The last full weekend before Halloween is the big one for family events: zoos in costume, parades in Cape May and Freehold, a pumpkin-lit evening in Morristown, and lantern-light history at Sandy Hook. Here is the plan for Friday Oct 23 to Sunday Oct 25. Dates and times can change, so check each organizer's page before you go.
Zoos in costume
A free Halloween morning at the Cape May County Park and Zoo in Cape May Court House, with a costume contest.
- Saturday, Oct 24: 10 am to 2 pm
- Free and open to everyone
- Costume contest sign-up 10 to 10:45 am; the contest starts at 11 am
Details: Cape May County.
Up in Wantage, Space Farms Zoo & Museum lets kids under 12 in costume in free with a full-price adult.
- Saturday and Sunday, Oct 24 and 25
- Costume contest at 2 pm
- The zoo is open 10 am to 5 pm, last entry 4 pm
Details: Space Farms.
Halloween parades
- Sunday, Oct 25: steps off at 3 pm along the Washington Street Mall on Carpenters Lane
- Free to watch; free to march (sign-up from 1:30 pm at Perry and South Lafayette Streets)
Details: Washington Street Mall.
- Sunday, Oct 25: parade at 1 pm along Main Street
- Costume contest check-in 12:15 to 12:45 pm at the Freehold Raceway lot, Manalapan entrance, 130 Park Avenue
- Everything is free
Details: Freehold Spooktacular.
Pumpkins, campfires and lanterns
A free family evening at Vail Mansion Plaza, 110 South Street, Morristown.
- Saturday, Oct 24: 5 pm Sleepy Hollow story, 6 pm art workshop, 6:30 pm luminary mask parade, 6:45 pm the pumpkins light up
- Rain date: Sunday, Oct 25
Details and sign-up: Morris Arts.
Campfire stories at Jockey Hollow in Morristown National Historical Park.
- Saturday, Oct 24: 5:30 pm, about an hour and a half
- Meet outside the Wick House; free
Details: National Park Service.
A "not too scary" night hike at The Watershed Institute in Pennington on Saturday, Oct 24. The time and cost are on its sign-up poster: The Watershed Institute.
Walk the old harbor defenses at Sandy Hook by lantern with living historians in uniform.
- Friday, Oct 23: 6 pm, about 3 hours, from the Fort Hancock Museum (Building 28)
- Free; bring a flashlight
Details: National Park Service.
Back at Sandy Hook on Sunday, volunteers in World War II uniforms run gun drills on the 6-inch guns at Battery Gunnison.
- Sunday, Oct 25: from 12 pm, about four and a half hours
- Free
Details: National Park Service.
More than 6,000 carved and lit jack-o'-lanterns on a 45-minute walk-through at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, with a corn maze, food and live entertainment.
- Friday to Sunday, Oct 23 to 25: evenings, by timed ticket
- $20, or $39 VIP; children 36 inches and under are free; parking is free
- Tickets online only, for a reserved time slot
Details: Skylands Stadium.
Historic villages go spooky
Trick-or-treat from building to building at Historic Walnford Farm in Upper Freehold.
- Sunday, Oct 25: 12 to 2 pm
- Free
Details: Monmouth County Parks.
- Sunday, Oct 25: 12 to 3 pm at Batsto Village, 31 Batsto Road, Hammonton, in Wharton State Forest
- No price is posted: check before you go
Details: Batsto Village.
- Saturday, Oct 24: vendors 10 am to 5 pm at Historic Smithville in Galloway (rain date Nov 1)
- Free costume contest with a $100 cash prize at 4 pm (time tentative)
Details: Historic Smithville.
Make a day of it
Staying out after dark? Every haunted hayride, trail and house we found for 2026, sorted from Mild to Intense, is in our guide: NJ Haunted Hayrides and Haunted Houses 2026.
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