Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so the whole last weekend of October is fair game. We sorted this list into free stuff, family days, real scares and grown-up nights. No organizer paid to be included.
Free
Wickedly Westboro (Sat., Oct. 24, 1 to 4 p.m.)
Westboro Village, Richmond Road · westborovillage.com
Shop-to-shop trick-or-treating along Richmond Road, rain or shine, with candy stations, a stilt walker, a magician and an acrobatic show. Bring your own treat bag.
Halloween in the Forest (Sat., Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Vanier, Richelieu Park Forest, 300 Pères-Blancs Ave. · Muséoparc Vanier on Eventbrite
Six stations, six small challenges, a treat at each. Free, no registration, first come first served (or while supplies last). Moves to the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre if it rains.
Halloween at the Bunker (Sat., Oct. 31)
Carp, Diefenbunker, 3929 Carp Rd. · diefenbunker.ca
Free activities, a spooky photo backdrop and trick-or-treating (while supplies last) at the entrance and in the Blast Tunnel, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No booking needed. A Halloween scavenger hunt inside runs until 3 p.m. with regular museum admission. Worth knowing: lots of stairs and no public elevator, so the museum suggests a baby carrier over a stroller.
Halloween Storytime (Sat., Oct. 31, 10:15 a.m.)
Old Ottawa South, Sunnyside Library, 1049 Bank St. · Ottawa Public Library
A costume-friendly storytime with crafts and games. All ages, no registration.
Family days
Pumpkin Fest at Proulx Farm (weekends to Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Cumberland, 1865 O'Toole Rd. · proulxfarm.com
Corn mazes, a wagon ride through the woods, a petting farm, play structures and pick-your-own pumpkins (sold separately). Admission is $23.60 a person, plus $1.50 online; kids 2 and under are free. Deal: on Oct. 25 and 31, if two of you come in costume, the second admission is half off.
Pumpkin Express (Oct. 17 and 18, 1 to 7 p.m.)
Ingenium Centre courtyard (Canada Science and Technology Museum) · ingenium.ca
A short Bytown Railway Society train ride out to a pumpkin patch; every paid ticket gets a pumpkin. $10, tax in; museum admission is separate. Tickets are on sale now, and Saturday is filling up. Oct. 16 is members only. Rain or shine. Halloween Day (Oct. 31) plans at the museum: details TBA.
Trail & Treat at the YMCA Outdoor Centre (Sat., Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Dunrobin, 1620 Sixth Line Rd. · ymcaottawa.ca
"Spooky, not scary": archery, a nature trail, a haunted maze, pumpkin carving, face painting and a campfire with hot cider. Kids 4 to 13 are $25, youth $15, adults $5, under 3 free. Space is limited, so register ahead.
Halloween at the Farm, Science for Tots (Fri., Oct. 30)
Experimental Farm, Canada Agriculture and Food Museum · Ingenium tickets
Hands-on sessions for babies to 5-year-olds, with three time slots by age (9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.). $19 plus tax; register online ahead.
Real scares
FrightFest at Saunders Farm (Fri. and Sat. nights, and every night Oct. 21 to 31)
Munster, 7893 Bleeks Rd. · Saunders Farm tickets
Seven haunted attractions, street theatre and a fire stage show, 6 to 11 p.m. (10 p.m. on quieter nights). General admission starts at $62.99 plus a $2.99 fee (regular price $73.50, and prices change by date), with fast-track RIP passes from $99. Tickets are for a 30-minute arrival window and are non-refundable. Worth knowing: not recommended under 12, and no masks allowed on the farm.
sKreamers at Proulx Farm (Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31)
Cumberland, 1865 O'Toole Rd. · skreamers.ca
A haunted wagon ride through the woods plus two haunted houses (the Side Laboratory and the Front Barn), run by volunteers from the Kiwanis Club of Eastern Ottawa as a fundraiser. $25. Gates 7 p.m., box office closes 9 p.m. Worth knowing: not recommended under 10, no refunds, no bags allowed on the grounds, and no transit out there.
The Haunted Walk
Downtown and around · hauntedwalk.com
The Original Haunted Walk is a lantern-lit downtown tour ($32.99 adults, $24.99 youth, $5 off Monday to Wednesday). New this year: Ghosts of Laurier House, a lights-out tour of the old prime ministers' home, 16 spots a night ($52.99). There are also after-dark tours at Beechwood Cemetery's mausoleum, plus 16+ paranormal investigations at Billings Estate and Cumberland Heritage Village.
Grown-up nights (19+)
FrightCrawl (Oct. 29 to 31)
ByWard Market · frightcrawl.com
A costume bar crawl on one wristband with no cover at the stops. Thursday from $15, Friday from $20, Saturday night from $45, plus a Saturday day party (1 to 8 p.m.) from $15. 19+, ID checked, costumes required.
Nature Nocturne: Black and White Ball (Fri., Oct. 30), sold out
Canadian Museum of Nature · nature.ca
The museum's 19+ dance party is already sold out. We're listing it so you don't go hunting; the museum warns against resale tickets. The next one is Feb. 5, 2027.
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Details were checked Oct. 12, 2026, on each organizer's page. Plans change, so confirm before you go.