National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville

What an incredible place.Like all the sacred places I visit, I didnt even know about it, was driving through and saw signs for it on road. What a blessed place. The architecture is fantastic. The place is beautiful and Mother Mary Energy was sooooo pure and Strong, she feels so powerful here. I loved it. My name is Maria so I took the angel picture for me. Lovely place. Day way rainy, but it didnt matter. Will be happy to return and take more pictures🕊️

A great place to pray and relax. We said the rosary, walk around the grounds, and then had lunch at one of the picnic tables on the shade. While saying the rosary, we visited the shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe, which is a bit out if the beaten path (in fact, there was no one else there). It has nice statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint Juan Diego. It commemorates the apparitions of our Lady in Mexico City back in 1531. Its worth visiting!

So beautiful, serene . Love going there but wish they would serve food again. Couldnt see everything because, being an insulin dependent diabetic, I have to eat on schedule. No time to leave and come back.

Santa & Mrs Claus will make an appearance this holiday season to say hi to the kids

This is a deceptively big place. We ended up spending 3 hours here.We first visited the visitor center; watched the movie on the background and got a map of where to go. I recommend doing this first.We drove to the stations of the cross and got out and walked.. I recommend walking it; all stations have audio. Was very peaceful; and got me feeling more serene. We did go then to the main shrine; at the bottom of the hill with many seats. We visited the chapel around the back; which is very well maintained. Directly across from the Main Shrine is The Millennium Spire - which was built to commemorate the Third Millennium. It stands at 85 tall and is made of stainless steel. Then we went to an area with bells and a pond.Finally, we got back in the car and went to The Lourdes Grotto. The Grotto is actually very near the entrance, but we saved it for the end of the visit.Things were extremely quiet and peaceful on the day we visited.

A must see Christmas lighting and the awesome Lego exhibition!! The Lego art display by the two local clubs in unparalleled and worth spending the entry fee to the visitor center!!

We love coming here. The hotel is sufficient but we love the grounds and the lights they have around Christmas.

Wonderful free Christmas light show, camel rides, petting goats and kettle corn. Such a fun experience for our family. Thank you!

We come here every year for the Christmas lights. It was amazing as usual!

Great lights but kids are upset. We been in line for over 2 hours because the person doing traffic is only letting one car go at a time on our side but like 8 on the other side plus people are not letting people leave and backing up traffic were still not inside th shrine and we been sitting here since 650 its now 912

Have been coming to the Lady of the snows for 50+ years with family such a great tradition. Love the Christmas tree room the Chritsmas carols so festive. Cant wait for post Covid traditions to come back. Love my treat of sausage and sauerkraut supper to come back and the delicious desserts.

An amazing place to visit during the holiday season with Ur family. A spectacular light display for all ages!!

Beautiful Christmas lights. Great way to enjoy the beginning of a religious holiday. Worth the trip to go experience it.

Absolutely beautiful Christmas themed light show. What a wonderful experience for the whole family. Very conveniently accessible by car and eben better, its free!

Great attraction. Kids love feeding the goats, cows and sheep. Hot chocolate stand is awesome too ha!

We love coming here for the beautiful light display and to see the animals.

Quite spot to renew and refresh your soul

The largest Marian shrine in the United States sitting on nearly 200 acres. Beautiful in its own right, Our Lady of the Snows really shines during the holidays. The Christmas displays and lights wonderful and definitely worth the visit.

Its amazing, better than most light Christmas lights that you actually will pay for.Its all donations, so pls be generous.Its a little difficult from time to time to see where the road is, but not impossible.

Way of Lights is very disappointing!!! We went last year & had a decent time, our biggest complaint was that the road is hard to see (needs lights along roadway). Although we werent wowed last year, we went again the other night because we love Christmas lights. I didnt think it was possible to be worse but, it was. Now they have two lanes running side by side & still no lights along the roadway. Having two lanes makes it so much harder to enjoy. If youre the driver... dont plan on seeing anything, youll be too busy watching out for the other cars. Needless to say, we wont be going back!

They are friendly and its activities for the kids. Camel rides, pony rides, and a free petting zoo.

My second year visiting the lights. We drove through twice. The lights absolutely beautiful. But all the same color of gold was very disappointing

Ofallons lights are so much better these lights were just white and not a lot of images in the park it was very boring we drove an 1hr too see it and it was terrible I suggest Ofallon lights

Visited this place this winter for way of lights festival. The campus was decorated with millions of lights through start to end. Various activities for kids like Camel ride etc.. Must visit place..

Solemn serene place to pray and meditate. Also a great place to enjoy nature, walk, jog, run, or just enjoy the day.

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL is VERY BEAUTIFUL. Our family has been there several times. We’ve only been there in the summer and fall. I’ve heard and seen photos of the Christmas decorations, the lights, and the Holy feeling everyone has felt. It is a great trip to take especially for families, they also have places to stay right on the sight. If you’ve wanted to take a pilgrimage, and live in the USA this is a wonderful place to see and spend time with Our Lady and Our Lord.

Way of lights is an annual family tradition to drive through. The volunteers do a great job of putting the lights up every year. It is a very beautiful display for adults and kids alike.

This is one of my best lights I have seen so far in different festivals. The wide area exhibiting lights on different themes. It is enjoyable through walk as well as drive in. Along with the displays camel ride and carriage ride is also available. The another important thing is the drive in way of light is almost free just they accept donations. Location wise is very convenient, right beside the road. In a word it is amazing.

This shrine has been my favorite for a decade. It has gorgeous grounds and wonderful places to pray. When I was very small I loved to eat in their cafe and play on the exceptional playground. It’s a beautiful and peaceful place to be.

If you havent come here to for lunch or dinner you are totally missing out on some amazing food. The lunch menu start at $9.99 for soup and salad and at dinner time which starts at 4pm you can add the Fried Chicken entree to you soup and salad starting at $14.99. The best part is you can eat to your full and then walk around the beautiful grounds to get some exercise in. Come out here and meet their beautiful wait staff. The entire staff & Manager are wonderful people they make your meal experience that much more enjoyable.I almost forgot if you need to find the perfect gift for a birthday wedding St Patricks Day or just want to say I love you stop by there gift shop😇 tell all your friends to come here for dinner 🍗☕🍛🍝🍰🍧🎂🍮

Very nice drive thru Christmas light display. Lots of things for kids to do if you want to get out of the car and pay for them. The lights are free but they take donations at the end.

You need to have a personal experience of the way of the light at night time. You wont regret it

Spent 60$ for a carriage ride. Wasnt at all worth it. Went on a Monday and the traffic was so horrible. Our route was right by the endless amount of cars emitting pollutants nearly in our face, impatient families honked angrily, and people were constantly focused on our horse rather than the lights. There needs to be a better system before you try to make people spend 60$ on a carriage ride again. It was completely not worth it

Family went to eat at Hofbräuhaus and planned to check out the lights at Our Lady of the Snow. The traffic kids directing traffic would not let us enter (straightand the Belleville Police officer just cussed at us and told us to turn. Very disappointed, nobody ever explained why we couldnt enter the Shrine. Belleville Police big fail. Save your family and kids the disappointment and drive around the neighborhood.

Large group of us planned to eat dinner at new Hofbrauhaus then check out lights after dinner. No mention anywhere that you can only access entrance from east or west? The very rude traffic guys wouldn’t let cars enter from HB. So we made turn got in line and waited nearly 40 minutes because kids wanted to see the lights. Most say I’ve seen better lights in our neighborhood. Don’t waste your time.

Myself and a group from work - less than 25, made reservations. We had a few that ran late; however, still NEVER exceeded the number we reserved for. The lead person, I’m assuming manager (white/black uniformwas terribly rude. The service was very slow, although pleasant - unlike the female manager, who at one point rudely pulled our waitress away when she was in the middle of a conversation with us. It took a very long time to get our tickets. The breakfast food was delicious; however, the lunch food was tasteless and dry. I paid almost $25.00 for a one person buffet. Definitely not worth it. I will NOT return to the restaurant! I expected much friendlier service than I witnessed today.

We have been going to the Shrine since 1970. The place is like the Garden of Eden for me. Me and my wife enjoy the morning walk inside the compound. Grandma, be careful with the Reindeers. Love the Nature

Awesome shrine. Grounds are meticulously maintained.

We come to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows annually to see the Christmas light display they put up each December. Not only is their light display beautiful but they also have a host of other activities to make it a fun destination evening for the kids. Inevitably there are camel rides and other adorable livestock to see and pet.Recently they have also had one of their visitor centers open with huge Lego displays put on by a local Lego Group. For a nominal fee you can go in and see a large number of what looks to be professionally built Lego dioramas. The kids always spend a good half an hour excitedly exploring all the detailed setups.

You have to go if you are in Illinois and it is around Christmas time,my husband and I had never went it was absolutely beautiful the lights the Nativity,these people work days getting this all put together. You can see all the love that goes into this beautiful lights display it is free to get in, I think its about 5 miles in length ( maybe more). At the end they have young volunteers asking if you would like to buy a Lamb it costs$10.00 each we bought two,they offer them every year and the Lamb has the year on it. The lambs are so cute and they are not tiny a very good size.

A free as and beautiful experience. The scenic drive through the lights is best seen at night especially if there is snow and ice. It is available to all. There are times of worship there check the web site. There are also many other activities avalible.

Beautiful lights complemented by scriptures posted through this driving tour move you to reflect on helping others, especially the tired, the poor, the weak, and broken.

Went to see the Christmas lights. It was so crowded, we sat in the car in one spot for 10 minutes, then we would move 2 inches and sit there again for another 10 minutes. This was not enjoyable, especially for kids. There was a petting zoo and some other attractions, but we couldn’t possibly get over to park because of the two lanes of cars. Go to Rock Springs Park in Alton, IL.

Ever since they made it 2 lanes to go through the lights the visits have been horrible. Can never seen anything on the other side because always have some bus or big suv/truck blocking everything on the other side. This is the last year we will be here. Need to go back to the 1 lane.

A warm and lovely place greater than the sum of its parts. 1.1 million lights depicting the birth of Jesus. Many outdoor activities. We ate at the Banquet Center then waddled back to our room at the Hotel. A Christmas tradition we have enjoyed here for many years.

Beautiful grounds for a walk or jog. Has an awesome old grotto and an outdoor amphitheatre with many walking trails. A must-visit for holiday lights.

+JMJ...Lovely grounds, Church and Chapel. Also, ate lunch in the restaurant. Pricing was good, server friendly, and the meal delicious. As a matter of fact, a side dish that I had ~ fried eggplant, was so yummy, I tried to replicate the dish at home. Spent only a few hours, but could have stayed much longer. My visit to this Shrine was very enjoyable because of the many beautiful areas dedicated to prayer. Particularly the replicas telling the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the story of Our Lady of Lourdes. Transcendental reminders of Our Heavenly Fathers desire that we recall His loving mercy in the gift of Jesus our Saviour. Please pardon my explanation, but when one visits these places of prayer, there is a need to understand that what one sees is more than natural beauty. The soul should rejoice in the spiritual atmosphere everywhere present.

We visited here in the mid seventies. The shrine and grounds are beautiful & clean. The shrine buffet featured great soups, veggies, fruit. The hotel was clean & pleasant. The tour around the grounds was great. There was a small building there from the World Fair in Kentucky. Passing through it showed the world at large thru technology and as you exited a large Jesus appeared "Follow me!"

A fantastic community including a walking trail, theater, and retirement community. Come here during the holidays and youll be wowed by the Way of Lights.If you drive to the far west side of the grounds, there is a fantastic view of St. Louis.

This a great place. I loved the Lourdes Grotto and the Stations of the Cross and the Shrine. The Staff is great. The Pilgrim Motel is super and a good price. The radio station is excellent. One time when I was there, the Shroud of Turin was on display...that was really something.