Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday, which turns the usual weeknight scramble into a real weekend. Here are eight U.S. cities worth booking for it, with what’s actually on the calendar in each one.
Costume floats rolling through the French Quarter. A cemetery that locks its gates at five. A corn maze on the edge of the desert.
Halloween has become a travel weekend, and this year gives you the version people wait for. October 31 lands on a Saturday, so you get two full nights instead of one squeezed between work and the school run.
Here’s where to go, and when each city’s big events actually happen.
U.S. Cities That Know How to Do Halloween Right
1. New Orleans, LA
Best for: Adults who want the party more than the jump scare. Don’t miss: The Krewe of Boo parade rolls Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 6:30 p.m., from Faubourg Marigny through the French Quarter to Canal Street and the Warehouse District. Free to watch.
There’s Halloween, and then there’s New Orleans Halloween. Ghost tours run nightly through the French Quarter, the vampire bars lean all the way in, and costuming here is treated as a skill rather than a novelty.
Note that the parade is a full week before Halloween itself, so you can do both weekends if you’re staying a while.
2. Savannah, GA
Best for: Slow, atmospheric spooky instead of haunted houses. Don’t miss: A paranormal investigation at the Gribble House site, where three women were killed in December 1909 in what’s still Savannah’s most notorious murder case.
One thing most guides get wrong: the Gribble House itself was demolished in 1941. What you’re touring is the building that went up on the lot afterward, which is why it looks like a warehouse rather than a haunted mansion.
Bonaventure Cemetery is the other stop. Admission is free, but the gates close at 5 p.m., so either go in daylight or book one of the after-hours tours that run on October Saturdays.
3. Chicago, IL
Best for: Pairing a big-city weekend with genuinely frightening haunted houses. Don’t miss: Arts in the Dark returns for its 12th year on Saturday, October 24, 2026, 6 to 8 p.m. The parade is back on Columbus Drive this year, stepping off at Balbo and heading north toward Jackson.
It calls Halloween the artist’s holiday, so you get spectacle puppets and performers from more than 90 groups rather than commercial floats. Organizers expect a crowd over 100,000.
For actual fear, Basement of the Dead and 13th Floor are the two serious haunts. For the opposite, Lincoln Park Zoo’s Spooky Zoo is free, built for small kids, and includes trick-or-treating and carousel rides.
4. Denver, CO
Best for: Fall color and a historic hotel bar, with no theme park in sight. Don’t miss: Glow at the Gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens runs October 15 to 18 and October 21 to 24, 5:30 to 9 p.m., with hand-carved pumpkins and live performers.
The Oxford Hotel is the city’s most-told ghost story. Built in 1891, it’s the oldest hotel still standing in Denver, and its Cruise Room opened in 1933 the day after Prohibition was repealed.
Glow is aimed at families rather than anyone hunting a scare, so set expectations before you bring a teenager.
5. Asheville, NC
Best for: Leaf season first, Halloween second. Don’t miss: The Asheville Terrors walking tour, then a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway while the color holds.
Timing here depends on elevation. Color starts above 5,000 feet in the first week of October and works its way down, reaching downtown Asheville and the Biltmore grounds in the fourth week, which is Halloween weekend.
This is the quietest pick on the list. If you want costumes and crowds, book one of the others.
6. Orlando, FL
Best for: Families who need to split up by nerve level. Don’t miss: Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights hits its 35th year, running August 28 through November 1 across 49 nights, the longest run the event has ever had.
Check this before you plan around it: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has sold out every one of its 2026 dates. The party ran 38 select nights from August 7 through October 31 at $119 to $229 plus tax, and Disney’s own event page now lists all of them as gone. If that was your plan, it needs a new one.
Horror Nights is the ticket still worth chasing, and it is not a substitute. Not-So-Scary is trick-or-treating and parades for small kids. Horror Nights isn’t recommended for anyone under 13, and it bans costumes and masks for guests, which catches people out every year.
Where to stay in Orlando, FL:
- Estates at Park Avenue places you near shopping, restaurants, Orlando’s arts district, and it’s only 4 miles from Universal Studios, with amenities like a yoga studio, clubhouse, and everything you need for a relaxing stay after a day of thrills.
7. Portland, OR
Best for: Offbeat over organized. Don’t miss: The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium, which has a life-size alien autopsy you can pose with, a ten-foot bigfoot, and cookies baked with edible crickets and mealworms.
Portland’s version is less about ticketed events and more about wandering. Ghost tours cover the Shanghai Tunnels, the old passages under Old Town Chinatown that once connected hotel basements to the Willamette waterfront.
October is also when the rain returns, averaging about 4 inches across roughly 15 days. Bring a jacket you can wear over a costume.
8. Phoenix, AZ
Best for: Costumes that don’t need a coat over them. Don’t miss: Spooky Safari at the Phoenix Zoo, October 28 to 30, 2026, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., $18 per person with kids 2 and under free.
Phoenix in October averages a high near 89 degrees and a low around 66, according to National Weather Service normals. Warmer in the day than most visitors expect, and close to perfect once the sun goes down.
Fear Farm is the big haunt, with a corn maze on the same site. The pumpkin patches lean more desert than New England.
Where to stay in Phoenix, AZ:
- The Access in Tempe puts you steps from ASU, the light rail, and Mill Avenue, which is where the costume bar crawls end up. Plus it comes with a rooftop basketball court and resort-style pool.
- Brix Warehouse District, right in downtown Phoenix, is walking distance from local bars and Halloween pop-ups. Unwind after the festivities with rooftop views or a swim in the resort-style pool.
When Is Halloween 2026?
Halloween 2026 is Saturday, October 31. That is the detail worth planning around. A weekend Halloween means parades, haunts and parties cluster on the night itself instead of spreading across a Thursday and the weekend either side of it, and it means you can travel Friday and come home Sunday without taking time off.
It also means the last weekend of October is the busiest of the season. Book stays and event tickets earlier than you think you need to.
Which U.S. Theme Park Is Best for Halloween?
Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, if you can handle it. It is the biggest and the longest-running, and 2026 is its 35th year across 49 nights. It is also not for kids: Universal doesn’t recommend it under 13, and guests can’t wear costumes or masks.
Here’s how the major park events line up in 2026:
| Event | Park | 2026 dates |
|---|---|---|
| Halloween Horror Nights | Universal Orlando | Aug 28 to Nov 1, 49 nights |
| Knott’s Scary Farm | Knott’s Berry Farm, CA | Sep 17 to Oct 31, 26 nights, 10 mazes |
| Howl-O-Scream | Busch Gardens Williamsburg | Sep 11 to Nov 1 |
| Howl-O-Scream | SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, San Antonio | Sep 11 to Oct 31 or Nov 1 |
| Fright Fest | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Sep 18 to Nov 1, 33rd year |
| Mickey’s Not-So-Scary | Magic Kingdom | Sold out for 2026 |
For younger kids, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary was the answer, and every 2026 date is gone. Howl-O-Scream has daytime family programming at the SeaWorld parks before the scares start, which is the closest substitute still selling.
What City Does Halloween the Best?
New Orleans, and it isn’t particularly close. The city has a free parade on October 24, ghost tours running nightly through the French Quarter, and a culture that treats costuming as a year-round skill rather than one night of effort.
Salem gets named more often, but it’s a small city absorbing enormous October crowds, and that shows. If you want the atmosphere without the crush, Savannah delivers a similar thing with more room to move.
What State Has the Best Halloween Attractions?
Depends what you’re after, and the honest answer splits three ways.
Florida for theme parks. Horror Nights and the SeaWorld Howl-O-Scream events put more professionally built haunted attractions in one state than anywhere else.
Louisiana for atmosphere and events, on the strength of New Orleans alone.
California for sheer maze count, with Knott’s Scary Farm running 10 mazes and five scare zones across 26 nights.
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Stay Your Way This Spooky Season
A Saturday Halloween means you can commit to the trip instead of racing home for a Tuesday night. Landing handles the part that comes after the ghost tour.
Our fully furnished apartments come with full kitchens and premium amenities, so you can carve pumpkins on a real counter, warm the cider, and put the kids to bed somewhere that isn’t a hotel room with two queens. Stay for the weekend or the whole season.
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