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Not-So-Scary Halloween Events in Westchester and the Hudson Valley for Toddlers

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10/6/23 - By Katherine Dhurandhar

Looking for the best Halloween events in Westchester and the Hudson Valley for toddlers and preschoolers? Read on for our top picks.

Halloween can be the most fun holiday of the year, but the costumes and effects that make it thrilling for teens and adults can sometimes be too scary for the little ones. Thankfully, Westchester and the Hudson Valley are full of toddler- and preschooler-friendly Halloween events that go easy on the scary while still managing to be full-on fun. 

So get your little ones dressed up in their favorite costumes and get ready for some not-so-spooky fun. Our toddler-friendly Halloween events include festivals, parades, and even zoo animals. As an added bonus, many of the events on this list are FREE to attend. 

You can find more festive happenings for all age groups in our Westchester Halloween Guide and our Family Activity Calendar, which is continually updated with new, fun events as we learn about them.

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The "I Spy" Halloween Nature Trail in Cornwall offers a fun Halloween adventure. Photo courtesy of the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum

Halloween Events in Westchester for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Halloween Drive-Thru

Yonkers–FREE
Daily through October 31, 2023
Hop in the car for a seasonal drive-thru. View more than a dozen scenes with inflatable characters and decorations, and tune the car’s radio to hear Clover the Cow’s spooky Halloween soundtrack.  READ MORE

Creepy Carnival

Tarrytown–FREE
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Don your best costume and celebrate Halloween at the library with games, crafts, and treats! READ MORE

Cross County Center Halloween Spooktacular

Yonkers–FREE
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Families can enjoy arts and crafts, a DJ dance party, story time, an inflatable slide and alien maze, spooky selfie spots, and trick-or-treating during this action-packed festival at the Cross County Center.  READ MORE

Larchmont Ragamuffin Parade

Larchmont–FREE
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Attention all witches, ghosts, Batmans and Angry Birds! Line up in costume at 2:30pm on the corner of Larchmont and Palmer avenues for the annual Larchmont Ragamuffin Parade. The parade begins at 3pm.  READ MORE

Trick or Treating at the Farm

Katonah–FREE
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Muscoot Farms invites little ones to come in costume to visit the animals and trick-or-treat at the barn doors. Treats are available while supplies last or from noon-3pm.  READ MORE

Halloween in the Woods for Families

Larchmont
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Join Sheldrake for a morning of Halloween nature fun with ghoulish games, frightful crafts, and a hair-raising adventure. Kids learn about nighttime animals, go on a spooky scavenger hunt in the forest, and enjoy some tasty autumn treats. It’s sure to be a spine-tingling good time! READ MORE

Ragamuffin Halloween Parade & Festival

Chappaqua–FREE
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Put on your best costume and get ready to parade around Chappaqua at this festive celebration. Kids can enjoy inflatables, music, and activities after the Halloween costume parade.  READ MORE

Spooktacular Fall Fest

Ossining–FREE
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Come out in costume for the Spooktacular Fall Fest, featuring live bands, games, face painting, a trunk-or-treat, bouncy houses, and a pet parade, plus a beer garden and live music for adults.  READ MORE

Halloween Magic Show

Pound Ridge–FREE
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Kids can enjoy a spooktacular Halloween-themed magic show by “The Astonishing Andrew” with tasty treats afterward. Costumes are encouraged!   READ MORE

Halloween Weekend at the Museum

Rye
Saturday, October 28-Sunday, October 29, 2023
Swing by the Westchester Children's Museum all Halloween weekend for Halloween-themed STEAM activities, including name 'dem bones, a glow-in-the-dark room, spider web engineering, ghost pour painting, and monster hide n' seek. Get dressed in your best costume and join all the fun.     READ MORE

Halloweekend and Day of the Dead

Yonkers
Saturday, October 28-Sunday, October 29, 2023
Celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead with assorted family activities at the Hudson River Museum. Explore a haunted historic home on a Gothic Glenview Tour, contribute to the Dia de Muertos community altar, learn about the stars in a spooky planetarium show, create origami jack-o’-lanterns and sugar skull masks to take home in Family Art Workshops, and meet some scaly friends at a live reptile program! Come in costume and receive candy throughout the weekend. READ MORE

Trick or Treat at Crestwood

Yonkers–FREE
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Stop by the library for a sweet treat this Halloween! READ MORE

Halloween at the Library

Dobbs Ferry–FREE
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Stop by the library in your costume to celebrate the spookiest day of the year with crafts, prizes, and more.  READ MORE

Halloween Events in the Hudson Valley for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Watt World of Halloween Horrors

Goshen
Thursdays-Sundays, October 5-29, 2023
This Halloween drive-thru features assorted inflatables and other seasonal displays to enjoy as you wend your way along the spooky trail. Don't let the name fool you - this experience is all about the fun of Halloween and not the fright.  READ MORE

A Very Fluffy Halloween

Pleasant Valley
Saturday, October 14-Tuesday, October 31, 2023
It’s a Halloween fest – only way cuter. Enjoy this fun guided farm tour that lets you meet the animals of Lilymoore Farm and Dreaming of A Chance pigeon sanctuary. Join the alpacas and goats by wearing your best costumes! READ MORE

No-Scare Halloween

Monroe
Saturday, October 21-Sunday, October 22, 2023
Get ready for Museum Village's No-Scare Halloween. Enjoy a spooktacular weekend filled with Halloween-themed activities for little ones, including eyeball races, pumpkin curling, doughnuts on a string, a costume parade, a pumpkin contest, a mummy race, a scavenger hunt, an apple toss, and more.  READ MORE

Halloween Spooktacular at Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum

Poughkeepsie
Friday, October 27, 2023
Enjoy some not-so-scary fun at this Halloween Spooktacular Party! The museum will be decked out with fun and spooky decorations, with Halloween-themed exhibits, a mysterious haunted house, and creepy science experiments. There will also be trick or treating, a costume parade, and more. READ MORE

Trunk-or-Treat: Firefighter Edition

Hudson–FREE
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Join Molly the Museum Dog at the Museum of Firefighting for a unique event you will not soon forget. Joining Molly are local firefighters with their decorated fire trucks giving out treats.  READ MORE

Boo at the Bear Mountain Zoo

Highland Falls
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Head to Bear Mountain Trailside Museums and Zoo for a spooky good time. Make Halloween snacks for the bears and watch them chow down. Family-friendly activities include pumpkin decorating, matching games, and crafts. Wear your favorite not-so-spooky Halloween costume! READ MORE

Trick or Treat at the Palisades

West Nyack–FREE
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Join ForTheCulture Foundation for its annual Halloween trick-or-treat event, where children can trick or treat from one decorated table to the next, with music, entertainment, and more.  READ MORE

The Sugar Loaf Halloween Festival

Chester
Saturday, October 28, 2023
This festival kicks off with a trunk-or-treat that's followed by music, a jack o' lantern contest, a witches meet-and-greet, a Halloween costume parade, and more. There will also be a vendor village and fall treats like cider and donuts.  READ MORE

"I Spy" Halloween Nature Trail

Cornwall
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Families looking for a fun but not-so-spooky Halloween adventure can drop in on the annual "I Spy" Halloween Nature Trail. Find objects cleverly hidden along your self-guided adventure to earn a prize upon completion. Costumes encouraged. READ MORE

Howl and Holler at the Trevor Zoo

Millbrook
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Come trick-or-treating with the animals at the Trevor Zoo. There will be free candy at treat stations throughout the zoo, including orangutan-friendly Halloween candy. The zoo will also have tons of kids' activities as part of its Lemur Festival Weekend. READ MORE

Dance Party and Trick-or-Treating

Newburgh–FREE
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Enjoy indoor mall trick-or-treating with music and dancing fun for kids at this special Halloween dance party.  READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Sheldrake Environmental Center
Chappaqua Train Station Parking Lot
The Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center