Halloween in Boulder

Here’s where to go in Boulder to get your thrills and chills this October. Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026, so consider staying for a couple of nights to make a weekend of it with the following activities.

Meet the Spirits

Saturday-Sunday, October 3-4, 2026
A beloved tradition in Boulder since 1986, biennially in even-numbered years, Historic Boulder hosts “Meet the Spirits” in the Columbia Cemetery. Learn about Boulder's history through permanent “residents” of the cemetery being portrayed by community volunteers through costumed presentations.

Halloween Drive-In Movies

Friday, October 16, 2026, 7:30pm
Halloween drive-in movies at the Boulder Reservoir are back! Admission is $10 per carload, and each person will receive a goody bag. Learn more.

Spooky Cabaret

Saturday, October 24, 2026, 6 and 8pm
Watch a hauntingly unique performance at Frequent Flyers' studio where gravity-defying aerialists weave eerie tales in the air. Stick around after the second showing for a costume contest and dance party at 9pm. Learn more and get tickets here.

Halloween Stained Glass Class

Friday, October 30, 2026, 11am-3pm
Try something different this year with a Halloween-themed stained glass class at Colorado Glassworks in downtown Boulder. Learn more.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show With Live Shadowcast Performance

Sunday, October 25, 2025, 7pm and 10pm
A classic film with an audience participation twist at Boulder Theater! A shadow cast is an ensemble of performers that act out the movie while it is playing and serves as the catalysts for the audience cues to participate in callbacks or use their props. Be prepared to dance, yell, sing and more. Get tickets.

 

 

 

 

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Go on a Boulder Ghost Tour

Daily, 7 and 8:30pm
Learn about Boulder's history and the hauntings that shape it on a ghost tour of Pearl Street or a haunted pub tour with Boulder Ghost Tours.

6th Annual Motown Haunted Prom

Saturday, October 31, 2026, 7-11pm
Get tickets to this costumed Halloween dance party with a live seven-piece Motown band that sells out every year.

Downtown's Munchkin Masquerade

Saturday, October 31, 2026, 3-6pm
For scary amounts of cuteness, head to downtown Boulder on Halloween for Munchkin Masquerade. Unicorns, stormtroopers, Batman (er, Batmen?), princesses, monsters, butterflies…they all converge upon Pearl Street for the best trick-or-treating in town, with many businesses filling kiddos' buckets to the brim with candy. Parents tend to go all out, too, and you’ll see some amazing costumes. Free.

Halloween Bar Crawl

Saturday, November 1, 2025, 4pm-midnight
Round up your crew, show off your costumes and prepare for a night of creepy cocktails and bar-hopping fun! Tickets include covers for all bars and 2-3 drinks. Learn more.

Tour a Historic Cemetery

Located on Ninth Street between College and Pleasant streets, Columbia Cemetery is Boulder's first permanent cemetery and dates back to 1870. It contains the graves of prominent Boulder pioneers and notable figures such as Mary Rippon, one of the first women professors in Western America. Take some time to simply walk among the granite and sandstone gravestones in the shadow of the Flatirons, and read fascinating gravestones commemorating those who died in mining accidents or of more unusual means, such as "a broken heart." Click here for the City of Boulder's guide to some of the more notable cemetery residents.

Photo: Courtesy of City of Boulder

Boulder Farmers Market

Saturday, October 31, 2026, 8am-2pm
Come sample, shop, meet local farmers, enjoy pumpkin-flavored treats, hear live music and eat great food in the harvest season at the Boulder Farmers Market.

 

 

 

 

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Pick a Pumpkin and Walk a Hay Bale Maze

It’s a straight shot on South Boulder Road to 7th Generation Farm in nearby Louisville, about a 25-minute drive. You’ll find rows of pre-picked pumpkins stacked among vintage farm trucks, or you can stroll out into the field to pick your own. A farm store is stocked with all kinds of produce and goodies. Check their site for the latest. Entrance is $10 per person (under 3 is free).

Go for a Haunted Hike

After traipsing the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail in the rock-climbing mecca of Eldorado Canyon State Park for a bit, you’ll encounter a strange sight in the middle of the wilderness: The ruins of an old stone oven, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. These are the final remains of the Crags Hotel, once a popular mountain retreat that visitors could access via an inclined funicular railway. The hotel inexplicably burned to the ground in 1912. Today, the eerie remnants evoke early 20th-century scenes of hotel staff going about their work, preparing meals for their guests — before the hotel's operations screeched to an abrupt halt as a result of the fire. Here's a map to get to this moderate-level hiking trail. State Park entrance fees will apply.

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons/Max and Dee Bernt