2026 Hershey & Harrisburg Halloween Guide
Trick-or-treat nights, pumpkin celebrations, Halloween adventures and delightfully spooky family fun east of the Susquehanna.
Last updated September 4, 2026 • This is a living guide! More events are being added as Halloween details are announced.
Locate the costume bin, untangle the fake spiderwebs and prepare for your children to change their costume plans approximately fourteen times between now and October 31. Halloween season has arrived!
We've rounded up Halloween fun in Harrisburg, Hershey, Hummelstown, Lower Paxton, Susquehanna Township, Middletown, Elizabethtown and communities across the East Shore.
This guide is devoted specifically to Halloween fun: trick-or-treating, costumes, pumpkins, parades, spooky adventures and those wonderfully unusual seasonal experiences that make us immediately rearrange our October calendars.
And because new trunk-or-treats and neighborhood events appear faster than miniature candy wrappers under a car seat, you'll find our automatically updating Halloween calendar at the bottom of the guide.
We've got a whole separate guide for Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Enola, Dillsburg, Shippensburg and the rest of the West Shore.
Explore the West Shore Halloween Guide →Looking for fall festivals, farms, apples and harvest fun?
Those get their own guide! Our Fall Festival Guide is where you'll find harvest festivals, farm adventures, apples, vendors, food and all the autumn fun that doesn't require a plastic pumpkin bucket.
Explore the Fall Festival Guide →🕸️ Halloween With a Twist
Because sometimes we want our Halloween plans with a side of chocolate science, trolley theatrics or flashlight-fueled candy hunting.
🚋 Trick-or-Treat Trolley
All aboard for Halloween, Hershey-style. This approximately 40-minute seasonal trolley show travels through Hershey with characters, stories about Milton and Catherine Hershey, and plenty of tricks and treats along the way.
Parent note: This one is specifically designed to be fun rather than scary, making it an especially nice option for younger kids or families who want Halloween without the jump scares.
See the 2026 Trick-or-Treat Trolley schedule →🍫 Make Halloween Chocolate at The Hershey Story
This is Halloween crafting with considerably better leftovers. The Hershey Story's October Chocolate Lab schedule includes seasonal creations such as Chocolate Cobweb Creations, Batty Bars, Mummy Medallions and Spooky Bark, depending on the day's class schedule.
Know before you go: Chocolate Lab participants must be at least 5 years old, and children under 13 must be accompanied by a paying adult. Classes are approximately 45 minutes.
Check The Hershey Story event calendar →💙 Sensory Friendly Night at Hershey's Chocolate World
Halloween season should include room for families who experience the world a little differently, too. Hershey's Chocolate World will host a Sensory Friendly Night with modified attraction, food and retail experiences, along with visits from Susquehanna Service Dogs and other sensory-friendly accommodations.
This lands right in the middle of Chocolate World's Halloween season, making it a particularly welcome option for families who may find the usual October crowds, sounds and stimulation overwhelming.
See Chocolate World seasonal events →🔦 Halloween Weekends at Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA
If one Halloween activity isn't enough, apparently the answer is to simply move into Halloween for the weekend.
The Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA has five Halloween camping weekends scheduled for 2026, with activities varying by weekend but including costume parades, campground trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting, Halloween crafts, family movies, candy bingo, treasure hunts and after-dark flashlight candy hunts.
Parent note: This is campground programming, so check directly with KOA for lodging, reservation requirements, activity availability and any additional fees before making plans.
Explore the Halloween Weekend schedules →🍬 Even More Trick-or-Treating in Hershey
Hershey's Chocolate World Trick-or-Treat Trail
Because apparently Hershey looked at Halloween and decided it needed more candy. Families can trick-or-treat through the World's Largest Hershey's Store throughout the Halloween season.
2026 hours: Fridays 5–8:30 p.m. and Saturdays & Sundays noon–8:30 p.m.
See Chocolate World Halloween details →🎃 Pumpkin-y Halloween Fun
For the families who like their Halloween approximately 87% adorable.
🎃 Pumpkin Palooza at Hershey Gardens
More than 200 painted pumpkins take over Hershey Gardens, along with a towering 14-foot pumpkin tree and colorful pumpkin mosaics. Kids are encouraged to come in costume and can trick-or-treat at four Hershey candy stations throughout the Gardens.
See Pumpkin Palooza details →🌙 A Not-So-Scary Night at Wildwood
Night at the Nature Center
The Olewine Nature Center gets a little strange after closing time. Families can wander through the center as exhibit-hall critters come to life, then visit activity stations featuring s'mores around the campfire, apple cider, a craft and a deliberately not-so-scary Halloween story.
🥁 Halloween Parades
Costumes, floats, fire trucks and that magical annual tradition of standing along a street while your children acquire even more candy.
🎃 Hershey Halloween Parade
Hershey's annual Halloween Parade returns October 20. We're watching for the complete 2026 parade details and start time and will update this listing as soon as they're officially published.
🎃 Hummelstown Halloween Parade
The parade caps off Hummelstown's month of scarecrow-filled Halloween fun, with the winners of Scarecrows on the Square announced during the festivities.
See Hummelstown Halloween happenings →🌾 Scarecrows Take Over Hummelstown
Scarecrows on the Square
Scarecrows take over Hummelstown as local businesses, organizations and families create displays around town. Community voting runs October 9–23, with the winners announced during Hummelstown's Halloween Parade on October 26.
See Hummelstown Halloween happenings →👀 We Loved These Last Year
Several favorite local Halloween traditions haven't released complete 2026 details yet. We're watching for announcements and will move them into the guide as soon as we can verify this year's information.
- Halloween Circus at Reservoir Park • Harrisburg
- Halloween Bash at the Brownstone • Harrisburg
- PHEEA Trunk or Treat • Harrisburg
- Saturday of Souls Trunk or Treat • Harrisburg
- Additional Harrisburg-area trunk-or-treat celebrations
- Library Halloween parties, crafts and spooky storytimes across the East Shore
- More community and neighborhood costume celebrations
Add it FREE to the Macaroni KID community calendar using the Add Event button, and be sure to type HALLOWEEN into the tag field so it can appear in the live Halloween feed below.
🍬 Community Trick-or-Treat Nights
We're updating this section as municipalities announce their official 2026 trick-or-treat schedules.
Watch here for Harrisburg-area communities, Hershey/Derry Township, Hummelstown, Lower Paxton, Susquehanna Township, Middletown, Elizabethtown and neighboring municipalities.
📅 Even MORE Halloween Fun
We're constantly adding trunk-or-treats, costume parties, library programs, pumpkin activities and other Halloween happenings. Browse the live calendar below to find even more family fun near you.
Calendar updates automatically as new local events are added.
Event details can change, especially due to weather. Always confirm final times, locations, registration requirements, admission requirements and cancellation information with the event organizer before heading out.
