Walking down the paths throughout the zoo, something is obviously different. The area is covered in holiday lights, with very few animals to be seen.

Zoo lights has become a popular trend for people of all ages, especially for those in high school. Every December the Oregon zoo, along with many zoo’s across the country, allow people to walk around and view the holiday light covered zoo at night. Zoo lights are often hyped up and talked about by hundreds around the community, however, is it as special as it sounds?

“When we went there was a ton of people and I felt like it’s talked up way more than it should be,” said junior Merissa Hull. “ The lights were really cool but it was definitely something where I saw it once so I don’t really need to go again.”

Though the general exhibit may be appealing to a lot of people, other factors such as the crowd and the cold weather may take away from the experience. For the duration of the event, a majority of the animals were not able to be seen, with the exception of animals such as mountain goats, tigers, penguins, and polar bears.

“They set up lights throughout the zoo and put the animals away so it’s just the lights you look at and it was fun,” said junior Jenna Horton.

Zoo lights are frequently hyped up, for some the event is enjoyable however, for others it’s nothing special due to trouble throughout the process. To avoid crowds or parking difficulties, the Oregon zoo’s website provides information to make any experience more enjoyable. In the end, whether one enjoys it or not, depends on the circumstances, although from a large amount of people, it’s a great activity to do with friends or family during the winter.