Halloween is the BEST Holiday!
/Halloween, I love you! I love the spooky vibes. I love the pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. I love watching my kids go nuts for fun sized candy bars. Halloween is SUCH a fun holiday and it should be celebrated ALL October long.
Here are a whole bunch of ways to have a Spooktacular Halloween SZN!
IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY
Be Dazzled By The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
Croton-on-Hudson, NY, Select nights through November 20th Old Bethpage, NY, Select nights through November 6th
Once again Croton-on-Hudson’s Van Cortlandt Manor has been transformed into a stunning Jack-O-Lantern Wonderland called the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze. Long Islanders are similarly in luck because the Blaze has also returned to Old Bethpage Village!
The event is very popular and tickets go quickly, especially for earlier evening slots. Tickets are available now for both locations and no tickets will be available for purchase at the event.
The fun continues in nearby Irvington, NY where a daytime event - Home of the "Legend" (weekends through November 13th) - and an evening event - Irving’s “Legend” (October weekends) - will take place. In Home of the “Legend,” guests take a spooky but safe tour of the first floor of Washington Irving’s estate, followed by a filmed puppet show. And at Irving’s “Legend,” master storyteller Jonathan Kruk does a dramatic performance of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow outdoors for all ages.
The Blaze is so pretty and magical - everyone from the youngest to the oldest in your group will be blown away by its magic. Visitors walk along a path filled with thousands of carved, lit up pumpkins in all kinds of gorgeous shapes and arrangements, while spooky music plays in the background. For those with babies, it’s best to leave your stroller at home and instead use a baby carrier for purposes of navigating the darkened path.
HIT HALLOWEEN HOUSE AT THE WESTCHESTER MALL
White Plains, NY All of October
Brand New for 2022! Halloween House Westchester is a fully immersive, unique Halloween experience transporting its guests to an all Halloween world! Guests will walk through several impeccably detailed Halloween themed rooms. No fear or jump scares here. Just fun!
Take your littlest creatures to the westchester children’s museum’s not spooky spooktacular
Rye, NY Saturday, October 29
The Halloween Spooktacular on Rye’s Boardwalk is a great way to celebrate the spooky season with little ones! Bring your toddler over in costume for arts and crafts, science workshops and many surprises.
take your big kids to aN ABANDONED kmart
Yorktown Heights, NY Weekends in October
Attention Shoppers! Scared By the Sound Haunted House is back for 2022 but it’s moved to a brand new location in Yorktown Heights - an abandoned Kmart in Yorktown Heights, to be specific. This is a walk through indoor haunted house comprised of scenes “designed to bring you face to face with your worst fears and phobias.” There is no contact with the actors here but do expect some jump scares. Best suited for kids 10+.
IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY
partake in A not so scary scavenger hunt (or scare the bejesus out of your older kids) AT THE SONO COLLECTION
South Norwalk, CT Fridays and Saturdays in October beginning October 14th (Into the Depp) Fridays and Saturdays in October beginning October 8th (Not So Scary Scavenger Hunt)
Usually the only thing scary about a visit to the mall is your credit card statement. But this October, South Norwalk’s The SoNo Collection is playing host to a walk through haunted house experience! Into the Deep, produced by and benefiting the Norwalk Conservatory, is so frightening that it’s not suitable for kids under age 14. This walk through experience will take about 30 minutes to complete….but the nightmares will last much longer!
If your kiddies are younger or on the wimpy side, The SoNo Collection will also play host to a second event from the Norwalk Conservatory, a Not So Scary Scavenger Hunt. This immersive scavenger hunt involves encounters with “goofy creatures” and the performance of “bewitching tricks.” We did the hunt last year and it was AWESOME!
visit ARCH IN BLOOM for pumpkins and pints
Greenwich, CT Saturday, October 15th
Arch In Bloom is a beautiful family owned nursery and landscaping shop in Western Greenwich. The owner always takes great care to decorate the shop and nursery and Halloween is no exception. Visit anytime in October for your chance to meet Arch In Bloom’s humongous skeleton friend and gawk at the other spine-chilling displays on view. And be sure to come by for the Pumpkins & Pints Event, featuring live music, drinks, food and a costume contest.
IN NEW YORK CITY
GO BOO AT THE BRONX ZOO!
Bronx, NY Saturdays and Sundays in October
The Bronx Zoo is always a wonderful visit (we are SO lucky it’s nearby) but visiting for its adorable Boo at the Zoo event is a seasonal must do.
In addition to the usual zoo activities, Boo at the Zoo offers extra fun family friendly Halloween stuff like haunted pirate hayrides, magic shows, an extinct animal graveyard, arts and crafts and costume parades!
Read all about our past visit HERE. This year, tickets MUST be purchased in advance. PS Don’t forget to parlay your visit with a delicious meal in nearby Arthur Avenue.
Also! A brand new event this year for the older kids! Dinosaurs in Darkness: The Hatching is a Friday and Saturday evenings only thrilling walk-thru activity recommended for kids age 13+. The Bronx Zoo Dinosaur Safari will transform into a thrilling and scary nighttime experience that gets guests up close with prehistoric creatures in a whole new way!
HANG with scarcrows and pumpkins at the new york botantical garden
Bronx, NY Daily in October
This October tons of pumpkins and gourds and whimsical scarecrows have taken over the New York Botanical Garden. NYBG’s amazing Everett Children’s Adventure Garden is filled with over 100 silly scarecrows, while the area by the Mertz Library Building and Haupt Conservatory features a plethora of pumpkins. There will also be pumpkin carving demonstrations on select days, and on Saturdays and Sundays, stunning pumpkin and skeleton puppets will greet visitors around the garden from 1 to 4pm. These events are included in an NYBG garden pass.
IN UPSTATE NEW YORK
consume A Tiny Taste Of Terror At Headless Horseman Haunted Hayrides And Haunted Houses
Ulster Park, NY Saturday, October 8th and 22nd
The website for Ulster Park’s Headless Horseman Haunted Hayrides and Haunted Houses clearly states that (i) children aged 8 and under will NOT be admitted and (ii) children age 15 and under need to be accompanied by an adult - these events are NOT for the young or the faint at heart.
For those of us with younger ones, Ulster Park DOES offer two much less scary Children’s Days known as “A Tiny Taste of Terror.” At these two daytime events, Ulster Park turns down its scare level and offers a daytime drive-through experience that includes friendly characters to meet along the way. Afterwards, guests can come inside the Park for a Magic Moon Maze, Haunted Gardens and other family friendly surprises. Tickets may be purchased in advance or on site (for $2 extra).
Cozy Up to An Outdoor famIly friendly halloween Movie AT apple RIDGE OrchardS
Warwick, NY Friday October 14th and 21st
For two Friday nights in October, Warwick’s Apple Ridge Orchards will be doing an outdoor evening viewing of “Spookley,” a family friendly Halloween outdoor movie that promotes “tolerance and kindness.” Grab your blankets and masks and head to Apple Ridge at 5:30pm to claim your spot and purchase snacks from the farm stand. The 45 minute movie will begin at 6:45pm on a screen set up amongst the beautiful apple orchards. Advance tickets are required and each ticket comes with the movie showing, parking AND any sized pumpkin from the patch. Oh AND Bellvale Farms Creamery is also in Warwick and it’s delicious and open only seasonally through October!
BRICK-OR-TREAT AT LEGOLAND
Goshen, NY Saturdays and Sundays in October
Every Saturday and Sunday in October from 3pm-6pm, LEGOLAND Goshen is offering Brick-or-Treat, included with guests’ regular admission. This event features spectacular live entertainment, dance parties, character meet and greets, costume contests and trick or treating!
This post updates a September 30, 2021 post.
