👻 How to Make the Most of Halloween in NYC This October
Halloween in NYC is so much more than one night of trick-or-treating. October is packed with pumpkin patches, neighborhood parades, costume parties, crafts, fall festivals, haunted houses, museum events, and some of the best trick-or-treating blocks in the city.
Here’s how to make the most of Halloween month with kids across all five boroughs.
👻 ALL MONTH LONG
🎃 Queens County Farm Pumpkin Patch — Queens
📅 Daily through October 31📍 Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy, Floral Park💚 Pumpkin Patch admission is free; pumpkins are available for purchase.
One of the closest things NYC has to a true countryside pumpkin-picking experience without leaving the city. Pair it with the farm animals and other fall activities for an easy half- or full-day outing.
👻 Boo at the Zoo — Bronx Zoo
📅 Saturdays & Sundays through November 1📍 Bronx Zoo💳 Included with zoo admission
A great pick for toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age kids. Boo at the Zoo combines Halloween fun with wildlife experiences and seasonal zoo attractions.
OCTOBER 16–18
👻 Hallowscream Fright Walk — Washington Heights
📅 Friday, October 16🕓 4–7 PM📍 J. Hood Wright Recreation Center🎟️ Registration required
A two-day haunted-house experience featuring elaborate sets, themed rooms, and costumed characters.
🎃 Hallowscream Fall Festival + Fright Walk — Washington Heights
📅 Saturday, October 17🕛 12–3 PM📍 J. Hood Wright Park
Saturday adds a family-friendly fall festival with:
🎃 Pumpkin patch
🏰 Bounce houses
🎨 Arts & crafts
🎯 Jumbo games
👻 Fright Walk
🎃 Williamsbridge Fall Fiesta — Bronx
📅 Saturday, October 17🕚 11 AM–2 PM📍 Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center💚 FREE
Expect pumpkin decorating, arts & crafts, carnival games, face painting, seasonal activities, and plenty of fall fun for kids.
🐕 Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade — East Village
📅 Saturday, October 17📍 East Village
One of NYC’s most iconic Halloween traditions. Even though the stars are technically the dogs, this is such a fun event for kids because the costumes get seriously creative.
👻 Chauncey Street Halloween Open Street — Bed-Stuy
📅 Saturday, October 17🕑 2–5:30 PM📍 Chauncey Street, Howard Avenue–Saratoga Avenue💚 FREE
A car-free neighborhood Halloween celebration that gives kids plenty of room to roam.
🎃 Newkirk Avenue Halloween Open Street — Flatbush
📅 Saturday, October 17📍 Newkirk Avenue💚 FREE
Neighborhood Halloween programming as part of the citywide Trick-or-Streets celebration.
OCTOBER 22–23
🍬 Trick-or-Streets at Hillel Plaza — Flatbush
📅 Thursday, October 22📍 Flatbush/Nostrand Junction💚 FREE
Kid-focused Halloween programming in a car-free public space.
NYC is hosting a record 160 Trick-or-Streets locations across the five boroughs in 2026, including trick-or-treating, games, entertainment, face painting, and other community programming.
🎃 FAB Fulton Halloween — Brooklyn
📅 Thursday, October 22📍 Fulton Street / Fort Greene area💚 FREE
Neighborhood Halloween programming along Fulton Street.
👻 Spuyten Duyvil Halloween Street — Bronx
📅 Friday, October 23📍 West 236th Street area💚 FREE
A good neighborhood option for Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil families.
🎃 OCTOBER 24
This is one of the biggest family Halloween days of the month, so if you want a full Saturday of Halloween fun, circle this date.
🎃 Pumpkin Point — Governors Island
📅 Saturday, October 24 + Sunday, October 25🕙 10 AM–5 PM📍 Nolan Park, Governors Island💚 FREE
Thousands of pumpkins transform Nolan Park into one of NYC’s most unique pumpkin patches.
Families can expect:
🎃 Pumpkin picking
🍬 Trick-or-treating through Nolan Park’s historic houses
🎨 Pumpkin painting
📚 Reading activities
👻 Ghost tours
🍂 Fall foliage walks
🌊 Nature and environmental programming
🍁 Fall food and drinks
Costumes are highly encouraged.
🌿 Brooklyn Botanic Garden Fall Harvest Festival
📅 Saturday, October 24🕚 11 AM–5 PM📍 Brooklyn Botanic Garden💳 Ticketed👧 Children under 12 are free.
Celebrate surrounded by fall foliage with live music, hands-on family activities, pumpkin decorating, and an afternoon costume parade.
🎃 HalloweenFest — Bay Ridge
📅 Saturday, October 24🕑 2–7 PM📍 Fifth Avenue, 72nd–85th Streets💚 FREE
Part of Bay Ridge’s Fall Festivities on Fifth.
Expect a big neighborhood Halloween atmosphere along Fifth Avenue.
👻 Bronx Halloween Parade
📅 Saturday, October 24📍 Bronx
One of the borough’s biggest community Halloween traditions, with costumes, performers, music, and plenty of neighborhood energy.
🎃 Ocean Breeze Fall Festival — Staten Island
📅 Saturday, October 24📍 Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex💚 FREE
A large family fall celebration featuring seasonal activities and entertainment.
🕸️ Family Art Project — Wave Hill
📅 October 24 + 25📍 Wave Hill, Bronx
A hands-on, nature-inspired family art activity that makes a great quieter addition to Halloween weekend.
🎃 OCTOBER 25
🎃 Pumpkin Point — Governors Island
📅 Sunday, October 25🕙 10 AM–5 PM📍 Nolan Park💚 FREE
Second day of Pumpkin Point.
🍬 Austin Street Trick-or-Streets — Forest Hills
📅 Sunday, October 25📍 Austin Street, Forest Hills💚 FREE
A large Queens neighborhood Halloween celebration and a great warm-up for Halloween week.
👻 Haunted Harbor Halloween — South Street Seaport Museum
📅 Sunday, October 25📍 South Street Seaport
A nautical take on Halloween for families who want something a little different.
OCTOBER 26–29
🎨 Halloween Craft Week
🎃 Kids Create: Pumpkins — Brooklyn
📅 Monday, October 26📍 Kensington Library💚 FREE
Pumpkin-themed stories and crafts for kids.
🍬 Canal Street Trick-or-Streets — Manhattan
📅 Wednesday, October 28📍 Canal Street💚 FREE
One of the city’s large car-free Halloween celebrations.
👻 Wave Hill-O-Ween — Bronx
📅 Thursday, October 29🕞 3:30–6:30 PM📍 Wave Hill
Calling all ghosts, goblins, pirates, and princesses — Wave Hill transforms for an enchanted family Halloween evening.
🎃 Pershing Square Plaza Halloween — Midtown
📅 Thursday, October 29🕒 3–5 PM📍 Grand Central area💚 FREE
A convenient after-school Halloween option for Midtown families.
OCTOBER 30
👻 Haunted House + Hallow Gala — Brooklyn
📅 Friday, October 30📍 Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center💚 FREE
Expect Halloween activities including a spooky carnival atmosphere, arts & crafts, games, music, pumpkin decorating, and costume fun.
👻 Mad Monster Lab Haunted House + Fall Festival — Queens
📅 Friday, October 30📍 Bowne Park Field House💚 FREE
Pumpkin patch, crafts, games, seasonal entertainment, and a haunted experience.
🎨 Halloween Library Crafts — Brooklyn
📅 October 30📍 Select Brooklyn Public Library branches💚 FREE
Check your neighborhood branch for Halloween arts & crafts, storytimes, and children’s programming.
🎃 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
HALLOWEEN!
Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026, so this is going to be a huge day for families across NYC.
MANHATTAN
👻 Children’s Halloween Parade — Greenwich Village
📅 Saturday, October 31📍 Greenwich Village / Washington Square area💚 FREE
A longtime downtown family Halloween tradition.
🦕 American Museum of Natural History Halloween Celebration
📅 Saturday, October 31🕚 11 AM–4 PM📍 American Museum of Natural History💳 Halloween event: $25 general public + museum admission; $15 members + admission
Spend Halloween under the Blue Whale with:
🎨 Themed arts & crafts
🎨 Face painting
🎈 Balloon animals
🍬 Trick-or-treating
👻 Costume parade
🎵 Live music + dancing
🔬 Science demonstrations
Costumes are encouraged.
🎵 Spooktacular at Hudson Yards
📅 Saturday, October 31🕚 11 AM–2 PM📍 Public Square & Gardens at Hudson Yards💚 Main event is FREE
The lineup includes:
🎻 11 AM — Spooky Sounds by Mozart for Munchkins
🎧 1 PM — KIDZ BOP Monster Bash Dance Party
Plus:
📸 Halloween photo booth
🎃 Pumpkin decorating*
🍬 Trick-or-treating inside Vessel*
🎨 Halloween caricatures*
*Some activities require a Vessel ticket.
🚢 Halloween at the Seaport
📅 Saturday, October 31🍬 Trick-or-treating: 3–5 PM📍 South Street Seaport
Participating businesses throughout the neighborhood will hand out candy, with other family Halloween activities happening around the Seaport.
🍬 UPPER WEST SIDE TRICK-OR-TREATING
The Upper West Side is one of my favorite choices if you want the classic NYC Halloween experience: brownstones, decorated stoops, costumes everywhere, and streets full of neighborhood families.
Look for official Halloween/open-street activity around:
🍬 West 69th Street
🍬 West 78th Street
🍬 West 87th Street
🍬 West 107th Street
🍬 HARLEM + HAMILTON HEIGHTS
Look for Halloween activity around:
👻 Strivers’ Row
🍬 Hamilton Terrace
🍬 Convent Avenue
🎃 West 120th Street
These beautiful brownstone blocks also make a great choice for traditional neighborhood trick-or-treating.
BROOKLYN
🎃 Park Slope Children’s Halloween Parade
📅 Saturday, October 31🕕 Line up: 6 PM🕡 Parade: 6:30 PM📍 Starts at Seventh Avenue + 14th Street💚 FREE
The parade travels north on Seventh Avenue, turns onto Third Street, and finishes at Old Stone House/Washington Park.
Stay afterward for spooky music from the Brooklyn Conservatory.
Pair this with neighborhood trick-or-treating for one of the best full Halloween experiences in NYC.
QUEENS
🎃 Jackson Heights Children’s Halloween Parade
📅 Saturday, October 31📍 37th Avenue / Jackson Heights💚 FREE
A huge neighborhood celebration filled with kids, costumes, families, and Halloween energy.
🎃 Forest Hills Halloween
📅 Saturday, October 31📍 Forest Hills
Forest Hills is also one of my favorite Queens neighborhoods for pairing organized Halloween programming with residential trick-or-treating.
🌿 Halloween at Queens Botanical Garden
📅 Saturday, October 31🕛 12–5 PM📍 Queens Botanical Garden💳 $10 non-members / $8 children; members free
Little ones can:
🍬 Walk the Trick-or-Treat Trail
🎨 Make Halloween crafts
🌱 Discover spooky plants
👻 Show off costumes
🎭 Catch live performances
There will also be a vendor fair and seasonal activities throughout the Garden.
🚗 Culture Lab LIC Trunk-or-Treat & Halloween Festival
📅 Saturday, October 31🕑 2–5 PM📍 Culture Lab LIC
A family-friendly trunk-or-treat celebration with decorated cars, costumes, candy, and Halloween festivities. Proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish.
🎃 Howard Beach Halloween
📅 Saturday, October 31📍 Howard Beach / Cross Bay Boulevard
Look for neighborhood Halloween and Trick-or-Streets programming along Cross Bay Boulevard.
BRONX
🎃 James Baldwin Plaza Trick-or-Streets
📅 Saturday, October 31📍 Bronx💚 FREE
Part of NYC’s huge citywide Trick-or-Streets Halloween program.
And remember: Boo at the Zoo is also running Halloween weekend.
STATEN ISLAND
👻 Hamilton Park Halloween Block Party
📅 Saturday, October 31📍 Hamilton Park area💚 FREE
Neighborhood Halloween festivities and car-free Trick-or-Streets programming.
🍬 WHERE TO GO FOR THE CLASSIC NYC TRICK-OR-TREAT EXPERIENCE
If your goal is decorated stoops + costumes + candy + families filling the sidewalks, I’d focus on these neighborhoods:
MANHATTAN
🎃 Upper West Side🎃 Greenwich Village🎃 Harlem🎃 Hamilton Heights
BROOKLYN
🎃 Park Slope🎃 Carroll Gardens🎃 Cobble Hill🎃 Brooklyn Heights🎃 Fort Greene🎃 Clinton Hill
QUEENS
🎃 Jackson Heights🎃 Forest Hills
For younger kids, I’d start earlier in the afternoon before the streets get packed.
And because NYC has 160 official Trick-or-Streets locations in 2026, this is the link I would save to your phone for Halloween week:
🎃 THE HALLOWEEN MONTH BUCKET LIST
If you don’t have time to do everything, these are the experiences I’d prioritize:
🎃 Pumpkin Patch DayQueens County Farm🔗 Details
👻 Zoo Halloween DayBronx Zoo Boo at the Zoo🔗 Details
🐕 Only-in-NYC Halloween MomentTompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade🔗 Trick-or-Streets Calendar
🎃 Best Pumpkin FestivalGovernors Island Pumpkin Point🔗 Details
🍬 Big Brooklyn Halloween DayBay Ridge HalloweenFest🔗 Details
🌿 Fall + Halloween ComboBrooklyn Botanic Garden Fall Harvest Festival🔗 Details
👻 Nature HalloweenWave Hill-O-Ween🔗 Details
🦕 Museum HalloweenAMNH Halloween Celebration🔗 Details
🎵 Halloween Dance PartyHudson Yards Spooktacular🔗 Details
🚢 Downtown HalloweenHalloween at the Seaport🔗 Details
🌿 Queens Halloween DayQueens Botanical Garden🔗 Details
🎃 Classic NYC ParadePark Slope Children’s Halloween Parade🔗 Details
👶 BEST BETS FOR TODDLERS + PRESCHOOLERS
For the littlest Halloween lovers, I’d especially prioritize:
🎃 Governors Island Pumpkin Point👻 Boo at the Zoo🎃 Queens County Farm Pumpkin Patch🌿 Wave Hill-O-Ween🎵 Hudson Yards Spooktacular🚢 Halloween at the Seaport🌱 Queens Botanical Garden Halloween🍬 Upper West Side trick-or-treating
That gives you a really nice mix of pumpkins + animals + costumes + crafts + music + trick-or-treating without making every outing feel the same.
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