A Guide to Solar-Powered Garden Path Lights
Add some style to your yard with these path lights.
Courtesy of Home Depot
A carefully crafted yard can be a real point of pride with nice paths, colorful flowerbeds, pruned bushes, and a well-cut lawn. But you don’t want your lawn to just be a daytime achievement. What about all those nighttime dog-walking onlookers?
For that reason, your exterior lighting is often just as important as yard maintenance.
We know, we know. Wouldn’t it be nice if the path lights could flip their own switch? Who wants to remember to turn them on every single night, let alone figure out the logistics of getting them in place?
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Luckily, there are tons of solar garden lights created to light up your landscaping, and keep guests from losing the path or tripping over any errant tree roots or holes, that don’t require an extra nightly chore added to your yard list. These lights range in styles from elliptical lanterns and patterned lights to classic, boxy designs. They can be found with crisp, white LEDs or softer, amber hues. Some can even connect to systems like Ring to give you more control.
These lanterns charge during the day, and many of them only need around four hours of sunlight to reach their full charge and provide 8-15 hours of light at night. Their ability to recharge and their use of only solar energy also makes them perfect for anyone looking for a more eco-friendly approach to outdoor lighting.
There’s enough variety in solar path lights that you’re sure to find one that fits your style. Here are some of our favorites.
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Ring Smart Lighting Solar Path Light
Courtesy of Lowe’s
This light from Lowe’s sticks easily into soft ground, provides a 360º area of light. It can connect to the Ring app so you can set schedules, customize brightness, and make the lights motion-activated.
Solar Pathway Lanterns with Light Patterns
These lights from Plow and Hearth add a little bit of whimsy and design to your yard. Available in two styles, they cast light through a stencil to create either a flower or hummingbird design. The stencil can also be removed to transform them into simple, bronze, hooded shepherd’s hook lights.
Charleston Heritage Solar Pathway Light
Courtesy of Home Depot
This set of six lights is all about ease. They charge during the day and automatically activate at night, and the tasteful brass styling works well in any outdoor space.
Path Bright
If you have a larger area to cover, these are the lights for you. They have a powerful 12-lumen LED, providing a wide area of bright, white light. The lights are water-resistant and come in sets of eight, all the way up to 32.
Black Solar LED Path Light Kit
Courtesy of Lowe’s
This set of four lights from Lowe’s is appealingly simple. They’re easy to install, automatically turn off and on at dawn and dusk, and the design is tasteful without calling too much attention to itself.
Large Outdoor Solar Lantern
Courtesy of Ballard Designs
If you’re looking for lights with a little more style, these lanterns from Ballard Designs are great. They have a unique beehive design and a classy leather handle, plus they cast a soft, calming light.
Solar LED Pathway Light Pack
Courtesy of Wayfair
This set of 12 lights from Wayfair is straightforward and gets the job done. The lights have a bright LED bulbs and are water-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about where in your yard they are so long as they get sunlight. Just be sure to switch them on before you stick them in the ground so they can start gathering that sunlight.
Hampton Bay Bronze and Wood Solar Light Set
Courtesy of Home Depot
This light has a real sense of style. The bronze and wood styling boasts an effortless elegance, and the vintage bulb in water glass creates an impressive light effect. This light is available in sets of four, eight, or 16.
Tekura Outdoor Solar Lantern
Courtesy of Crate and Barrel
This lantern from Crate and Barrel is classy and tasteful with a mix of wood and slate finishes and a design reminiscent of Japanese lanterns. This style makes it great for lighting a gathering area for a picnic, outdoor dinner, or just reading in the yard.
