Halloween in New York 2026: parades, haunted tours and trick-or-treating
Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday, which in New York means the biggest one in years. Here is how the parade works, what to do with kids, what has been cancelled this year, and which events are worth leaving the city for.
By Alex Oz · · 9 min read
The Village Halloween Parade
The 53rd Village Halloween Parade is on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 7pm until about 11pm, rain or shine. It runs north up Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to 15th Street. This year's theme is Body & Soul.
Anyone can march, free, as long as they are in costume — street clothes are turned away. Line-up is at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9pm, and you can only enter the staging area from the east and south, via Sullivan, East Broome and Canal Streets. Marchers are released in groups of 1,000 to 2,000, and there is zero tolerance for alcohol. The organizers sell skip-the-line and VIP tickets for those who would rather not wait.
Watching is free. The stretch between Bleecker and 14th Street is the most crowded; spots further south, between King Street and Houston, fill later. If you want to see it without the crush, NY1 broadcasts it live from 8pm.
Halloween with kids
The best family events happen during the day and on the weekends before Halloween, which works out well this year.
Boo at the Zoo
Bronx Zoo · Weekends Sep 26 – Nov 1, plus Mon Oct 12 · Included with zoo ticket
A hay maze and challenge course, animal chats, carnival games, costume parades, puppet and magic shows and candy stations. It is included in the normal Bronx Zoo ticket; reserve ahead.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Fall Harvest Festival
Sat, Oct 24, 11am–5pm · Adults $38, under 12 free
Pumpkin decorating, music, lawn games and a costume parade in the afternoon. The garden's old Ghouls & Gourds event has not returned, so this is the one to go to.
Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Pkwy · Maize maze weekends to Nov 1
The farm's corn maze runs every weekend to November 1 ($17 adults, $10 kids). Its Halloween on the Farm day, with trick-or-treating at candy stations and hayrides, had not been dated for 2026 at the time of writing; last year it was the Saturday before Halloween.
Neighborhood parades on the day
Saturday, Oct 31
Brooklyn has several small, very local parades. Parent groups list the Brooklyn Heights parade at 10:30am from the north end of the Promenade, Cobble Hill at 4pm from Cobble Hill Park, DUMBO's Dumboween at 3pm, and the Park Slope parade in the early evening. Times come from local listings rather than a single organizer, so confirm on the day.
Where to trick-or-treat
Some blocks go all in. West 69th Street between Central Park West and Broadway is closed to traffic and famous for it. In Harlem, Astor Row and Strivers' Row are the classic streets. In Brooklyn, try Third Street in Park Slope between Fifth Avenue and the park, Garden Place and the side streets of Brooklyn Heights, Clinton Avenue in Fort Greene and Albemarle Road in Ditmas Park. With Halloween on a Saturday, expect these to be busier than ever from mid-afternoon.
Spooky for grown-ups
Green-Wood Cemetery After Hours
Sun, Oct 25, 6–8pm · 500 25th St, Brooklyn · $30
An evening walk through the historic cemetery that includes the Catacombs, which are normally locked. Bring a flashlight. No costumes or masks, no children under 10, and the route is not wheelchair accessible. It sells out.
Village Ghost Tours
Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island · Through Oct 31, from 7pm
Candlelit ghost tours through the restored 17th- to 19th-century village, the most atmospheric Halloween option inside city limits.
The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade
East Village · Date not yet announced
The dog costume parade is still going — its 35th edition was on Sunday, October 19, 2025, along Avenue B — but the 2026 date had not been posted at the time of writing. Watching is free; entering the contest needs registration. Expect a mid- to late-October weekend.
Cancelled this year
The Central Park Pumpkin Flotilla on the Harlem Meer will not take place in 2026. The Central Park Conservancy said it had simply become too popular to run safely, and is exploring a new event for the north end of the park in future years.
Worth leaving the city for
The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson runs 44 nights, from September 18 to November 8, with thousands of hand-carved pumpkins and tickets from $24. Sleepy Hollow, home of the Headless Horseman legend, runs storytelling, a twilight village and theater on October weekends, from $16. Both are on Metro-North's Hudson line; book the popular nights early.
After Halloween: smash your pumpkin
In early November the city's compost programs hold free Pumpkin Smash events where you can drop your jack-o'-lantern to be composted instead of thrown out. The 2026 dates had not been announced when this was written; last year Hudson River Park's was on November 1 at Pier 84. We add them to the calendar as soon as they are listed.
Family events this week
Kids' and family events on the live calendar over the next seven days — including the parks' own seasonal programs as they are listed.
Updated Sep 20, 6:17 AM EDT
Summer Sports Experience: Basketball
Girl's Softball Clinic
Kids In Motions: Carmansville Playground
Kids In Motion: Rosemary's Playground
Kids In Motion: Grover Cleveland Playground
Family Art Project: Sun Turning
Climate Week: Transform a T Shirt into a Tote Bag
Kids on the Move! Equilibrium for the Equinox
Movies Under the Stars: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
Keep going
- Things to do in NYC in October 2026The rest of the October calendar: Open House New York, Comic Con, the Film Festival.
- Free things to do with kids in NYCFree family ideas for the rest of the year.
- Free things to do in NYC at nightFor the evenings that are not Halloween.
- Events for kidsThe live calendar of family events, updated daily.