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Want to know the best places to travel for Halloween? These are my top picks for locations around the US you should have on your radar when planning a fun and spooky fall trip!
If you’re anything like me, Halloween is one of your favorite times of year. It can be so much fun celebrating spooky season. As a lover of a themed trip, I’m sharing with you the best places to travel for Halloween.
You will learn all the best places to travel for Halloween, from some of the US’s most haunted cities to places with a pretty spooky history, and more.
After learning about all these haunting destinations, you will have the perfect place in mind to spend your October.
This post is all about the best places to travel for Halloween that you should know about before booking your October travel.
Best Places to Travel For Halloween
1.) Salem, Massachusetts
Of course Salem, Massachusetts has to go at the top of the list for best places to visit for Halloween. As I’m sure you know Salem is infamous for the witch trials that occurred in 1692 and 1693, making it a place with endless spooky history, sights to see, and areas said to be haunted from the terrible trials that occurred among those years.
It’s hard to think about Halloween without thinking about Salem and it’s witchy history!
Top things to do for halloween in Salem:
- Witch Trials Walking Tour
- Tour “The Witch House”
- Witch Trials Memorial
- Salem Witch Museum
- Visit the Hocus Pocus House
- Take a picture with the bewitched statue
- Check out famous Hocus Pocus filming sights
- Ghost Tours
- Check out Halloween Decorations (they really do it up in Salem!)
For a lot of great information on “Salem’s Haunted Happenings” around Halloween (from things to do, museums, places to stay, etc. check out this website I found helpful!: https://www.hauntedhappenings.org/
2.) New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans has ALL the makings to be a haunted city. As a city no stranger to tragedy, it had to make the list for best places to visit for Halloween. Some of my personal favorite things I did when I went to New Orleans was doing an after dark ghost tour and touring some of the famous cemeteries with above ground tombs. Here are some more suggestions of things you can do for your Halloween festivities:
- Museum Of Death
- Pharmacy Museum
- New Orleans Zombie Run
- Krewe of Boo Parade (Halloween Parade in the French Quarter!)
- Ghost Tours
- Cemetery Tours
- Check out Halloween Decorations (New Orleans goes all out too!)
3.) Savannah, Georgia
From bloody battles, to extremely deadly diseases, Savannah has earned it’s right to claim to be one of America’s most haunted cities. I absolutely LOVED Savannah when I visited, and would definitely consider it to be one of the best places to travel for halloween. Here are a couple ideas of things to do while you’re there:
- Savannah Riverboat Cruise
- Ghost Tours
- Bonaventure Cemetery (Only need a ticket if you want a guided tour)
- Day trip to Tybee Island
- Here’s a list I found of most haunted houses: https://ghostcitytours.com/savannah/haunted-places/haunted-houses/
- Here’s a list of most haunted restaurants: https://ghostcitytours.com/savannah/haunted-places/haunted-restaurants/
- Halloween Themed bar crawl
4.) Sleepy Hollow, New York
This town has been the site for several films, television shows, and was the setting for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. And the best part, it’s only about an hour outside of NYC if you want to venture out to do some more activities in the city.
Here’s a link to a page that gives all the details on their Halloween celebrations!:
Here’s some highlights of what they have going on for Halloween:
- The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
- Cemetery Tours
- Lyndhurst Mansion After Dark
- Tarrytown Halloween Parade
- Haunted Hayrides
- Visit Washington Irving’s home
- Glass Pumpkin Patch
- Headless Horseman Ball
5.) Orlando, Florida
I spent some time in Orlando last October and I would highly recommend it! I have several friends that LOVE a trip to Disney, so we planned a trip and bought tickets for the “after hours” Halloween celebration. It definitely made me realize Orlando is one of the best places to travel for Halloween. Between Disney World, Universal, and even SeaWorld – there are several spooky festivities taking place through the whole season. And this is a GREAT option if you are traveling with kids.
Here’s some things to do if you venture to Orlando:
- Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disney World
- Halloween Horror Nights at Universal
- Howl-O-Scream at Seaworld
- International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot (Disney World)
6.) Adams, Tennessee
Although there aren’t a ton of things to do in Adams, TN, I think it’s still worth mentioning as one of the best places to travel for Halloween. I am born and raised in Nashville, TN so I love this option because you can drive out in under an hour. If you live farther away it may not be worth the drive, but if you find yourself traveling to Nashville around October this is a GREAT add on you can do in a night. Adams, TN is home to the Bell Witch Cave and John Bell’s Cabin.
7.) St. Helens, Oregon
Last but most certainly not least on the list of best places to travel for Halloween is St. Helens, Oregon. They do a TON of Halloween celebrations throughout the month of October. One of my all time favorite Halloween movies, Halloweentown was filmed there. Twilight was also supposedly filmed there, but I have yet to sit down and watch that one LOL.
They turn their Riverfront District in a full blown “Spirit of Halloween” celebration for all of October. This is another great choice if you are looking for family friendly options. Here are some ideas of how you can spend you October vacation if you decide to venture out to Oregon:
- Visit the Twilight House
- Visit the Courthouse Plaza (AKA the pumpkin plaza from Halloweentown)
- Here’s a great map I found of some of the haunted sightings in St. Helens: https://www.sthelensoregon.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community/page/315/20181010_st._helens_map_brochure_rev_2.pdf
This post was all about the best places to travel Halloween! I hope this helps you plan an amazing spooky adventure this October.
