These Halloween activities are family-friendly and full of fun. If you are wanting the fully spooky (a.k.a. SCARY) experience, check out the list of Haunted Houses and Spooky Trails.
Halloween Haunts, Activities and Events:
Family Friendly Haunts
Haunted Greenhouse Maze at deMonye’s Greenhouse
Address: 2500 Airport Drive, Columbus, OH 43219
- Indoor fall/Halloween activities
Dates: Open most Friday and Saturday nights from October 7-November 4th. Read the FAQ’s.
Address: 5560 County Road 109, Mount Gilead, OH 43338
- Practice shooting zombies with paintballs and then board the Zombie Hunting Vehicle as it drives through the woods of Splatter Park.
- Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Dates: Open during business hours through Halloween
Address: 6058 Glick Rd, Powell, OH 43065 (Just down the street from the Zoo and across from the Bogey Inn.)
This FREE trail is filled with various mummies, witches, zombies and other creepy things. It’s a short trail that weaves through the enclosed garden area, but it definitely is a bit spooky.
Dates: October 6 & 7
Address: Various Oakland Nurseries
Each location is offering slightly different activities. Check out the options here: Oakland Nursery Fall Fest
Dates: October 6th at 7:30 pm – October 7th at 10:30 pm
Where: Alum Creek Campgrounds (2911 S Old State Rd, Delaware, OH 43015)
Campers and the public are welcome to come out and explore the Haunted Trail!
Date: October 13th from 6:30 pm- 8:30 pm
Where: Worthington Community Center
Annual Halloween Party featuring treat trail, barnyard petting zoo, hayrides, games, and music by Endless Recess.
Date: October 14th from 11 am-12 pm
Where: Northwest Library in Worthington
Wear your costume to dance and do a craft. Geared towards children 5 and under.
Dates: Sat., Oct. 14, 2017, 5:30–9:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 21, 2017, 5:30–9:30 p.m.
Address: Ohio Village, I-71 & 17th Avenue (Exit 111), Columbus
(The Ohio History Center will close at 4 p.m. on Oct. 14 & 21 to prepare for this event)
Enjoy an evening of 1890s-style family fun at All Hallows’ Eve, with a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by the bonfire, pumpkin carving and strange characters roaming Ohio Village. Come revel in old-fashioned entertainment including fortune telling, crafts, games and more!
Date: Wednesday, October 18th
Time: 7-9 pm
Where: Dublin Library
Listen to slightly spooky stories recommended for ages 6-11.
Dates: Thursday, October 19th
Time: 3-8 pm
Where: Dublin Community Recreation Center: 5600 Post Road
- Merry and not so scary family-fun! The whole family can come in costume and enjoy Halloween activities inside and outside the DCRC. Boo Boogie in the Haunted Theater, Hip Hop Halloween live on the Hocus Pocus Patio, candy corn crafts, supernatural slime, and Columbus Museum of Art’s Cardboard Creations.
- Pirates & Princesses will take over the Lantern Lagoon. Join Bella, Ariel and Captain Jack for a bounty of seafaring stories, swashbuckling sing-a-longs and photo opportunities with your favorite characters.
- Trunk or Treat trail and more!
Dates: October 20th from 4-7 pm (also October 27th)
Where: Ohio Wildlife Center (9000 Dublin Road, Powell, OH 43065)
Walk through White Tail Trail and visit with “spooky” animal ambassadors. Admission is $5 per person, children 5 and under are free.
Dates: October 20th-22nd and 27th-29th
Address: Powell, OH
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will host Boo at the Zoo for Halloween fun without the fright!
Presented by Diet Pepsi, Boo at the Zoo will offer all-new attractions this year in five themed areas throughout the Zoo: Sugar Patch Place, Super Hero Lagoon, Frogwortz, Eerie Shores and Pumpkin Junction.
Halloween Treat Trail Party (reference page 22)
Date: October 20th from 6-8 pm
Where: Everal Barn at Heritage Park (60 N. Cleveland Ave.)
Wear your costume and enjoy carnival games, a treat trail, Halloween bingo, Vendor Alley and a horse-drawn carriage through the park. FREE
Dates: October 20th & 21st and October 27&28th
Where: The Ohio Statehouse
Wind through the dark halls and chambers of the 1861 building as you learn about the history.
This one is for adults, but this is an elaborate event worth mentioning.
Dates: October 20th & 21st
Where: Short North Arts District
Watch the Battelle Couture Fashion Show, be entertained by the street performers, listen to musical performances and more.
Date: October 21st from 10 am – 12 pm
Where: Main Street in Old Hilliard from Peace and Good Things at 4143 Main St. to Heartland Bank at 3971 Main St.
- Trick or Treating (the street will not be closed)
- Scavenger Hunt
- Family-Friendly activities
- Costume contest for various categories including; Kid, Adult, Family, and Pet
Date: October 21st from 11-3 pm
Address: Creekside Park & Plaza: 117 Mill St., Gahanna
This is a FREE event. Come in costume and enjoy the live music, games, activities, haunted trail and trick or treat for candy courtesy of local organizations.
Date: October 21st from 2-6 pm
Where: Polaris Lifestyle Center near Cheesecake Factory
Live music by Fortune, silly safari animal shows, face painting, balloon artists, face painting, costume contest, parade food trucks and more. The proceeds from the beer garden benefit the Ronald McDonald House. From 2-3 pm, children ages 10 and under will be able to trick-or-treat in the designated area.
Dates: October 21-22 and October 27-28 (Doors open at 4 pm and close at 8 pm)
Where: The Ohio Railway Museum (990 Proprietors Road, Worthington, Ohio 43085)
Tour the decorated rail cars and listen to the story of Ghost Trolley.
Easton Halloween Pet Parade and Fall Festival
Dates: October 22nd from 12-3 pm
Address: Fenlon Square at Easton Mall
17th Annual Halloween Pet Parade and Fall Festival! Dress up your pets and family in festive Halloween costumes. There will be face painting, a caricature artist, the Pet Butler, and Rusty Bucket will host pups on their patio from 12-5. Make sure to stop by and get your pet a homemade dog treat and enter them into the costume contest to win a Rusty Bucket gift card.
Zombie Halloween Pool Party (reference page 22)
Date: October 22nd from 6:30-8 pm
Where: Westerville Community Center (350 N. Cleveland Ave.)
Meet the Zombie lifeguards as you walk through a haunted trick or treat trail. Then the party moves to the pool. Children 6 and under must have a parent in the pool. Parents are free and children are $7.50 for non-residents and $5.00 for residents.
Dates: October 27th from 4-7 pm (also October 20th)
Where: Ohio Wildlife Center (9000 Dublin Road, Powell, OH 43065)
Walk through White Tail Trail and visit with “spooky” animal ambassadors. Admission is $5 per person, children 5 and under are free.
Date: October 27th at 8 pm
Where: Weigel Auditorium on Ohio State Campus
This is the 24th year for HalleBooia! Listen to vocalists and instrumentalists dressed in costumes. FREE
Date: October 28th from 10-11 am
Where: Old Worthington Library
Dress in costume, listen to a Halloween story and parade around the library (weather permitting). Ages 2-5
Dates: October 28th
Time: 11 – 4pm
Wear your costume and visit the trick-or-treat stations throughout the Conservatory. Decorate a treat bag to collect your loot.
Inniswood Annual Halloween Party
Dates: Sunday, October 29, 2:00 – 4:00
Halloween Party: Join us in the gardens. Enjoy activities and crafts in celebration of this traditional holiday. Meet in the Education Pavilion for activities and crafts.
Dates: Sunday, October 29th
Join the North Market from 10am-3pm for a full day of free family Halloween fun! Enjoy craft activities, trick or treating, music and more.
Fallopalooza (reference page 23)
Date: October 29th from 4-9 pm
Where: Everal Barn and Homestead (350 N. Cleveland Ave.)
A FREE event including a hayride, pumpkin painting, pumpkin games, snacks and more.
Date: October 30th from 6-8 pm
Where: Olde Pickerington Village
This event is FREE for all ages and includes ghost tours, storytelling, trick or treating through Old Pickerington businesses, haunted garden, haunted museum, haunted house, food and more.
Boo on Broadway & Beggar’s Night
Date: October 31st from 6-8 pm
Where: Grove City’s Town Center
Children dress in costume and collect candy from local businesses.
Day/Overnight Trips:
Dates: Fridays-Sundays from September 15th-October 29th (No Haunt on Sundays)
Where: Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH
The entire park is decorated for Halloween. The Great Pumpkin Fest is full of fun for children. There’s a parade, Hexed Spellbound (a toned down haunted house for all ages during the daytime), Magical House on Boo Hill, Trick or Treating in a designated area and lots of Halloween spirit. At night, things get a lot scarier in certain areas of the park. Haunt offers 6 outdoor mazes, 6 scare zones, live shows and other surprises.
Dates: Friday and Saturday nights from September 22nd- October 28th (Open on Sundays, but no Haunt.)
Where: Kings Island
Feel festive as you roam around Kings Island and admire the Halloween decorations and attractions. The family-friendly activities are known as The Great Pumpkin Fest, while The Haunt is scarier with 10 haunted attractions.
Haunted Wagon Rides- Young’s Jersey Dairy
Dates: Friday and Saturday nights in October
Where: Young Jersey’s Dairy in Yellow Springs, OH
These scary stories are designed for families, but they are spooky. The ride goes into a dark cornfield where various monsters and goblins will jump out. They don’t chase, run or grab anyone.
Dates: September 21-October 31
Where: EnterTRAINment Junction in West Chester, OH
This place has the World’s Largest Indoor Model Train Display and during Halloween there are special decorations and activities. There are two outdoor train rides, straw maze, an indoor maze to trick-or-treat through and all of the normal fun (A-Maze-N-Funhouse, kids’ play area and train displays).
