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. Also, don’t forget about our list of Trunk-or-Treating events (a.k.a. cars decorated in a theme and children collect candy) for additional family-friendly excitement!
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 such as a spooky trail, little straw maze, games, and more.
- Opens October 1, 2018
Dates: The trail will take place from now until October 31st, 2018. Their hours are 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monday- Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
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. In 2018, they have made the trail bigger and better than before!
Date: Every Saturday in October from 11-3
Where: Polaris Lifestyle Center near Cheesecake Factory
Parents can enjoy the beer garden and live music while children enjoy the fun activities!
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Alum Creek State Park Fall Fest
Dates: October 5-6, 2018
Where: Alum Creek State Park (3305 S. Old State Rd, Delaware, OH 43015)
Scavenger hunt, wagon rides, fishing, night hikes, seasonal movies, and the wonderfully scary “Haunted Trail”
Campers and the public are welcome to come out and explore the Haunted Trail!
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Dates: Open most Friday and Saturday nights from October 6, 2018-November 3, 2018. 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.
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Dates: October 13 & 14, 2018
Address: Various Oakland Nurseries
Each location is offering slightly different activities. Events include musical entertainment, hay rides, pony rides, kids games, pumpkin and face painting, etc… Check out the options here: Oakland Nursery Fall Fest
All Hallows’ Eve at Ohio Village
Dates: Sat., Oct. 13, 2018, 5:30–9:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 20, 2018, 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. 13 & 20 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 to revel in old-fashioned entertainment including fortune telling, crafts, games and more!
Dates: Thursday, October 18, 2018
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 science from COSI, and Columbus Museum of Art’s Cardboard Creations.
- New in 2018, our goblins and ghouls can blast off with the Mousetrap Kids Show. Champions of music, art, science, and everything creative, our youngest of guests will enjoy meeting fascinating characters in this band’s Space Winnebago. Also new in 2018 is Character Camp, located inside of the Teen Lounge. Stop by for a meet and greet or a quick photo with your favorite princess or superhero.
- Don’t miss returning favorites like the Hayride, Haunted Trail and Trunk or Treat Trail, or eerie exhibits featuring the Turtle Lady and the Bug Man, and more!
- Free admission
Scented Storytime: Halloween Edition
Date: October 18, 2018 from 6-8 pm
Where: The Candle Lab in Grandview and then take a 7-minute walk to the Grandview Heights Public Library
Start at The Candle Lab to create a custom candle and then listen to a spooky story at the library.
Date: October 19, 2018 from 6:30 pm- 8:30 pm
Where: Worthington Community Center
Annual Halloween Party featuring dinosaur themed treat trail, music, hayrides, and games.
Dates: October 19-21, 2018 and 26-28, 2018
Address: Powell, OH
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will host Boo at the Zoo for Halloween fun without the fright!
Superhero characters, HOWL-O- WEEN animal show, hayride, pumpkin junction express, hay maze, and more!
Date: Friday, October 19, 2018 from 6-8 pm
Where: Antrim Shelter at Heritage Park (60 N. Cleveland Ave.)
Children aged 8 and under, wear your costume, enjoy carnival games, a treat trail, Halloween bingo, Vendor Alley and a horse-drawn carriage through the park. FREE
Dates: October 19 – 27, 2018; 7-10 pm
Where: The Ohio Statehouse
Wind through the dark halls and chambers of the 1861 building and meet figures from the past.
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Dates: October 19- 20, 2018 and 26-27, 2018
Where: The Ohio Railway Museum (990 Proprietors Road, Worthington, Ohio 43085)
Tour the decorated rail cars and listen to the story of Ghost Trolley.
Date: October 20, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
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.
Easton Halloween Pet Parade and Fall Festival
Dates: October 21 from 12-3 pm
Address: Fenlon Square at Easton Mall
Dress your pet in their best costume and bring ’em to Easton for the Halloween Pet Parade and Fall Festival. Don’t miss activities for the kids too, all in Fenlon Square.
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Dates: October 26, 2018 from 4-7 pm & October 27, 2018 from 12-2
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. Bring a donation from their wish list to enjoy the event for free.
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This one is for adults, but this is an elaborate event worth mentioning.
Dates:
Friday, October 26, 2018: HighBall On The Rocks
6:00pm – 1:00am
Saturday, October 27, 2018: HighBall High Fashion
4:00pm – 1:00am
Where: Short North Arts District
Watch the fashion show, be entertained by the street performers, listen to musical performances and more.
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Date: October 26, 2018 at 8 pm
Where: Weigel Auditorium on Ohio State Campus
This is the 25th year for HalleBooia! Listen to vocalists and instrumentalists dressed in costumes. FREE
Date: October 26, 2018 from 10:30-11:30 am
Where: Old Worthington Library
Dress in costume, listen to a Halloween story and parade around the library (weather permitting). Ages 5 and under.
Date: October 27, 2018 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.
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Dates: Saturday, October 27, 2018 and Sunday, October 28, 2018
Time: 10:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.
Wear your costume and visit the trick-or-treat stations throughout the Conservatory and Children’s Garden with your own reusable bag.
Inniswood Annual Halloween Party
Dates: Sunday, October 28, 2018 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 28, 2018
Join the North Market from 11am-2pm for a full day of free family Halloween fun! Enjoy craft activities, trick or treating, music and more. See their website for updated information.
Date: October 30, 2018 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.
Day/Overnight Trips:
Dates: Fridays-Sundays from September 15-October 28 (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 21- October 27 (Open on Sundays, but no Haunt.)
Where: Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio
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 (Also September 28 and 29 this year)
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 29-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 pumpkin patch and maze to trick-or-treat through and all of the normal fun (A-Maze-N-Funhouse, kids’ play area and train displays).
