Douglas County, Colorado
Halloween in Douglas County
Spooktacular, Fangtastic, the Haunted Forest, haunted hayrides, trunk-or-treats, murder mysteries in a castle — every Halloween event across the county, dated and priced.
By Connor Tien, DougCo Social · Updated September 2026
The 2026 Halloween calendar at a glance
The Tentpoles
- Spooktacular — Sat Oct 17, 1–4 p.m., Miller Park (Castle Rock): Free — Castle Rock's big family Halloween afternoon.
- Fangtastic Festival — Fri Oct 30, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Festival Park (downtown Castle Rock): Free — the downtown tentpole the day before Halloween.
- The Great Pumpkin: A Storybook Holiday — Sat Oct 24, 6–9 p.m., Douglas County Libraries (Parker): $28.52–$33.85 — the library's ticketed family storybook night.
- Last Stop — Halloween Night at the Mansion — Sat Oct 31, 6:30–9 p.m., Highlands Ranch Mansion: Free — DJ, a trick-or-treat stop, and a cash bar at the historic mansion on Halloween night itself.
Haunted & Scary
- HRCA Haunted Forest — Fri Oct 23, 6:30–9:30 p.m. & Sat Oct 24, 7–10 p.m., Backcountry Wilderness Area: $15 general / $25 fast pass — a three-quarter-mile creep through the woods, recommended for ages 10+. Note there are flashing lights.
- Fright Lite — Sat Oct 24, 5–7 p.m.: $10 — the same lights, music and themed scenes with no scare actors performing. The pick if jump scares are a hard no.
- Haunted Forest Fall Fest — Sat Oct 24, 1–4 p.m.: $10 per kid, $5 per adult — the daytime family version with a bounce house, crafts and food trucks.
- Getting to all three: park at Rocky Heights Middle School, 11033 Monarch Blvd, Lone Tree, then walk south on the trail to the Community Area. The Backcountry Wilderness Area has no separate event parking.
- Haunted Hayrides at Stockton's Plum Creek Stables — Fri Oct 23 & Sat Oct 24, Roxborough: $16 (2 and under free) — an HRCA 4-H fundraiser hayride.
- Ghostly Stories & Tragic Tales Walking Tours — Oct 1, 7, 8, 14, 21, 22, 28 & 29 at 7 p.m., plus Oct 17 & 31 at 1 p.m., Castle Rock Museum: Free downtown ghost-story walks (donations encouraged) — The Rock, the Old Stone Church, the B&B Café. Reservations required: 303-814-3164.
- Spirits with the Spirits Mansion Tours — Wed Sep 30 & Oct 7, 14, 21, 6:30 p.m., Highlands Ranch Mansion: $44.52 — evening tours of the mansion's darker history.
Trunk-or-Treats & Family
- Trunk or Treat on Mainstreet — Sat Oct 24, Parker Station rear lot (Downtown Parker): Up to 60 decorated business trunks. Sensory-friendly hour 1–2 p.m., general admission 2–5 p.m. Free — every child needs a free timed-entry ticket; parents don't.
- Free Family Trunk-or-Treat at Kiddie Academy — Sat Oct 24 (Parker): Free.
- Fall Festival featuring Creepy Crawlies Around the Rock — Sun Oct 18, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Festival Park (Castle Rock): The Town's fall festival with its up-close animal program downtown.
- Halloween Characters Brick Painting — Sun Sep 27, 2–5 p.m., Max Taps Co. (Highlands Ranch): $50 — paint Halloween characters on a porch brick with Emma Paints Colorado, in association with DougCo Social.
- Returns each October (2026 dates not yet posted): Big Jack's Boo Bash at the Outlets at Castle Rock, the Wild Rumpus Halloween Bash at Lost Canyon Ranch, and neighborhood trunk-or-treats across Sterling Ranch and Castle Pines.
Hunting pumpkins instead? The patches, corn mazes and PumpkinFest all live on our Fall & Halloween guide.
Parties & Shows
- Midnight at the Masquerade — Murder Mystery at the Castle — Sat Oct 17, 6–9:30 p.m., Cherokee Ranch & Castle (Sedalia): $84.95 — a masquerade murder-mystery dinner in an actual castle.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Shadow Cast — Sat Oct 24, 8 p.m., PACE Center (Parker): $32 — the screening with a live shadow cast.
- Midnight at the Masquerade — Dinner Theater — Sat Oct 24, Pikes Peak Event Center (Parker): Doors 5:30 p.m., Italian buffet dinner at 6 — ticket price direct from the venue (720-675-7932).
- Club 21 Halloween Dance Party — Fri Oct 16, 7–9 p.m., Wellspring Community (Castle Rock): $15.
- Halloween Dance at the Highlands Ranch Senior Center — Thu Oct 29: $19 members / $22 non-members.
- Giant Zero Halloween Show — Fri Oct 30, 6:30 p.m., 105 West Brewing (Castle Rock): Free — costume up and catch the taproom show.
Coming up next
Live from our events calendar — the next Halloween events, updating automatically as dates are posted.
Keep the season going
Never miss a Halloween event
Every spooky season event lands in our newsletters first. Join 14,000+ Douglas County locals.
Subscribe FreeFrequently asked
The two free tentpoles are Spooktacular at Miller Park in Castle Rock (Sat Oct 17, 1–4 p.m.) and the Fangtastic Festival at Festival Park downtown (Fri Oct 30, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.). Parker's big family day is Saturday Oct 24: Trunk or Treat on Mainstreet behind Parker Station (sensory-friendly hour 1–2 p.m., general admission 2–5 p.m., free with a timed-entry ticket per child) plus The Great Pumpkin: A Storybook Holiday at the Douglas County Libraries that evening. Castle Rock adds the Fall Festival featuring Creepy Crawlies Around the Rock at Festival Park (Sun Oct 18), and the free Last Stop — Halloween Night at the Highlands Ranch Mansion closes the month on Oct 31, 6:30–9 p.m.
HRCA runs the Haunted Forest in the Backcountry Wilderness Area — a three-quarter-mile trail walk recommended for ages 10+, Fri Oct 23 (6:30–9:30 p.m.) and Sat Oct 24 (7–10 p.m.), $15 general / $25 fast pass, with Fright Lite (Oct 24, 5–7 p.m., $10, same trail without the scare actors) and a daytime Fall Fest (Oct 24, 1–4 p.m.) — park at Rocky Heights Middle School in Lone Tree. Stockton's Plum Creek Stables in Roxborough runs Haunted Hayrides Oct 23–24 ($16, 2 and under free) as an HRCA 4-H fundraiser. In downtown Castle Rock, the Castle Rock Museum's free Ghostly Stories & Tragic Tales walking tours run nine dates across October (reservations: 303-814-3164), and the Highlands Ranch Mansion's Spirits with the Spirits evening tours run Sep 30 and Oct 7, 14 and 21 ($44.52).
Yes — Cherokee Ranch & Castle hosts Midnight at the Masquerade, a murder-mystery dinner in a real castle (Sat Oct 17, 6–9:30 p.m., $84.95); the PACE Center in Parker screens The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a live shadow cast (Sat Oct 24, 8 p.m., $32); the Pikes Peak Event Center runs its own Midnight at the Masquerade dinner theater the same night (doors 5:30 p.m.); and 105 West Brewing in Castle Rock books Giant Zero for a Halloween show on Fri Oct 30 (free). The Highlands Ranch Senior Center's Halloween Dance is Thu Oct 29 ($19 members / $22 non-members).
Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026, and neighborhood trick-or-treating is not centrally scheduled — most families go out the evening of Oct 31. For organized alternatives, Trunk or Treat on Mainstreet in Parker runs Sat Oct 24 (free, timed-entry tickets for kids), Kiddie Academy of Parker hosts a free family trunk-or-treat the same day, and the Last Stop at the Highlands Ranch Mansion (Oct 31, 6:30–9 p.m., free) includes a trick-or-treat stop.