The history of Lights Under Louisville

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Photo by @theloutoday

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Not enough lights in your holiday diet? Maybe hitting the limestone mines for Louisville Mega Cavern’s Lights Under Louisville is your place to be.

This year, the one-mile, 25-minute drive through the cavern features over 10 mapping projectors, 900 lit characters, 40+ themed light displays, and 4+ million points of LED light.

Here are some quick facts to get you in the festive spirit from your car this Christmas.

  • The first Lights Under Louisville started in 2008
  • 200,000+ lights lit the cave during its first run
  • 400,000+ drive-thru annually

DYK: The Louisville Mega Cavern is one of the largest man-made caves in the US with more than 4 million-sqft of space.

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Since opening, nearly 3,600,000 lights have been added to the route. | Photo by @theloutoday

Get your holiday hopes high with some history of the Mega Cavern.

  • Almost 70% of the Louisville Zoo is above the cavern
  • The limestone from the cave was used to build f the Cincinnati Arch
  • All four entrances + exits are at the front of the cave

Here’s one for the books.The cavern had an eight inch snowfall despite no snow anywhere else in the city. Moist air from the cave hit below-freezing temperatures outside, creating perfect conditions for snowfall in the cave.

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A portion of the Louisville Zoo sits on top of the cavern. | Photo by @theloutoday

Here are just a few of the awards the event has won since its start just over a decade ago.

Lights Under Louisville is now open until Jan. 2 including Thanksgiving + Christmas days.

Contributed by Caleb Stultz

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