With Halloween in New Jersey on the horizon, it’s prime time to shift into all things spooky (like a haunted hayride in NJ or visiting a haunted house.) With that said, this Halloween is shaping up to be very strange (thanks COVID-19), but there are still plenty of scary and not-so Halloween events around New Jersey this fall. Read on for places you can get in the socially-distant and masked Halloween spirit with the whole family.
featured image via Skylands Stadium
Psst! We love seeing your stay-at-home and socially distanced New Jersey adventures. Be sure to tag your photos with #NJMOM and @njmom for a chance to be featured in our round-up next week.
Activities to do with the whole family for Halloween in New Jersey
A day of Halloween fun for all ages at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Six Flags HALLOWFEST
Enjoy a “Spooktacular Celebration of Family-Friendly Frights” this fall at Six Flags Great Adventures as they bring back this family-favorite Halloween event. Get into the spooky spirit with your little ones with Thrills by Day from 2PM to 6PM, including Scarecrow Street, Pumpkin Patch Lane, Magic on the Move, Trick-or-Treat Trail, and more. Chills at Night starts at 6PM and brings on the scary Halloween activities like Scarecrow Street After Dark, District 5 Unearthed, Clown Town, one of the best haunted houses in NJ, and more. You can also enjoy spooky shows like The Emergence or Street Cirque. And whether you’re there during the day or night, don’t forget to check out their fun (and new) HALLOW-MAZES, like Mama’s Farm and Wicked Woods.
September 18 through November 1
$6-20 per ticket
Six Flags Great Adventure
1 Six Flags Blvd
Jackson Township, NJ 08527
Your littles won’t believe their eyes as you drive through the magical Skylands Stadium Jack O’Lantern Experience in Augusta
Skylands Jack O’Lantern Experience
Experience a little Halloween magic as you drive through this festive and beautifully lit pumpkin patch. Over 5,000 carved and blazing Jack-O-Lanterns will be on display for one of the best Halloween events in NJ, with some of the coolest visuals you’ve ever seen, right from the comfort of your car.
September 25 through November 1
$24-$39 per car
Skylands Stadium
94 Championship Place
Augusta, NJ 07822
Suit up in your Halloween-best for a day of spooky fun at Boo at the Zoo via Bronx Zoo
So this is NY, but it’s worth the trip across the Hudson to be a part of the Bronx Zoo’s annual Halloween tradition. Be sure to dress in your Halloween best and head over to see their Pumpkin Trail, with hundreds of expertly carved pumpkins. After that, check out the Extinct Animal Graveyard, full of animals that are no longer with us (and learn how to prevents it from happening to other animals in the future). Keep the party going with a Magic and Mind Reading Show, Costume MASKerade, Candy Trail, and Animal Scavenger Hunt.
Thursdays through Sundays starting October 1 through November 1
$30-40 per ticket, members are free
Corn Maze tickets $7
2300 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10460
It wouldn’t be Halloween in New Jersey with getting the family in the kooky and spooky spirit of The Addams Family. Celebrate the oddest family around at the third annual AdamsFest in Westfield (the former home of cartoonist Charles Addams) all month long. Look out for events like Dudley’s Drive-In, where you can join themed drive-in movies, a pumpkin painting contest, and more. Then on October 25 and 26, make your way through the Tamaques Haunted Trail with a family-friendly daytime drive and another haunted one at night.
Events happening all October long
Movie tickets: early bird $25 per car, regular $30 per car
Haunted Trail: early bird $20 per ticket, regular $25 per ticket
Westfield, NJ 08205
Head to Union for a day at the Annual Big Trunk or Treat event of over 30 socially-distanced vehicles in the parking lot at Jefferson School. After, your kids will love the Annual All Hallows Eve-ning of fun Halloween carnival games, food trucks, live music by DJ Cool V, pumpkin painting, a costume contest, and more fun festive activities at Rabkin Park.
October 31
Free
Annual Big Trunk or Treat, 1 PM – 4 PM
155 Hilton Ave
Vauxhall, NJ 07088
Annual All Hallows Eve-ning, 3 PM-7 PM
Rabkin Park
1 Swanstrom Pl E.
Union, NJ 07083
Take a haunted hayride in NJ + other haunted attractions and events
Zombie Zone at Cheesquake Farms
If you’re looking for some more spooky things to do in NJ this Halloween, enter the Zombie Zone at Cheesequake Farms, where you’ll be part of the action. Shoot paintballs at the stationary and moving targets you ride into the woods on Zombie Zapper Wagons mounted with paintball guns to take out these pests. When you’ve conquered them all, head out to the Flashlight Maze to walk through the Labyrinth made from corn stalks (but no worries, there won’t be anything popping out at you).
Fridays through Sundays starting September 25
$5-$30 per ticket
2095 US Highway 9 Old Bridge, NJ 08857
Known as “Flemington New Jersey’s Most Terrifying Halloween Event,” you’ll spend 45 minutes making your way through Schaefer Farm’s over 200 acres of haunted farmland, newly designed to accommodate for social distancing. Start with their Hair Raising Hayride to the middle of nowhere, then take a treacherous trek through their Trail of Terror and MassAcre Maize, right into your final destination, the Carnevil of Chaos. Warning: This is a high scare and startling experience, so it’s not recommended for kids 13 and under.
$35-$50 per ticket
Schaefer Farms
1051 County Road 523
Flemington, NJ 08822
Get ready to get seriously spooked at Scare Farm this October, a farm home to a cursed legend that’s 250 years old. With three attractions for the price of one, this experience is for kids and adults who are into incredibly scary things, in the Creepy Hollow, Paranoia Walking Trails, and The Slayride-Hayride.
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays starting October 2
$25-$35 per ticket
Corn Maze tickets $7
120 South Branch Rd
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
