Halloween 2026 in Bowling Green: Jaycees trunk-or-treat Oct. 17, Halloween at the Ballpark Oct. 22, Beech Bend and Skeleton's Lair haunts through Oct. 31.

Last checked Oct. 16, 2026. This page is updated each year; the dates below are for Halloween 2026. Facts come from each organizer’s own website and the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau’s events calendar (270-782-0800). Trick-or-treat hours are on a separate page: trick-or-treat hours in Bowling Green.

Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. Bowling Green’s season runs on two tracks: free trunk-or-treats and family nights in town, and ticketed haunts out on Beech Bend Road and Cemetery Road. Here is everything still to come, by date.

At a glance

  • Trunk-or-treats: Jaycees at the SoKY Fairgrounds, Saturday, Oct. 17; city parks at Preston Miller Park, Thursday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m.; Greenwood Mall, Saturday, Oct. 24, 5 p.m.
  • Halloween at the Ballpark: Thursday, Oct. 22, Bowling Green Ballpark
  • Haunts: Skeleton’s Lair and Beech Bend’s Screams at the Beech, weekends through Oct. 31
  • Trick-or-treat hours: see our trick-or-treat hours page
  • Emergencies: 911. Bowling Green Police non-emergency: 270-393-4000.

Trunk-or-treats and family nights

  • Disney Trunk or Treat, Saturday, Oct. 17, SoKY Fairgrounds, 940 Morgantown Road. A free, Disney-themed trunk-or-treat run by the Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees, with local businesses handing out candy from decorated vehicles, according to the visitors bureau listing. Businesses can still register a vehicle.
  • Halloween at the Ballpark, Thursday, Oct. 22, Bowling Green Ballpark, 300 E. Eighth Ave. The Win Crew’s fifth annual night of trick-or-treating, games and a costume contest, with local businesses handing out candy around the ballpark (event listing).
  • Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Trunk or Treat, Thursday, Oct. 22, 6 to 8 p.m., Preston Miller Park, 2303 Tomblinson Way. Open to all, run by the city’s Adaptive Recreation program to benefit Bowling Green Special Olympics. Trunk spaces are still available; call 270-393-3484 (BGPR program booklet, PDF).
  • Greenwood Mall Halloween Trunk or Treat Bash, Saturday, Oct. 24, 5 p.m., in the mall parking lot, 2625 Scottsville Road, according to the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce.
  • Haunted Center at Parker-Bennett, Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 to 7 p.m., Parker-Bennett Community Center, 300 Jenkins Drive. Free, for ages 7 to 13 (BGPR program booklet, PDF).
  • Flea Land’s Annual Boo Bash, Saturday, Oct. 31, Flea Land of Bowling Green, 1100 Three Springs Road, 270-843-1978 (event page).

Churches and schools hold their own trunk-or-treats; check with yours.

Haunted houses and haunted trails

Skeleton’s Lair Scream Park, on Cemetery Road (Ky. 234) between Bowling Green and Scottsville, runs four attractions: haunted woods, a haunted hayride, a two-story haunted house and a 3D maze. The season ends Saturday, Oct. 31, and the nights left carry guests from horror films:

  • Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17: Five Nights at Freddy’s weekend with Kevin Foster
  • Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24: Scream 30th anniversary weekend with Lee Waddell, the original Ghostface

Ticket booth hours vary by night and are posted on skeletonslair.com, which also sells tickets. The park runs in the rain but may close for severe storms; for updates call 270-318-3800. Costumes and makeup are not allowed for guests.

Beech Bend Park, 798 Beech Bend Road, holds its first Boo at the Bend and Screams at the Beech on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31 (Beech Bend). By day, Boo at the Bend has a trick-or-treat trail, a children’s hay bale maze, daytime hayrides and rides. After dark, Screams at the Beech adds a new haunted trail, a haunted antique car ride, zombies and a headless horseman; the park recommends it for teens and adults. Hours vary by day; check the park’s hours page.

Ghost tours

  • Spooky Tales on the Hill, a 60-minute kid-friendly ghost walk at Western Kentucky University for ages 6 to 15, from Gordon Wilson Hall: 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, and 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. Reservations online in advance (listing).
  • Hilltop History and Haunts Tour, a 90-minute walk across the WKU campus for ages 16 and up, through Oct. 30 (listing).
  • UnSeen BG tours from the Historic RailPark and Train Museum, including the new Little Chicago crime tour, through October (UnSeen BG).

Fall festivals still to come

  • Downtown BGKY Harvest Festival, Saturday, Oct. 17, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., around Fountain Square Park and down College Street, with free kids’ activities, live music, craft vendors, food trucks and the BG Trolley loop (listing).
  • Scarecrow Trail at Lost River Cave, 2818 Nashville Road, through Sunday, Oct. 25 (Lost River Cave).
  • Pumpkin Festival at Jackson’s Orchard, 1280 Slim Island Road: weekends through Halloween, Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m., 270-781-5303 (listing).

More in our fall festivals and pumpkin patches guide.

Halloween movies and grown-up nights

The Capitol, 416 E. Main Ave., shows free Halloween films with no ticket needed (schedule):

Date Time Film
Friday, Oct. 23 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. “Scooby-Doo” (PG), then “The Addams Family” (PG-13)
Sunday, Oct. 25 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. “The Lost Boys” (R), then “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (R)
Wednesday, Oct. 28 6:30 p.m. “The Exorcist” (R)
Friday, Oct. 30 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. “Ernest Scared Stupid” (PG), then “The Evil Dead” (NC-17)
Saturday, Oct. 31 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (R)
  • Spirit of Riverview Costume Gala, Friday, Oct. 23, 6 to 9 p.m., at the National Corvette Museum, 350 Corvette Drive. A buffet, auctions and a costume contest benefiting Riverview at Hobson Grove (tickets).
  • Court of Fables: Gothic Gala Fantasy Ball, Friday, Oct. 30, The Venue at 939 Adams.
  • Vampire Feast, Saturday, Oct. 31, a team scavenger hunt across town that starts and ends at Conundrum Workshop, 1901 Russellville Road (listing).

After Halloween

Paranormal Cirque II sets up its big top in the Greenwood Mall parking lot Nov. 6-9. The show is not suitable for children under 13, and guests 13 to 17 need an adult (listing).

Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Halloween safety advice: bright or reflective costumes and a flashlight for children, an adult with younger children, and drivers slowing down in neighborhoods. Plan a sober ride home from Halloween parties.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a trunk-or-treat in Bowling Green in 2026?

Yes. The Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees hold a free Disney-style Trunk or Treat at the SoKY Fairgrounds, 940 Morgantown Road, on Saturday, Oct. 17. Bowling Green Parks and Recreation holds one at Preston Miller Park from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, and Greenwood Mall holds a Halloween Trunk or Treat Bash at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24.

What haunted houses are near Bowling Green, Kentucky?

Skeleton’s Lair Scream Park on Cemetery Road (Ky. 234) runs haunted woods, a haunted hayride, a two-story haunted house and a 3D maze through Oct. 31. Beech Bend Park’s Screams at the Beech has a haunted trail on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights through Oct. 31.

When is Halloween at the Ballpark in Bowling Green?

Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at Bowling Green Ballpark, 300 E. Eighth Ave. The Win Crew’s fifth annual event has trick-or-treating, games and a costume contest.

What are trick-or-treat hours in Bowling Green?

See our trick-or-treat hours page, which we update when the City of Bowling Green announces hours for Saturday, Oct. 31.