Family Halloween Events in Chicago (Map + Calendar!)

Kristy Pepping said:  Come out to Glaeser Park to fill up your candy bags, and partake in some fun activities!

3-5pm

Gina I. said:  Wear your costume to Cosley Zoo and enjoy family-friendly decorations and activities before ending your visit by decorating a pumpkin.

5:15-8:30pm

Yoli B said:  Mount Prospect's Fall Fest is a great kickoff for your kid's Halloween activities! The family festival is part of Mount Prospect's Oktoberfest, and will include free, fun family activities and entertainment.

1-4pm

Enjoy a trick or treat path (with registration), inflatables, crafts, games and activities, face painting, costume contest, live music and stage events, hayride, and more!

10am-2pm

Come trick-or-treating and see the zoo decked out in its Halloween finery. There will also be a costume parade!

9am-5pm

Dress up in your Halloween costume for this special Halloween event for truck-loving kids at the Palos Pool Parking Lot! Trucks, tractors, emergency vehicles and heavy equipment will all be available for kids to explore! Children will also receive a treat from each vehicles vendor.

6-8pm

Fall Fest at Lincoln Park Zoo features ticketed attractions throughout the zoo, including a Fun Slide, Ferris wheel, inflatable activities, and much more. While you stroll through the decorated gardens bursting with fall color, you’ll enjoy free musical entertainment, professional pumpkin carvers, a pumpkin patch, and fall-themed enrichment for the animals. Every weekend will offer something new!

Drive or walk by several of the spookiest homes in the Fox Valley area, and admire the ghoulish yard displays of St. Charles’ finest home haunters. A map of the participating homes will be available online.

Homes are best viewed from dusk until 10pm

This Trunk or Treat event will feature candy, as well as healthy treats and snacks, along with a live DJ, games, and special breast cancer awareness highlights with educational information for family members.

4-6pm

Yoli B said:  Come in costume - they'll provide the treat bags, candy, and spooky fun! Each time slot allows trunk or treaters plenty of time to enjoy the trunk or treat line and activities. Trunk or Treat is an outdoor activity, so be sure to dress for the weather!

1-4pm

Lisa R said:  Evanston's Zombie Scramble is flag football with a Halloween twist. Race through an obstacle filled course filled with zombies while protecting the flags hanging from your belt. Beware- if you lose all your flags, you'll become a zombie too!

PageOne said:  Put on your Halloween costume and head to the free, family-friendly Monster Mash event in Center Court! The event features a reptile show, Halloween crafts, giveaways + raffles, Halloween music, and free Halloween digital family photos! You can also meet some of your favorite characters!

10am-12pm

HollywoodBlvdCinema said:  The family Halloween party at Hollywood Blvd Cinema is a fun event featuring live character photos ops, cartoons, candy and music, a child costume contest, a family costume contest, dance contest, giveaways, activities & more!

10:30am-12:30pm

PageOne said:  Join us for mall-wide trick-or-treating! This FREE event will include trick or treating and spooky surprises, including appearances by friendly Halloween characters! Wear your costume and get ready to have some fun!

12-2pm

Yoli B said:  Head to downtown Glen Ellyn for a spooktacular event where children and their parents can participate in the parade, trick-or-treating, games, crafts, and more!

9:45am-1pm

Kristy Pepping said:  Dress up in your Halloween costume and search for spooktacular items in the forest with your family and friends...some items may be natural, while others will be SUPER-natural! Stop by the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center to get a map of the route and a list of items, and see how many you can find. The hike will be approximately half a mile long on paved trails.

10am-4pm

Kristy Pepping said:  Bust out the costumes early and head over to Cantigny for a fun and treat-filled night! This is a walking tour through the park with candy stations along the way.

6-8pm

Angela Salonga said:  The Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce (LPCC) is ghoulishly thrilled to announce the return of Spooktacular 2023 presented by LPCC, Lincoln Avenue Special Service Area #35, and Clark Street Special Service Area #23! The enchanting trick-or-treat experience will take place on Saturday, October 28 along Lincoln Avenue from Wrightwood to Webster and Sunday, October 29 along Clark Street from Diversey to Armitage. Lincoln Park businesses will transform into trick-or-treat stops for families to visit and celebrate Halloween. On Saturday, families are invited to stop by Lincoln Common at 2335 N. Lincoln for face painting, caricature artists, 360 photo cam, live mobile DJ and a Dog Costume Contest with Scout Veterinary Care.

1-4pm

Kristy Pepping said:  What to do with those soggy pumpkins after Halloween is over? Throw them away? No! Head to Pumpkin Smash, a family event organized by SCARCE and hosted by local governments, schools, and community organizations around Chicagoland.

They will take your old pumpkins and compost them for you, making it fun and easy to help the environment as a family by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, capturing water & nutrients to recharge our soil, and freeing up space in local landfills. Check their website for your closest location, and get smashing!

apopekBPD said:  Enjoy this mid-day trick-or-treating opportunity. Vitalant will be joining alongside for their second-year blood drive! They will have a live DJ playing games, and Halloween tunes. Registration required.

11am-1pm

Kim Clements said:  Explore a driving experience through the woods of Camp Big Timber! It's not your traditional haunted road.... Discover larger than life attractions, including dinosaurs, aliens in the outer world, a haunted circus, creatures from the lost lagoon and much more. A Halloween Experience that will having you sitting on the edge of your seat, with your jaw on the floor. It's fun for all ages....little ones all the way to grandma and grandpa!

Scarecrow Weekend offers a large arts and crafts show, a scarecrow stroll, a family zone and more!

Haunt 31 is a residential haunted house that covers the front and side yards. This is an extensive display that includes over 30 pneumatic/animated props, static displays, special effects, ambiance music, and “un-dead” actors.

Kristy Pepping said:  Come to downtown Long Grove for their pet costume parade. You can either watch the pets parade downtown or you can register your own pet on their website. There will be one winner per category: Best Dressed, Most Unique Costume, and Judge’s Favorite.

12pm

Erin P. said:  Put your costumes on and head out to Dollinger Family Farm for a fun afternoon trick-or-treating around the farm. Other everyday activities on the farm include farm animals, a bee barn, a great playground, and a 4-acre corn maze.

1-2pm

Upparent said:  A colorful, musical adventure that explores the meaning of the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead.

6:30pm

ASDTA said:  All ages and abilities are invited to trick or treat at participating downtown businesses. Look for orange paper pumpkins displayed on business doors. A map will be posted prior to the event.

1-3pm

ASDTA said:  Sugar Skull City is a downtown-wide celebration of Day of the Dead.

Kristy Pepping said:  Enjoy an evening of slightly spooky family fun featuring live music, horse-drawn hay rides, pumpkin decorating, ghoulish games, pumpkin inflatable, s'mores and more. Come dressed in your Halloween costume for a costume contest!

5-7pm

Upparent said:  Imagination will be on full display when costumed revelers wear their best get-ups to the Wheaton Park District’s Halloween Happening at the Community Center.

Attractions include carnival games and a bounce house. There also will be a Touch-A-Truck display, sensory tables, a food truck and the traditional Trick-or-Treat Trail. There will be a small fee for some of the activities. A Fun Pass is available for $25 for residents and $30 for nonresidents. Prices increase the day of the event. Fun Pass holders get unlimited games, two bounce house vouchers, one airbrush tattoo voucher, one Trick or Treat Trail voucher and unlimited access to atrium activities.

5:30-7:30pm

If you want costumes, walls of pumpkins, and plenty of family-friendly activities then head over to The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival!

Brigitte Nohra Miller said:  Enjoy trick-or-treating around the grounds of the Historical Museum, and learn the history of why we beg for candy from strangers. Experience hands-on harvest equipment from the Museum's collection, and play historic and Halloween games before sharing campfire spooky stories.

2-4pm

Gina I. said:  Enjoy a spooktacular jack-o-lantern display at the Chicago Botanic Garden! With over 1,000 hand-carved pumpkins decorating the grounds, you're sure to find some inspiration for your own jack-o-lanterns! You'll also find costumed entertainers and live carving demos along the paved path.

Alexandra F. said:  Wizards and Muggles of all ages can enjoy free wizard and Harry Potter-inspired entertainment, activities, crafts, shopping & dining at the Historic Woodstock Square. Don't miss real-life Quidditch!

Noon-4pm

Gina I. said:  On this special day, guests can enjoy ofrendas created by community members, live musical performances, art activities, and a large illuminated ofrenda projected outside of the museum.

3pm-8pm

Every Halloween, zombies and ghouls take over Great America for this terrifyingly fun fest! You'll enjoy all of the park's thrilling rides and attractions, but with a Halloween twist. Check out the haunted houses and designated Scare Zones throughout the park, where spooky creatures are there to "greet" you! The park gets spookier as the sun goes down, so if you're going to bring the little kids go during the day and avoid the Scare Zones. They also offer Kids Boo Fest on weekends, which features spooky fun for all ages.

Select dates

Lisa R said:  Enjoy a ride to the pumpkin patch aboard Halloween-themed electric interurban trains. While at the patch, ask one of the farm hands to help you find the perfect pumpkin, and pose for pictures in the various colorful, life size cutouts, as well as an antique farm tractor and hay wagon.

11am-4pm

Kristy Pepping said:  Find all the hidden pumpkins on the Giants Hollow Trail during this fun scavenger hunt. Costumes encouraged but not required.

10am-2pm

Kristy Pepping said:  Halloween Town Haunt is a residential home turned into a spooky haunted display with a minimal scare factor. Drive by and experience the light-up and animated Halloween decor.

Dusk until 10:30pm

Alexandra F. said:  Meet at the Twin Lakes Tent for this family-friendly event that will take participants on a hayride while a story is read, and take you back to a welcoming bonfire to enjoy s'mores and hot chocolate! The earlier rides during day light are geared toward younger kids. Please dress for the weather! Pre-registration is required.

5-8pm

Kristy Pepping said:  Dark Shadows is a residential haunted house display featuring a front graveyard with over 20 animated and interactive props. If you like what you see, they also sell and build custom props. They will be collecting canned goods as well as cash donations for the Together We Hope Food Pantry.

6-10pm

The Arts In The Dark Parade is a dazzling production that delights an audience of 50,000 with unique floats, spectacle puppets and creative performances – all set against the backdrop of historic State Street. More than just a parade, Arts in the Dark is a mission-driven and curated event that brings performance and creativity to the street.

6-8pm

NatalieM said:  The event kicks off on Level 2 with a Halloween-themed concert, led by Bubbles Academy, and a costume parade. Following the kickoff, trick-or-treat through 900’s seven levels of retailers and explore a slew of spooky activities.

12-4pm