Halloween Activities for Everyone

A Short History of Halloween in The Woodlands

The Township’s Halloween traditions go back well over a decade. Some have changed names or moved, and a few have been retired.

The Haunted Trail at Bear Branch Park

Every October the Recreation Center at Bear Branch Park turned a stretch of woods into a haunted trail, billed as The Haunting at Bear Branch. It ran Friday and Saturday nights from about 8 to 10 p.m. and was recommended for ages 9 and up. Each year had its own theme: Forest of Fear (2011), Doomsday Hospital (2012), Neighborhood of Nightmares (2014), Forest of Phobias (2015), Trail of Treachery (2016), Sinister Circus (2017), The Psycho Path (2018), The Woods, also billed as Wood You Dare? (2021), and Panic Room (2022), which had the largest room built in the trail’s history. Tickets were $8 in 2011, with a dollar off for each canned food donation, and $9 by 2018, the year a Fast Pass to skip the line was added. The 2022 trail is the last one on record, and it isn’t on the Township’s 2026 lineup.

Trick or Treat Trail and Monster Mash

The free Trick or Treat Trail began at Town Green Park in Town Center, put on by the Township and The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, with local vendors handing out candy from booth to booth. By 2018 it had moved to Northshore Park, with more than 30 vendors, costume contests and The Woodlands Development Company as co-producer, and it stayed there through 2022. Monster Mash started in 2018 as a free Halloween-night open house at the Recreation Center at Rob Fleming Park. In 2023 the two came together as the Trick or Treat Trail featuring Monster Mash, and it has been held at the Rob Fleming recreation center ever since.

Jack-O-Lantern Challenge

For years the Township ran a pumpkin-carving contest at Northshore Park during the Sunday Concert in the Park series, with carving at 5:30 p.m. and judging at dusk. It was billed as the 10th annual in 2017. Pumpkin carving carries on as the Jack-O’-Lantern Jamboree at the Rob Fleming Recreation Center.

Hocus Pocus Pops at The Pavilion

The Houston Symphony’s Halloween concert at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has been on the fall calendar since at least 2014, when lawn seats were free and orchestra seats cost $15. Children in costume can march on stage in the Goblin Parade, and the Great Pumpkin Express train circles the grounds before the show. The 2026 concert was on Oct. 23.

Pumpkin Smash

The newest tradition started in 2022, run by the Township’s Environmental Services Department. After Halloween, residents bring their jack-o’-lanterns to the Sterling Ridge Park and Ride to smash them with a bat, launch them from a catapult or drop them from 80 feet. The pumpkins are composted for local gardens instead of going to the landfill.

Other Halloween Traditions

In the early 2010s The Woodlands had a few more Halloween fixtures. Sterling Ridge held a one-night haunted house, The Haunting at May Valley Manor, at May Valley Park; 2012 was its third year. The YMCA’s free Halloween at the Y moved outdoors to the Creekside YMCA Outdoor Adventure Center, with trick-or-treating on the trails and haunted tree houses and tipis. The Woodlands Children’s Museum held a Spook-tacular for kids 7 and under, with games and crafts and nothing scary.

Kayak Trick-or-Treat

All ages. Paddle the Waterway and collect treats from the Riva Row Boat House, 2101 Riva Row, on Oct. 23, 24, 25, 29 and 30, from 6 to 7 p.m. Register ahead.

Treetop Terror and Treetop Trick-or-Treat

Both at Texas TreeVentures, for ages 6 and up. Treetop Terror is a night climb at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16, 24 and 30. New this year, Treetop Trick-or-Treat runs on Halloween morning, Oct. 31, at 9 or 10 a.m.; come in costume.

Flashlight Candy Hunt

Ages 5 and up. An after-dark candy hunt at Terramont Park at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, 13, 20 and 28. Bring a flashlight.

Pumpkin Smash

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 to 5 p.m., Sterling Ridge Park and Ride, 8001 McBeth Way. Free; this is the fifth one. Bring carved or whole pumpkins of any size (acrylic paint is fine) with candles, stickers and other decorations removed. Wear closed-toe shoes; goggles and gloves are on hand.

Earlier in October 2026

• Halloween Pickleball Tournament (18+), Falconwing Park, Oct. 9
• Movie Madness (13+ with an adult), a rated-R horror classic at the Rob Fleming Amphitheatre, Oct. 9
• The Halloween Bash (new, all ages), Rob Fleming Recreation Center, Oct. 16
• Bark-or-Treat (new), a costume contest and treats for dogs at the Rob Fleming Dog Park, Oct. 17
• Jack-O’-Lantern Jamboree pumpkin carving, Rob Fleming Recreation Center, Oct. 17 (pumpkins and tools provided)
• Haunted Archery Challenge (9+), Rob Fleming Archery Range, Oct. 18
• Hocus Pocus Pops with the Houston Symphony, The Pavilion, Oct. 23

Registration and Recreation Centers

Township programs can be booked online, by phone or in person. Spots are first come, first served.

• The Recreation Center at Bear Branch Park, 5310 Research Forest Drive, 281-210-3950
• The Recreation Center at Rob Fleming Park, 6464 Creekside Forest Drive, 281-516-7348

The Township also takes volunteers for its events: volunteer with The Woodlands Township. The full 2026 list is in the Township’s Fall Fun Is In The Air release. More seasonal events: Seasonal Events in The Woodlands.