creek Lavender Farm
What do you do with a farm that spends barely half the year in bloom?
You light it up.
On a cold December night in Oneida County, with snow crunching under boots (you know it’s absolutely frigid when you hear the snow crunch!), Spring Creek Lavender Farm becomes something else entirely. The purple fields that hum with bees in July fall silent. The rows rest. And then—softly at first—thousands of lights flicker on.
This is Lavender & Lights, and it feels less like an event and more like a permission slip to slow down.
You arrive expecting a walk-through light display. What you get is a wandering, glowing pause button.
Luminary paths guide you through illuminated lavender fields, the light catching on frost and fence posts. Fire pits glow in pockets of warmth. Goats peer out from their winter quarters, curious and unbothered. Someone hands you hot cocoa. Somewhere nearby, marshmallows are being sacrificed to the fire gods.
It’s quiet in the way winter should be quiet.
A Farm, Reimagined for Winter
Spring Creek Lavender Farm sits at 8879 Trenton Falls–Prospect Road, and for many people, it’s synonymous with summer — lavender bundles, purple horizons, and warm evenings that smell like calm. But Lavender & Lights is about re-imagining what a farm can be once the fields go dormant.
“We were thinking about what could be fun, unique, and a little bit different,” said marketing manager Kevin Keeley. People asked all the time if they could visit outside the summer season. This was the answer.
The result is not flashy. It’s thoughtful.
A decorated 40-foot tree anchors the walk. The butterfly house glows softly. There’s a farm store with meaningful, gift-able things — not frantic shopping, just browsing. And the whole experience is intentionally unrushed. Most visitors spend one to two hours, strolling, talking, warming their hands, letting the night do its thing.
This is a place where families don’t feel hurried, where date nights don’t need an agenda, and where kids can be kids — sometimes helped along the trails by a sled (the farm has had one available, but bringing your own is encouraged).
Everything is outdoors, so dressing warmly is part of the ritual.
Designed for Togetherness
Lavender & Lights works because it dials the holiday noise down, not up.
You’re not being sold Christmas. You’re being offered space — space to walk side by side, to talk without distraction, to let kids wander safely, to feel like winter isn’t something to endure but something to step into.
There’s hot chocolate. There are s’mores. There are friendly animals. And there’s a sense that this is exactly where you’re supposed to be on a December night in Central New York.
Good to know before you go:
- 🎟️ Advance tickets required (no walk-ups)
- 👶 Kids 2 and under are free
- 👨👩👧 Groups of 5+ receive $1 off per ticket
- ⏰ Please arrive within 15 minutes of your scheduled entry time
- ❄️ Entirely outdoors — bundle up
Dates are limited, and it’s very much a “don’t wait” situation.
If You’re Already in the Winter Mood…
A Few More Seasonal Stops Nearby
Once Lavender & Lights flips that winter switch for you, it’s hard not to keep leaning in. Luckily, the region has options:
Glimmer Nights at Fenimore Farm & Country Village (Cooperstown)
A larger-scale holiday light experience with themed weekends, a glowing village, carousel rides, and classic seasonal cheer running late November through December.
Utica’s Outdoor Ice Skating Rink (Memorial Parkway)
Open for the season starting late November, with affordable skate rentals and special events like Skate with Santa in December.
Full Moon Snowshoe & Bonfire – Deerfield Wilderness Park (January 31)
A moonlit snowshoe followed by a bonfire, warm drinks, and neighborly conversation — small-town winter at its best.
Winter, Done Right
Lavender & Lights isn’t about spectacle. It’s about atmosphere.
It’s about taking a farm that hums with life in summer and letting it glow quietly in winter. About proving that the off-season doesn’t have to be empty — it can be intentional, warm, and quietly magical.
If you’re looking for a new winter tradition in Oneida County, this might be it.
Sometimes the best way to embrace winter
is to walk straight into it—
lights on, cocoa in hand, lavender sleeping under the snow.
