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Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

TripBlog
TripBlog
Oct 27, 2023

Catalogue

  • When Is Halloween?
  • Spooky Getaways for Halloween
    • Salem, MA
    • Sleepy Hollow, NY
    • Savannah, GA
    • Williamsburg, VA
    • New Orleans, LA
    • Dearborn, MI
    • Estes Park, CO
    • Las Vegas, NV
  • Other Fun Ideas for Halloween
  • Show More

Ghosts and goblins, jack-o'-lanterns, and front lawns decked out with cobwebs and headstones…it's soon to be that time of year again. Halloween 2024 is right around the corner. Dressing up as a grizzly ghoul or superhero and traipsing around the neighborhood in a mad dash for candy is practically a rite of passage. We've sharing our recommendations for some downright spooky travel destinations as well as some ways to stay safe while having fun. We've got you covered on all things Halloween 2024.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

Sunday, October 31. Halloween is not an official bank holiday, so there is traditionally no associated time off from work and school. Some businesses may close early to allow employees a chance to enjoy themselves; however, this is the exception and not the rule. Some cities, towns, or individual neighborhoods elect to organize Halloween-related events on the Friday and Saturday before the actual holiday specifically so as not to interview with work and school schedules.


If you're thinking about traveling this year for Halloween, here are some destinations known for their spooky celebrations.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

The legacy of Salem, Massachusetts is inextricably bound up with the events that occurred in 1692, and that later became known as the Salem Witch Trials. The episode of puritanical mass hysteria resulted in hundreds of accusations, 30 convictions, and at least 19 directly related executions. Today, the town commemorates this dark chapter with several memories and museums dedicated to shining a light on exactly what occurred and why. Given their association with Halloween, Salem’s connection to witches and witchcraft make it a perennially popular destination. Make sure to visit the Witch House, the Witch Dungeon Museum, the Salem Witch Museum, and the Salem Witch Village. There’s normally plenty of Halloween-related activities and promotions on offer in Salem. This is one place you won’t be lacking for things to enjoy.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

Sleepy Hollow is where Ichabod Crane, the protagonist in Washington Irving's classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, encounters the fabled Headless Horseman. The real Sleepy Hollow is a charming little town set along the Hudson River roughly an hour's drive north from Lower Manhattan. Explore the town to visit the Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, Philipsburg Manor, and the gorgeous Sleepy Hollow itself. The densely wooded area is filled with many paths and open fields. Wander through Sleepy Hollow cemetery where you will find Washington Irving’s grave along with that of Andrew Carnegie and William Rockefeller. Flee towards town as darkness draws nigh and make sure you’re across the Headless Horseman Bridge with plenty of time to spare. This is a frighteningly good Halloween destination.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

Savannah bills itself as "America’s most haunted city." Its antebellum architecture features plenty of locations you would not be at all surprised to see in a horror film. Art lovers will thoroughly enjoy the broad range of artistic styles and tastes on display in Savannah. Visit the Mercer Williams House Museum to see the mansion vividly portrayed in John Berendt's bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Afterwards, work your way towards the river and the Savannah City Market. Often described as Savannah's "art and soul," the galleries here are a must-see. Finally, allow yourself some time to explore this most Southern of towns and draw in its wonderful artistic sensibilities. Spend some time walking the cobblestones on River Street and pay a visit to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. The 19th-century Roman Catholic Church is a great example of neo-gothic design, especially the lovely stained glass windows.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

Best known for Colonial Williamsburg, the living-history museum dedicated to preserving the life and times of America’s Revolutionary era, Williamsburg is no slouch when it comes to Halloween. Colonial Williamsburg dresses itself up and offers a range of fun activities including a ghost story tour. Accompany your guide through the historic village and learn about local witch trials. Other tours take guests around to various properties rumored to be haunted at one time or another. The city’s lovely colonial era architecture makes for a fun adventure any time of year. Make sure you visit prominent locations like the Governor’s Palace, a pre-Revolutionary mansion that was home to British royals. Depending on your travel plans, you can elect to stay in Williamsburg proper or make the short drive up from Hampton or Norfolk.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

The "Big Easy" is no stranger to a great Halloween party. New Orleans is home to many a shop and museum featuring zombies, spooks, and voodoo dolls. Though fun for Halloween, voodoo has a long and storied history among Afro-Caribbean peoples extending far beyond the notions of possession and spirits. Do yourself a favor and link up with a tour that will help you explore the true meaning of voodoo culture. Another popular Halloween activity is to visit the city’s famous cemeteries. Given its location and high groundwater table, New Orleans has long had to bury its dead aboveground. The city’s famous final resting places are popular on Halloween and include the historic Greenwood Cemetery. Spend some time wandering around the elaborate sarcophagi, but be on the lookout in case the Bone Man comes calling. Finish out the night in the famed French Quarter.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

During Halloween, Greenfield Village, the Dearborn’s sprawling open-air history museum, breaks out the jack-o’-lanterns. Over a 1,000 often-intricately decorated pumpkins bring joy and amazement to young and old alike. Greenfield Village is a great place to visit and the neighboring Henry Ford Museum is filled with interactive exhibits that include many cars and a collection of classic steam locomotives. The museum occupies a site on what was once Ford’s iconic River Rouge Complex. The sprawling museum and attractions at Greenfield Village will give you plenty to explore. Be on the lookout for the Headless Horseman and don’t forget to grab yourself some delicious apple cider and doughnuts. On crisp fall days in Lower Michigan, hot apple cider is a real treat! If you have some extra time to budget, wander over to neighboring Detroit.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

"Here’s Johnny!" Anyone old enough to remember Jack Nicholson’s bone-chilling performance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining can readily attest to the film’s cultural impact. The film was an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name. King found inspiration for the novel’s location in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Offering spectacular panoramic views of Lake Estes and the nearby Rocky Mountain peaks, the Stanley Hotel is an absolute classic. There's also a musume of classic cars. Estes Park itself serves at the gateway into nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. A UNESCO-designated World Biosphere Reserve, Rocky Mountain National Park contains a multitude of species, scenic hiking trails, river recreation, phenomenal camping, and more. Particularly now when safe and affordable vacation destinations are scarce, you’ll find the wide-open spaces a welcome relief from months of pent-up coronavirus-induced frustrations. Treat yourself with a stay at the Stanley Hotel and you’ll have a Halloween to remember.


Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

Vegas can be a downright scary place year round, but Halloween is something else altogether. Ditch the glitz and glamour found along the Strip and head down to the Fremont Street Experience. Freemont turns into a veritable vampire's ball. Celebrate Halloween Vegas-style with live music entertainment, costume contests, and the chance to win to some serious cash. Freemont is an innovative re-imagination of classic Downtown Las Vegas. Before there was the Strip, this is where the action was. Once known as Glitter Gulch, classic casinos like the Golden Nugget and the Horseshoe were located here. Following extensive redevelopment, Fremont Street is now a popular performance venue. Under a barrel vault canopy, visitors can take a ride on the zip line or hunt for souvenirs. You’ll find plenty to see and do along Freemont Street during Halloween. Come on down and work up a grove as you dance the Monster Mash late into the night.




Best Halloween Trips 2024: Spooky Getaways and Fun Ideas

Besides trick or treating, here are several ways to have some wholesome fun this Halloween.

  1. Plan a visit to your local pumpkin patch, orchard, or corn maize. Many of these locations love to do Halloween-themed events. Find out ahead of time whether the corn maize is built with one-way paths. This will help you avoid coming into overly close contact with other people. Be cautious when handling fruits at the orchard or pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. It’s normal for lots of people to want to touch things so keep a bottle of hand sanitizer at the ready and use it frequently.
  2. Invite your neighbors to take part in a local costume parade or contest. Make sure to hold it outside so people can maintain a suitable distance.
  3. Have a pumpkin-carving contest at your local park. These fun events don’t require confined spaces and would be appropriate to do provided you adopt some minimal safeguards.

There are plenty of ways to have a safe and spooky Halloween. Make sure you do a bit of planning ahead of time, especially if you want to travel to one of our featured destinations.

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