"Tickets will NOT be sold the night of the event."
That line is on the ticket page for the Witches Walk, the Alliance of Downtown Glen Ellyn's adults-only evening on Thursday, October 15. Ticket sales close Wednesday, October 14, at 10 a.m. As of this weekend, the page shows a "Join waiting list" button.
Glen Ellyn's Halloween season works the same way all month. It isn't one festival. The downtown Alliance, the Chamber of Commerce, the Glen Ellyn Park District, the Glen Ellyn Public Library, the Glen Ellyn Historical Society and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County each run their own events, and each one is pitched at a specific crowd. Two of the biggest are built with two levels of scary on purpose. So a household's first question is which events fit the ages in the car, not which weekend is free. The calendar is easier to read sorted that way.
The month at a glance, sorted by audience
| Who it's built for | Event | When | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth to age 6 with grownups | Jack-O'-Lantern Jamboree | Oct. 28, 6–6:45 p.m.; Oct. 30, 11–11:45 a.m. | Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane St. | Not listed |
| All ages | Halloween Parade & Trick-or-Treating | Sat., Oct. 24, 9:30 a.m.–noon | Downtown, staging at Main and Crescent | Not listed |
| All ages | Trunk or Treat | Mon., Oct. 26, 4–5:30 p.m. | Main Street Recreation Center, 501 Hill Ave. | Free |
| Ages 3+, two levels of scary | Ackerman Haunted Trail | Oct. 22–23, 4–9 p.m. | Ackerman Park, 800 St. Charles Road | $7 per person |
| Families downstairs, 13+ upstairs | Haunted Library | Fri., Oct. 16, 6–8 p.m. | 400 Duane St. | Not listed |
| 21+ | Witches Walk | Thu., Oct. 15, 4–9 p.m. | 21 downtown stores | $25 |
The two middle rows matter most for families with kids of different ages. At the Ackerman Haunted Trail, the Park District runs a less scary walk from 4 to 6 p.m. and a version geared toward older children from 6 to 9 p.m. Each walk takes about 10 minutes, and everyone over age 3 has to register and pay the $7 fee. The library uses floors instead of time slots for its carnival-themed Haunted Library. Family-friendly frights are on the first floor, and the scarier scenes on the second floor are recommended for ages 13 and up. A family with a kindergartner and a middle schooler can do either event on the same night by splitting by hour or by staircase.
October 14 is the real deadline
The Witches Walk isn't the only thing that closes on the 14th. The Alliance's Halloween Home Decor Map takes registrations through October 14. Residents submit a photo of their decorated house, and registered homes go on a shared map that updates as new displays come in. Voting runs October 15 through 25 in four categories, and winners are announced October 26. The 2026 map is linked from the Alliance's Halloween Home Decor Map page, and that's the place to plan a drive-by route once voting opens.
For anyone who already has a Witches Walk ticket, the evening changed this year. It now starts at 4 p.m., so groups can check in early or arrive later. Each ticket names one of the 21 participating stores as the first stop, where you pick up a wristband and program before heading to the rest. The $25 covers five 3-ounce witch's brew cocktails and unlimited mocktails. Alcoholic drinks have to stay inside each store and can't go out on the sidewalk. Every store also judges a Best Dressed Witch's Hat contest. Winners get a medal and two tickets to the Alliance's Ladies Night Out holiday event.
Saturday, October 10 fills up before Halloween does
The first crowded weekend has little to do with costumes. On October 10 alone:
- The Park District's Family Campout at Maryknoll Park, 845 Pershing Ave., wraps up at 8 a.m. after a Friday night of mini golf, an outdoor movie and breakfast. Registration is $10 per resident or $15 per nonresident participant.
- The Fall Festival at Danada Equestrian Center, 3S507 Naperville Road in Wheaton, runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with free admission and parking. Some activities, including rides and crafts, cost extra.
- At 2 p.m., Terry Lynch presents "Baron Von Steuben: The Hero of Valley Forge" for the Glen Ellyn Historical Society at the History Center, 800 N. Main St. The center's "Declaration 1776: The Big Bang of Modern Democracy" exhibit is free and runs through December 31.
- From 3 to 7 p.m., OAKtoberfest takes over Lake Ellyn Park, 645 Lenox Road, with free admission, music, art, games, a StoryWalk and guided oak tours, sponsored by Go Green Glen Ellyn.
A free afternoon at the lake fits easily after the 2 p.m. history talk, since OAKtoberfest starts at 3. The library adds a quieter option later in the month: a virtual "Preserving History with Geoffrey Baer" program on Tuesday, October 20, at 7 p.m., part of Illinois Libraries Present.
October 22 through 26 is where the season piles up
Glen Ellyn's biggest Halloween events fall within five days. The Ackerman Haunted Trail runs Thursday and Friday. Then Saturday, October 24, has back-to-back events at two locations:
9:30 a.m. Parade staging at the Glenwood Station lot, corner of Main Street and Crescent Boulevard 9:45 a.m. The parade steps off behind the Glenbard West Drumline, heads east to Forest Avenue, north on Forest, around the block via Pennsylvania Avenue, and ends on Main Street 10 a.m. to noon Crafts and games on Main, costume contests for people and pets, and trick-or-treating at downtown businesses Noon to 4 p.m. The Park District's free Autumn Craft Fair at Ackerman SFC, 800 St. Charles Road
During the trick-or-treat hours, the Chamber points people toward the storefront windows painted by local scout troops. The parade loop also passes some of downtown's newer stops. Glen Ellyn Candy & Cones, a family-owned rebrand of the former Glen Ellyn Sweet Shoppe, opened in late June at 550 Crescent Blvd. Maplewood Public House, a 7,850-square-foot brewpub with on-site brewing in the former Two Hound Red space at 486 Pennsylvania Ave., was scheduled to open May 8, according to Patch. The Alliance's calendar listed it as the site of the Oktoberfest afterparty for the September 26 Craft Beer Crawl.
Monday, October 26, wraps up the stretch. Trunk or Treat runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Main Street Recreation Center, 501 Hill Ave., with decorated trunks, treats, pumpkin carving and a Share Our Spare donation drive. The same day, the Alliance announces the decor contest winners. The youngest kids get one more week of programming. The library's Jack-O'-Lantern Jamboree, with a craft, a story and a costume walk for children from birth to age 6, meets October 28 at 6 p.m. in the Youth Program Room and October 30 at 11 a.m. in the North and South Meeting Rooms.
The forest preserves fill the remaining gaps
The DuPage County forest preserves close to Glen Ellyn fill the remaining nights, and each one has its own age range too.
- Pumpkin Night Hike for Families, Oct. 16–17, 5:30–9 p.m., Fullersburg Woods, 3609 Spring Road, Oak Brook. A self-guided trail lit by pumpkins and lanterns, plus a scavenger hunt and a treat. $10 per person age 3 and up, free for 2 and under.
- Halloween Wagon Ride, Oct. 22, 6–8:30 p.m., St. James Farm, 2S541 Winfield Road, Warrenville. A 2-mile tractor-drawn ride that starts with a ghost story and ends at a fire. $10 for age 3 and up.
- Lantern-Lit Halloween Hike, Oct. 23–24, 6–9 p.m., St. James Farm. A self-guided 2-mile hike with a ghost story and a fireside gathering. $10 per person.
- Gothic Ghost Stories, Oct. 9 and Oct. 24, 7–8 p.m., Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 31st St., Oak Brook. Ages 18 and up, $5.
- Lanterns and Legends, Oct. 30, 5–8 p.m., Fullersburg Woods. Pumpkin carving and candle-making, $15 per pumpkin.
- Horsin' Around Day: Trick-or-Treat at Danada, Oct. 31, noon–4 p.m. Free admission, with $5 wagon rides for ages 5 and up.
A household that has done the parade and the craft fair on October 24 can still pick between the lantern hike at St. James Farm and the adults-only ghost stories at Mayslake that evening. That's three different organizers on one Saturday, all within a short drive. For more on everyday downtown life the rest of the year, our Glen Ellyn neighborhood guide and our day in Glen Ellyn have more.
If you're putting your house on the decor map this year and are curious what it's worth beyond the porch display, the Lori Johanneson Team is happy to put together a no-pressure valuation for you. Start with What's My Home Worth? and we'll take it from there after the October 26 winners are announced.
