Your one-stop shop for everything fall in Northwest Indiana, from the leaves changing to trick-or-treating times.
A warm September is running color about 3 days late. The southern counties turn first and the lakeshore turns last.
Towns post their official 2026 trick-or-treat hours in early to mid October. Subscribe and we'll send them the day they land, plus the printable version of this guide.
Beer gardens, giant pumpkins, zoo boos and costume contests, from the last weekend of September to mid-November.
Brewfest BiergartenValpo
Oktoberfest at Fair Oaks FarmsFair Oaks
CreektoberfestMichigan City
St. John OktoberfestSt. John
Biergarten at Sunset HillFree entry
Pumpkin Train Rides$20 / $15 kids
Pumpkin Glow TrailTicketed
Westville Pumpkin FestivalWestville
Trail Creek Fall FestivalTrail Creek
Halloween HappeningsLa Porte
Halloween Trail at Fair OaksAdmission
Pumpkin Smash BashOrchard adm.
Wickedly WhitingFree
Halloween at the LodgeCrown Point
5th Annual Spook-FestLa Porte
Boo at the Washington Park Zoo$12 / $10
Trick-or-Treat in the WILDLake Village
Run For Your Life at Robinson Lake$25 / $15
WILD Critters & CostumesLake Village
Acorn Concert Series: Sarah's Place$23 / $28
Without U2 Halloween Bash$15 / $20
The Rocky Horror Picture ShowGriffith
Listings without a time only posted a date; confirm with the organizer before you go.
Where to go for a scare, from a haunt inside Dillinger's old jail to ghost bus tours, and when to trick-or-treat in your town.
Haunted Hills Haunted Attractions
NWI's biggest haunt complex: Haunted Hills Hospital, Sickbilly Sideshow and Fear Lab, plus the Mayhem Midway and Hills Hollow scare zone. Ages 13+.
2026 hours and prices not posted yet (2024 was $20 GA).
Criminally Insane Haunted House
Inside the historic Lake County Jail John Dillinger escaped from. A volunteer fundraiser for the Sheriff's House restoration. No-touch.
Residential home haunt with two intensity levels.
Woodland Park Haunted Hayrides
Outdoor haunted hayride through Portage's Woodland Park.
Small-town charity haunt that raises money for kids' Christmas Angel Trees.
Northwest Indiana Nightfall Tour
New one-season haunted bus tour of Lake County legends: Cline Avenue, the 1918 circus train wreck site, the Gary “Demon House” site and Ross Cemetery. Ages 12+.
Chaos Haunted & Historical Tours
Paranormal-history walking tours, ghost bus tours and 21+ pub crawls to old jails, cemeteries and legend sites.
Friendship Gardens Haunted Trails
Daytime and family-friendly: trick-or-treat in costume on the trails, plus crafts, games and a bonfire.
Handmade walk-through with animatronics, lights and fog, and no gore. Benefits St. Jude.
Haunted walk or spooky 5K at Robinson Lake, more fun run than fright fest.
Not this year: MAACabre (Valparaiso) is cancelled for 2026. Reaper's Realm (Hammond) appears closed.
These are last year's hours. No NWI town has posted 2026 times yet; most announce in early to mid October. Most of the region goes out 5–7pm, starting right around sunset.
*St. John is the town's official 2025 time. Towns marked "Not posted" had no recent reference; DeMotte noted 3–6pm on a 2021-era list. Hours are from LIVENWI and town websites; re-check your town's site or Facebook page before the 31st.
U-pick patches, century-old orchards and cider donuts, then the trails to walk once the leaves turn.
U-pick apples (30+ varieties), pumpkins and sunflowers, corn maze, Kids Farm, Moo Choo tractor ride, bee yurts, hayrides, apple & pumpkin donuts and live music.
Prices are as posted on the farm's site and may be from last season.
U-pick patch, family & kiddie corn mazes, petting zoo, hayrides, candy cannon, gem mining, rides (Tilt-A-Whirl, carousel, coaster, jumping pillow, giant slide) and apple cinnamon donuts.
U-pick pumpkins of every size and color, corn maze, and a Fun Farm with jump pillow, straw mountain, produce cannon, pedal karts, train rides and a goat village.
Big John's Farm Market & Greenhouse
Hours TBAHayride to the pumpkin patch (by the pound), corn maze, petting zoo, giant slide, barrel train, pedal cars, kettle corn and cider donuts. Formerly Kregel's Pumpkin Patch.
2026 hours not posted yet. Usually opens late September.
Family-owned since 1931. A 4.6-acre corn maze, a toddler “Little Patch for Little People,” a scarecrow-forest hayride, KidZone and a fun-and-scary haunted house (ages 8+).
U-pick pumpkins, tomatoes and greens, covered hayrides, petting zoo, corn bin, bounce house, pumpkin train, and cider & donuts. Family-owned 50+ years.
U-pick and pre-picked pumpkins, hayrides, a glow maze, mums, gourds, corn stalks, hay bales and a fire pit.
U-pick apples and pumpkins, corn maze, wagon rides, farmers market and Halloween festivities.
No 2026 details yet. Check their Facebook page before you go.
U-pick apples and pumpkins, horse-drawn and tractor wagon rides, cider mill, and a bakery with cider donuts, pies and caramel apples. Family farming since 1831.
A 100-year family farm with pumpkins, apples, squash, hayrides and a corn maze.
A 40-acre orchard with 8 apple varieties on low trees for kids, a pumpkin patch, wagon rides, donuts and cider slushies.
U-pick apples (~$1.65/lb; bring your own containers), weekend tractor rides, cider donuts, honey and caramels. No admission or parking fee, and pets are welcome. Family-owned since 1894.
A 100+ year-old family farm with 20 apple varieties, fresh cider pressed from its own apples, plus pears, plums and honey.
A 135-acre, 100+ year-old orchard estate with u-pick apples, lavender fields and u-cut flowers.
Small, inexpensive and family-friendly: u-pick pumpkins, a 4-acre corn maze plus kid maze, hayrides, pony rides and face painting.
Cash or check only.
A quaint country orchard and farm store with u-pick apples, mums, cider, apple butter, honey and eggs.
Cash or check Mon–Thu; cards Fri–Sun.
Tractor ride to a huge pumpkin field, straw maze, tube slide, tire swings, barrel train, and a market with apples, jellies and pumpkin butter. Great for little kids, and much of it is free.
Climb 250+ wooden stairs through the stages of dune ecology. From the top you get sweeping views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline, framed by dune grasses and turning oaks.
A National Natural Landmark through ponds, marshes and one of the country's last black oak savannas, where the oaks go bronze and amber. On a clear day, a beach stretch mid-hike has a Chicago skyline view, great for golden-hour photos.
A 3.3-mile riverside ramble along the Little Calumet River through dense woods that turn in October. One of the best low-effort leaf-peeping walks in the park.
The Park Service's own pick for autumn: maples burst with red and gold around a working 1930s farm and an 1820s fur-trading homestead, with fences, barns and a family cemetery as built-in photo subjects.
AAA calls the state park “a surprising gem for leaf peeping.” Trail 7 is the photographer's pick, with bright yellow sassafras right from the trailhead and maples and oaks topping out on a dune over the lake. The 3 Dune Challenge climbs Mt. Jackson, Mt. Holden and Mt. Tom.
157 acres of wetland, woods and prairie with seven bridges over one of Indiana's cleanest creeks, so you get fall color reflected on the water. Fall is also salmon and trout spawning season.
300 acres of mature forest, wetlands and prairie. The Heron Trail circles a small pond with mirror reflections, and the Railway Garden is open weekends through October.
Riverside trails lined with sugar maples in classic red and gold, plus a historic grist mill and formal garden that make storybook photo backdrops.
An easy 3.5-mile loop through woodlands, with fall color reflecting off calm water. The paved lakeside trail works for strollers and wheelchairs.
Black oak savanna and restored prairie on the Valparaiso Moraine, where amber oaks meet golden bluestem for a big-sky palette unlike the deep woods.
A hidden gem: rare dune-and-swale land along the Grand Calumet River, with turning savanna oaks along a flat old railbed. Watch for poison ivy off-trail.
474 acres of steep ridges, kettle ponds and mature beech-maple forest, with golden beech and red-orange maple reflected in buttonbush ponds. Wild-feeling, but close to town.
160 acres on the Little Calumet River, including a 108-acre state nature preserve. Two river bridges add foreground and reflections.
Towns post their official 2026 trick-or-treat hours in early to mid October. Subscribe and we'll send them the day they land, plus the printable version of this guide.