Things to do in NYC in October 2026

October is the best month in New York: the heat is gone, the parks start to turn, and the city packs its biggest cultural weekends into four weeks. Here is what is on in 2026, with the dates already confirmed and the ones still to be announced.

By Alex Oz · September 20, 2026 · 9 min read

Things to do in NYC in October 2026 — NYC Now Guide

What October in New York is like

The average high in Central Park in October is about 64°F (18°C) and the average low about 51°F (11°C), based on the National Weather Service's 1991–2020 normals. That means a light jacket in the evening and walking weather all day. Expect around four inches of rain across the month.

Two dates shape the month in 2026. Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day falls on Monday, October 12, a long weekend for schools and many offices. Halloween is on Saturday, October 31, which makes it a much bigger night out than usual. Clocks go back the next morning, Sunday, November 1.

The big dated events

These have fixed 2026 dates. Some sell out, so book early.

New York Film Festival

Sep 25 – Oct 12 · Lincoln Center, 165 & 144 W 65th St · Ticketed

The 64th festival runs through October 12 at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater and Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, with screenings in other boroughs from October 2 to 9, including at BAM and the Museum of the Moving Image. The public ticket release goes quickly for the big titles; the smaller screenings are much easier to get into.

New York Comic Con

Oct 8–11 · Javits Center · From about $104 a day

The 20th anniversary edition has a Coney Island theme. Saturday, four-day and VIP passes are already sold out. Single-day passes for Thursday, Friday and Sunday were still listed at the time of writing, from about $104 to $109.

Columbus Day Parade

Mon, Oct 12 · Fifth Avenue · Free

The Columbus Citizens Foundation's parade goes up Fifth Avenue. The 2026 start time has not been posted yet; in past years it has run north from the mid-40s towards 72nd Street from late morning. Check the organizer's site the week before.

Open House New York Weekend

Oct 16–18 · Citywide, 10am–6pm · Mostly free

For one weekend, around 300 buildings that are normally closed to the public open their doors — private clubs, engineering works, new towers, historic interiors. Most sites are free and drop-in; the popular ones need a reservation, and those open on a set date in the run-up. This is the best free weekend of the year in New York, and it is worth planning a route by neighborhood.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Fall Harvest Festival

Sat, Oct 24, 11am–5pm · 990 Washington Ave · Adults $38

Music, pumpkin decorating, a cider and beer garden and an afternoon costume parade. Tickets are $38 for adults, $30 for seniors, $17 for ages 12 to 17 and free under 12.

Village Halloween Parade

Sat, Oct 31, 7pm · Sixth Ave from Canal St to 15th St · Free

The 53rd parade falls on a Saturday this year, so expect record crowds. Anyone in costume can march for free. The full details are in our Halloween guide.

All month long

These run for weeks, so you can fit them around the fixed dates.

Boo at the Zoo, Bronx Zoo

Weekends Sep 26 – Nov 1, plus Mon Oct 12 · 2300 Southern Blvd · Included with zoo ticket

Hay maze, costume parades, pumpkin displays, puppet and magic shows and candy stations. It is included with a regular Bronx Zoo ticket, which you need to reserve in advance, though this year the tickets are not timed.

Día de los Muertos at the New York Botanical Garden

Oct 3 – Nov 2 · 2900 Southern Blvd · With garden admission

A new celebration for 2026 with marigold displays, community altars, a giant floral Catrina and weekend music and crafts, ending with a parade on Sunday, November 1 at 2pm. NYC residents can visit the grounds free all day on Wednesdays.

Amazing Maize Maze, Queens County Farm Museum

Weekends to Nov 1, 11am–4pm · 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy · Adults $17

A corn maze on the city's longest continuously farmed land, in eastern Queens. Kids 3 to 11 are $10 and under-3s are free. Parking is free, which tells you how far out it is.

Queens Night Market

Saturdays to Oct 31, 4pm–midnight · Flushing Meadows Corona Park · Free entry

The open-air night market behind the New York Hall of Science has its last Saturdays of the season in October. Entry is free and most dishes are capped at a low price.

Village Ghost Tours, Historic Richmond Town

Through Oct 31, from 7pm · Staten Island

Candlelit tours of the restored village in the middle of Staten Island. On October weekend afternoons there is pumpkin picking at the town's Decker Farm, and on October 17 an Old Home Day festival of historic trades.

Governors Island in the fall

Open daily · $5 ferry, free before 11am on weekends

The island is open all year with fall hours of 7am to 6pm. The seasonal ferries from Brooklyn Bridge Park and Red Hook stop after November 1, so October is the last month to use them.

Fall color

The Farmer's Almanac puts New York's peak foliage around November 1 this year, and the Central Park Conservancy notes that the park often turns later than the surrounding region. So late October is when the color starts properly. Our fall foliage guide lists the best places in all five boroughs and the trackers that show what has turned.

Just outside the city

Two of the most popular October trips are not in New York City at all, which catches people out when they try to get there by subway. The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze runs from September 18 to November 8 at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, with tickets from $24 on quieter nights. Sleepy Hollow Country's Halloween events run on October weekends, from $16. Both are a Metro-North ride up the Hudson line.

Insider tips

The things that only come from turning up.

Plan Open House weekend by neighborhood: With around 300 sites over three days, the people who see the most pick one or two neighborhoods and walk between buildings. Reserve the few ticketed sites the moment they open and fill the rest with drop-ins.
Halloween is a Saturday this year: The parade, parties and trick-or-treating all land on a weekend night in 2026. Book restaurants in the West Village early, and expect the subway around Sixth Avenue to be packed from 6pm.
Wednesdays at the Botanical Garden: NYC residents get into NYBG's grounds free all day on Wednesdays, and everyone is free from 10 to 11am — the cheapest way to see the Día de los Muertos displays.
Last call for the summer venues: The Queens Night Market's final night is October 31 and the Brooklyn ferries to Governors Island stop on November 1. If either is on your list, do it this month.