Glenlore Trails: Aurora Winter Wizards
Commerce Township, Mich.
Until Dec. 28, 2025
About 30 miles outside of Detroit in Commerce Township lies a quiet, one-mile stretch of forest that comes to life at nighttime. This is Glenlore Trails, an immersive, illuminative forest walk that fills the woods with light and enchantment with themed displays during the fall. Now that Halloween has passed, Glenlore has opened “Aurora,” its winter/Christmas-themed experience, featuring a “Winter Wizards” theme this season.
The experience is dazzling and magical. With effects powered by Bluewater Technologies, the walk features lights galore plus festive projections, animated storybooks, games and a variety of interactive characters, including snowmen, elves, gingerbread men and more.
Bulb chasing game
Each part of the trail has a different theme and storybook character. Singing snowmen, Christmas tree ornaments and trees greet you along the way as you encounter a comic gingerbread man and snowman – armed with charming, Christmas-themed dad jokes – and simple interactive projection games, mostly suited to young children. My niece particularly liked the small elf houses. My favorite part of the experience was the projection that turned you into a wizard. Despite the blue beard, I think they did a pretty good job with mine.
With the “Winter Wizards” theme, children can use a magic wand to access additional animations and effects throughout the walk. What’s extra cool is the “wand training,” which allows the kids to customize their wand magic by choosing the color, symbol and sound of their effects. The wands, however, are an additional $20 – more than the $15 entrance ticket for children 4-12 (General admission for 13+ is $25, kids younger than 4 are free). But they are a must if you want to give kids the full experience (and prevent them from feeling sad seeing other children with them).
Magic wand effects
There are lots of opportunities to see festive lights at Christmastime, but Glenlore Trails’ “Aurora” takes it to the next level. The woods are a perfect setting to create a magical forest experience, and the immersive interactions bring you into the fantasy itself. While it is mostly aimed at younger children, it is delightful for all, and a fun way to enjoy the holiday season.
