Lights ON and away we go! -- Austin’s Circuit of the Americas kicks off its annual “Peppermint Parkway” attraction, adorning the United States only purpose-built F1 track in 6 million lights!
Written and edited by Ash Delon
The Circuit of Americas celebrates its Peppermint Parkway during the holiday season, attracting families and Motorsports fans alike. The event includes attractions and activities for all ages, anywhere from friendship bracelet making to hopping in a Go-Kart and taking a spin around the COTA Karting track!
The main event, Peppermint Parkway, begins off track with a trinkling tunnel of lights and an appearance from the one and only Grinch, who, if you stop moving, will lightheartedly shout at you to continue. You then enter the sparkling Parkway, taking you through locations such as “Candy Cane Lane” and “Ornament Avenue” featuring entertaining characters and beautiful displays featuring millions of lights, artfully crafted into intricate holiday scenes.
However, if you were to ask a motorsport fan, the most enticing attraction of them all would be the track lap. This once in a lifetime experience allows you to drive your personal vehicle around all 20 corners of the circuit! Once you make your way through most of the impressive exhibits of the Peppermint Parkway, you will be prompted to exit and que up to enter the track. The lap is driven behind the Aston Martin pace car (Yes, the real pace car used at races!) and takes you through all 3.4 miles of the circuit at a leisurely 25 miles per hour. The track lap is purchased separately from the rest of the Peppermint Parkway and must be added to enter the track. The tickets for a lap are paid by the car, allowing families and groups of friends up to 4 to pile in and enjoy!
After your track lap, you will be guided to reenter the Peppermint Parkway to enjoy the remainder of the main event. This final stretch takes you through the final tunnel of the bright adventure, showing off some of the tracks scale model Formula One race cars decorated in the venues custom Circuit of the Americas liveries. Visitors are then guided to either exit the venue if they wish to only participate in this event or park and enjoy the “Peppermint Plaza” where most of the other attractions are.
The venue has both its own food and drink vendors as well as inviting local food vendors to provide a variety of yummy options. We stopped at “The Corn Dog Company” for a honey drizzled Corn Dog. To our surprise, Buddy the Elf appeared requesting a review, touting that honey was superior because “They don’t have maple syrup so that's the best thing to do”. The welcome surprise was not the only magical character visitors will encounter on their adventures at Peppermint Parkway, however. Notable faces like Santa and Mrs. Clause also walk around the property to spread Cheer alongside the events namesake mascots, Pepper and Mint! The Plaza also includes a petting zoo, complete with adorable miniature goats, chickens and ducks. This along with the “Mistletoe Kissing Booth”, and many others, these make for perfect opportunities for adorable photos! My husband and I’s favorite photo spot of the day though, has to go the the beautiful tunnel of lights located just off of pit lane! For the kids, there's a booth set up to send letters to Santa Clause, some fun rides and even a kids mini-Go-Karting track fit for a mini-Max Verstappen! This event has something for all ages, making it well worth the trip!
The event opened only just over a month after the Circuit hosted its Panicle event of the year, The Pirelli United States Grand Prix on October 20th. Allowing the staff only 32 days to set up for the impressive display of lights and color! Peppermint Parkway will be open for select days starting November 22nd through December 29th with special days dedicated to Military members, teachers, and college students! For these dates and more information check out their website linked below!
Check out their Website!