Frightfully Good Fun For 2025

Join us for the Ox-Bow Goes to Heck event on October 18, when the famed school of the arts will host a day of family-friendly frights on its campus, featuring haunted cabins, an outdoor carnival, games, crafts, and more.

For those who appreciate an immersive spooky experience, visit the Allegan Forest Museum of Campfire Stories, a local museum dedicated to bringing the area’s creepiest urban legends and campfire stories to life. Learn about the lore of the Melon Heads of Saugatuck, The Demon Tree, The Yellow Motel, Camp Lakewood, Satan’s Tomb, and The Road of the Dead, and then receive the GPS coordinates to explore the locations on your own in the Allegan Forest. If you want to make a game of it, on October 18, the museum will host its 7th Annual Melonhead Games, where, at sundown, participants use campfire story coordinates to hunt for what the Melonheads have left behind. This adventure continues until every story site is found—or until sunrise. Don’t forget your flashlights! 

Lace up your sneakers and show off your spookiest or silliest costume during our Halloween Fun Run in downtown Saugatuck on October 25 at 8:30 am. This spooktacular event starts at Wicks Park and winds through our charming streets, where storefronts will be decked out for the season. After the run, prizes will be awarded for fastest male and female runners, best group costume, and best individual costume. Don’t miss this festive mix of fitness, fall color, and community spirit.

Grab your little ones and fur babies and join the fun at the Family Halloween Pet Parade & Party on October 25. Show off your best costumes as you stroll through Saugatuck, with the parade starting at 11:00 am, heading from Mason Street to Butler, down Mary Street, and ending at the gazebo in Wicks Park. Afterward, enjoy family-friendly Halloween-themed games, a costume contest, music, and spooky activities. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes in various age groups, including a special prize for the best group costume. Registration begins at 10:15 am.

For a ghoulishly good time on the evening of October 25, don your best costume and hit the Ox-Bow House’s Cavern Tavern, a free pre-party event happening before the Douglas Halloween Parade for Adults. Enjoy drinks for sale and frighteningly alluring art spectacles on display both indoors and outdoors. The Great Lakes Brass Band will entertain the crowd before leading a group of Ox-Bow friends and staff in a march to the most highly anticipated Halloween event of the year! 

Later that evening of October 25, you definitely won’t want to miss our renowned Halloween Parade for Adults, happening in downtown Douglas. The party starts at 10 pm with a Giant Pumpkin King rising from the ashes to officially commence the festivities. For years, this outrageous event has drawn thousands of spectators from around the country who come to gawk and marvel at the unleashed creativity. Anyone in costume can feel free to strut their stuff down the parade route, but be sure to leave the kids at home for this mature-themed event. 

After the parade, get ready for the biggest Halloween party in the area at The Dunes Resort on October 25, where Nightmare on Blue Star Presents: Goth and Glamour. Sing Karaoke, dance the night away, and enter the midnight costume contest. This wickedly wonderful event is for big ghouls and boys only.

Unveil the mysteries of the Felt Estate on October 24-25, or October 30 during their Hauntings & History Nights. Considered one of the most haunted attractions in the state, the Felt Mansion has been home to unexplained happenings throughout the years, including the presence of shadowy figures and doors that open and close themselves. Delve into eerie legends and ghostly encounters during an immersive presentation. This year’s experience begins in the chapel, where those who have personally confronted the spectral mysteries share their encounters. Then grab your EMF detector and infrared thermometer and embark on the Path of Shadows self-guided candlelight tour, which provides explorers access to the mansion, carriage house, grounds, and the estate’s rarely-seen corners during the dark of night. Whether you’re drawn to the mansion’s haunted history or eager for a ghostly encounter, this adventure is not to be missed. Advance-purchased tickets are required.

For those looking for less of a fright, self-guided Spooky Tours will be available through the Felt Estate’s eerily decorated mansion on October 22, 23, 27, 28, and 29 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. No ghost stories, gore, or jump scares, just a few creepy decor touches to embrace the Halloween season.

Conjure up something special with a Spooks & Spells Cocktail Class at the New Holland Spirits Saugatuck Tasting Room during the evening of October 30. Get ready to brew some spine-tingling cocktail concoctions perfect for the season with New Holland’s expert bartenders. You’ll leave with recipe cards for each enchanting drink crafted so that you can bring the magic to your own home bar. Whether you’re a witching-hour pro or just dipping your toes into the cauldron, this class promises to be a wickedly good time! 

Bring your little ghouls and goblins to Trick-or-Treat at The Felt Estate on October 31 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. This free indoor event provides a safe and fun Halloween experience, perfect for young trick-or-treaters. Rain or shine, kids can stay warm and dry as they collect treats from each spookily decorated room inside the historic Felt Mansion.

For a one-of-a-kind Halloween adventure, visit Rise and Ride Ranch on October 31 or November 1 for their Trick or Treat Trail Rides. Enjoy a 40-minute guided ride on specially decorated horses through “spooky” wooded trails, while collecting candy along the way. It’s a one-of-a-kind way to enjoy fall color, a little fright, and a sweet reward.

The Dunes keeps the spooky season going with a second adults-only Halloween bash, taking place on October 31, starting at 9 pm. Dance to DJ beats, show off your most creative costume, and compete for prizes in the late-night costume contest. Halloween Night at The Dunes is the perfect way to close out October with fun that’s fabulously over the top.