The spooky season is here, so today I'm sharing some of my favorite Halloween events around Denver and the surrounding area. Pumpkin patches, corn mazes, haunted houses, spooky shows... There's something for everyone here no matter how spooky (or spookless) you like the season to be.
Let's take a look...
Glow at the Gardens
Every October Denver Botanic Gardens lights up in the evenings with a spectacular exhibition of light displays, jack o'lanterns, sculptures made of pumpkins, and characters in costumes. It's a family friendly event with nothing too spooky on display, but you will find the odd skeleton or two in displays. Visitors are welcome to come in costume (no prop weapons or scary masks allowed).
Every October Denver Botanic Gardens lights up in the evenings with a spectacular exhibition of light displays, jack o'lanterns, sculptures made of pumpkins, and characters in costumes. It's a family friendly event with nothing too spooky on display, but you will find the odd skeleton or two in displays. Visitors are welcome to come in costume (no prop weapons or scary masks allowed).
This year's Glow at the Gardens runs from October 19th through 24th from 6pm to 9pm. The event sells out every year so make sure to get your tickets ASAP. For tickets and more information click here.
Chatfield Farms Corn Maze
For a fun day time event, make sure to check out Chatfield Farms Corn Maze. Chatfield Farms is part of the Denver Botanic Gardens and is located in nearby Littleton. Every Fall the farm is home to a 7 acre corn maze that delights visitors. It's family friendly and not spooky at all. Visitors under the age of 10 can also explore the mini corn maze. Barrel train rides are included with every child ticket purchased and, for an additional cost, there is an escape room located on site. Unlike Glow at the Gardens, visitors are asked not to attend in costume.
Chatfield Gardens Corn Maze is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October 31st from 9am to 5pm. Please note that on October 8th through 10th a ticket to Chatfield Farm's Pumpkin Festival will be required to enter the corn maze.
For more information and to purchase tickets click here.
Chatfield Farms Pumpkin Festival
As mentioned above, the Chatfield Farms Pumpkin Festival runs October 8th through 10th. This event includes a 10 acre pumpkin patch (with pumpkin babysitting available so you can enjoy the rest of the event without lugging around heavy pumpkins), carnival games, hay rides, photo booths, access to the mini corn maze for children 10 and under, family friendly entertainment, lots of yummy food options, face painting, and an antique tractor display. Access to the adjoining corn maze requires an extra ticket.
Anderson Farms Fall Festival
Located just outside of Erie, north of Denver, Anderson Farms is a favorite Fall destination with Colorado families. You'll find a huge range of Fall and Halloween activities here including a 25 acre corn maze, a 30 acre pumpkin patch with tractor pulled wagon rides, pumpkin canons, a petting zoo, barrel train rides, fun playgrounds, fire pits and plenty of food options.
In the evenings things get a little spookier with Zombie Paintball Hunt and Terror in the Corn haunted house and corn maze. Zombie Paintball Hunt is pretty kid friendly with a wagon ride through a zombie apocalypse. The wagon is equipped with paintball guns to shoot the zombies. We did this a few years back and the kids loved it. Terror in the Corn features a haunted house connected to a haunted corn maze. An enclosed truck takes visitors to the attraction with a few spooky encounters along the way. The haunted house is pretty spooky with lots of jump scares and gory scenes. It's not recommended for children under 10, but this is up to parents' discretion. Ava found it to scary when we visited so we opted for the Zombie Paintball Hunt instead.
Anderson Farm Fall Festival is open Wednesdays through Mondays (closed Tuesday) until October 31st. Hours vary depending on the day. Zombie Paintball Hunt and Terror in the Corn are open Thursday through Sunday evenings.
For more information and to purchase tickets click here.
You can see our visit to Anderson Farm Fall Festival here.
Fright Fest at Elitch Gardens
Elitch Gardens in Denver is a popular theme park year round, but in October things get a little spooky with the annual Fright Fest. During the day the scares are family friendly with trick or treating, a costume contest, Halloween bingo and a scream contest. In the evenings the scares get a little more, well... scary! Fright by Night sees gruesome characters haunting the park as well as three haunted attractions: No Vacancy, Séance, and Big Top Freaks. Fright by Night is recommended for ages 12 and up. For both Family by Day and Fright by Night visitors are welcome to come in costume. Throughout October there will also be special events held in the park.
Elitch Gardens is open Saturdays and Sundays throughout October as well as select Friday evenings. Hours vary depending on the day.
13th Floor Haunted House
Lovers of all things spooky and gruesome should definitely check out 13th Floor Haunted House. This Denver favorite is back with all the thrills and chills this year. The large, and rather creepy haunted house features three different zones: Frost Bite, Bad Blood and The Dollmaker. They're all spooky in their own way with creepy characters appearing out of the dark, screams and terrifying sounds, vivid and quite realistic looking gory displays, lots of smoke and strobe lights, and an awful lot of darkness. On site you'll also find Sensory Overload, a maze in complete darkness. I gave that one a miss because it was a little out of my comfort zone. Plus I was wearing heels. Don't wear heels! Visitors will also find Shriekeasy Bar with spooky cocktails, axe throwing, blitz bowl, and food trucks on site.
13th Floor Haunted House is open 7 days a week throughout October (closed October 11th) with evening ours varying depending on the day. There are also openings on select dates in early November.
For more information and to purchase tickets click here.
Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns
New to Colorado this year is Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns at Hudson Gardens & Event Center in Littleton. This fun event features 5,000 hand carved pumpkins and pumpkin displays. You'll find a large array of jack o'lanterns from classics to elaborately carved pumpkins depicting beloved movie and tv characters, sports stars and celebrities. Multi pumpkin sculptures in the form of mythical creatures, movie characters and famous artworks are sure to delight. The gardens are lit up beautifully and music can be heard throughout. You'll find concession stands offering food, drinks and toys on site.
New to Colorado this year is Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns at Hudson Gardens & Event Center in Littleton. This fun event features 5,000 hand carved pumpkins and pumpkin displays. You'll find a large array of jack o'lanterns from classics to elaborately carved pumpkins depicting beloved movie and tv characters, sports stars and celebrities. Multi pumpkin sculptures in the form of mythical creatures, movie characters and famous artworks are sure to delight. The gardens are lit up beautifully and music can be heard throughout. You'll find concession stands offering food, drinks and toys on site.
Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns is open Thursday through Sunday evenings in October. Hours vary depending on the day.
For more information and to book tickets click here.
To see our visit to Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns click here.
7th Generation Farm
7th Generation Farm is our local pumpkin patch. It's a much smaller farm that Anderson Farms and doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it does have a good range of pumpkins and some fun activities for the kids. Plus it has lots of great photo opportunities. Here you'll find plenty of pumpkins, a hay bale maze, a hay bale castle, pony rides, a petting zoo, food trucks, a market stand with locally grown fruits and vegetables, and more.
7th Generation Farm is our local pumpkin patch. It's a much smaller farm that Anderson Farms and doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it does have a good range of pumpkins and some fun activities for the kids. Plus it has lots of great photo opportunities. Here you'll find plenty of pumpkins, a hay bale maze, a hay bale castle, pony rides, a petting zoo, food trucks, a market stand with locally grown fruits and vegetables, and more.
7th Generation Farm pumpkin patch is open Tuesdays through Sundays in October.
For more information click here.
Monster to Midnight at Distortions Monster World
For a family friendly spook fest make sure to check out Monster to Midnight at Distortions Monster World. Distortions Monster World in Denver Pavilions is a great place for lovers of all things spooky to check out any day with their interactive displays of horror movie characters and props, but in October the spooky level is amped up during special event hours. Visitors will find entertainment throughout the exhibition as well as live characters on site. Special guests make an appearance on certain dates. For those wanting to check out the exhibits without too much of a scare there are monster repellant stickers that can be worn.
Monster to Midnight is open Thursdays through Saturdays in October as well as select Sundays from 6pm to 12am.
For more information and to purchase tickets click here.
To see our visit to Monster to Midnight click here.
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Do you have a favorite family friendly Halloween event that you enjoy attending? I'd love to hear about it so make sure to drop a comment below or over on Instagram.
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