Halloween for Kids in Vancouver Canada Reviews

October is a fun month for children and their families in Vancouver. They get to dress up, trick-or-treat and visit great Halloween events and attractions.

Top activities for young families in October include visiting pumpkin patches (like ones at Fantasy Farms, Maan Farms and the Chilliwack Corn Maze in the Fraser Valley). Other favourites are the HowlOver Canada flying film experience at FlyOver Canada, Canyon Frights at Capilano Bridge, and Harvest Days at VanDusen Garden, plus events at attractions like Britannia Mine and other museums.

To learn about these and other fun things to do during the Halloween season in the Lower Mainland, continue reading.

Some of the best Halloween activities and places for children in Metro Vancouver are listed below.

Note #1: Only a small selection of haunted houses are listed below. That’s because most are for older youth and not appropriate for younger children. For a list of scarier places you won’t want to take pre-schoolers and more timid kids to, click Lower Mainland Haunted Houses.

Note #2: Event details are subject to change. See official event websites for the most up-to-date information.

This article lists kids’ Halloween activities in the following locations:

Fraser Valley | Vancouver | North Vancouver | Richmond | Maple Ridge | Burnaby | Sea to Sky | Surrey | Coquitlam | New Westminster

Halloween for Kids in the Fraser Valley

• Visiting Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes – lots of fun for little folks and their families at places like Fantasy Farms, Taves Family Farms, Greendale Acres and Maan Farms.
• Mission Nightmare Haunted House – a Halloween attraction in Mission that’s scary, but not overly so. Some of the live actors inside are even young kids! Also, families with young children usually get to hold flashlights (which warn actors to turn down the scariness factor). This event happened between October 20th and 29th last year. 2024 details will likely be similar, but to be confirmed.
• Brinkworth Dungeon – this is a fairly serious haunted attraction on Fridays and Saturdays when there are actors lurking around and dressed as monsters. For kids who like scary things, however, they might really like this place, especially during the times when there aren’t any scare actors (which is most other days of the week). But don’t take kids who are easily scared or likely to have nightmares afterwards!

Halloween for Kids in Vancouver

• FlyOver Canada – the multi-dimensional theatre flying experience at Canada Place is decorated in a Halloween theme in October. In 2024 HowlOver Canada runs from October 3rd until Halloween.
• Mystery Nights – Vancouver Mysteries hosts great outdoor adventures in downtown Vancouver. They do this year-round. In October, however, the games have a bit of an extra Halloween theme. Some of the games are designed for adults and older youth (ages 14+). The company has great games for younger children to play with their families too!
• Harvest Days at VanDusen Garden – family-friendly fall-themed activities happen at VanDusen Botanical Garden on Saturdays and Sundays between September 28th and October 20th. Activities also happen on October 14th which is Thanksgiving Monday.
• Dead Fellows Haunted Brewhouse – Vancouver’s Strange Fellows brewing company has its first-ever haunted house every evening from October 27th until the 31st in 2023. On the afternoons of October 28th and 29th, the attraction also offered less scary experiences for families with younger children. (Details about the event in 2024 are to be confirmed.)
• Barclay Manor – a haunted house hosted by the West End Community Centre in Vancouver’s West End (not far from Denman Street and Robson Street). Admission is just $4 per person and it’s recommended for folks ages 8 and up. The attraction usually happens on the last weekend in October in an old house built over 100 years ago.
• Maritime BOO-Seum – there was a drop-in scavenger hunt at the Vancouver Maritime Museum on the Halloween weekend last year. That might be the case again in 2024, although exact details are to be confirmed.
• Big Halloween Run – a family-friendly Halloween-themed running event around the False Creek Seawall. It happens for the first time on October 30th in 2024.

THE CIRCUS IS COMING!

American Crown Circus Circo Osorio isn’t a Halloween event, but some of its shows take place during the Halloween season. It’s also a fabulous, family-friendly event, and reasonably affordable.

Shows during the Halloween season in 2024 take place in Richmond (October 10th to 14th) and Coquitlam (October 17th to 28th). There are also circus shows in Nanaimo (September 26th to 30th) and  Victoria (October 3rd to 7th).

To learn more about the circus and its performances, see our article about Circo Osorio or see the American Crown Circus website.

In North Vancouver

• Canyon Frights – there are night-time lights and cool Halloween displays at Capilano Suspension Bridge from October 11th until the 31st in 2024. It’s kind of like Canyon Lights at Christmas with the bridges and trees lit up, but with skeletons and spider decorations instead of Christmas ornaments.

Halloween for Kids in Richmond

• Halloween at the Cannery – special Halloween activities take place at the Cannery most years. Last year, the attraction had a haunted sea theme between October 2nd and November 5th. It will likely be the same in 2024. The venue’s address is 12138 Fourth Avenue in Steveston Village.
• Halloween Fireworks – live entertainment, kids’ activities and fireworks take place at Minoru Park at 7191 Granville Avenue. The event happens on October 31st most years, which is Halloween night.

Halloween in Maple Ridge

• Celebrate the Night – Maple Ridge usually hosts a family-friendly event at Memorial Peace Park before Halloween. The free event usually includes games, crafts, pumpkins and live entertainment. It also features a wonderful fireworks finale most years. The event in 2024 takes place on Friday, October 19th.

Halloween for Kids in Burnaby

• Burnaby’s Haunted Village – a family-friendly event at Burnaby Village. In 2024 its theme is once again Legends, Tales and Other Stories and it takes place between October 23rd and 27th.
• Pumpkins After Dark – Jack-o-lanterns and light displays are set up around Central Park and Swangard Stadium. The event this year runs from Thursday, October 3rd, until Halloween night.
• Central Spark – free family-friendly activities at Central Park including an outdoor maze, carnival games, arts and crafts, and a fireworks finale. The second annual event takes place on October 25th in 2024.

In the Sea to Sky Region

• FANG-Tastic Halloween – spooky fun takes place at Britannia Mine on a couple of weekends before Halloween. In 2024 the event runs on October 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th.

Halloween for Kids in Surrey

• Cougar Creek’s House of Horrors – the haunted attraction in Surrey is usually one of Metro Vancouver’s scariest at night. Last year, on the afternoons of October 12th & 13th, 19th & 20th and 26th & 27th, however, the scare factor gets turned down a bit to make the place more suitable for families. There are no live actors during the Horrors Jr. Show, and the animatronics are turned off then too.
• Halloween Pumpkin Express – child-friendly miniature train rides take place most years at Bear Creek Park in Surrey. Last year, the kid-friendly trains ran from 10:00 am until 4:30 pm from October 1st until the 31st. Starting on October 13th, you could also ride the Haunted Forest Scream Train, but for that you needed to leave your littler ones at home!
• BOO-seum Halloween Party – family-friendly activities including a magic show at the Museum of Surrey on the Saturday just before Halloween. Admission was free! There was also an event for younger children (ages 0 to 5) on October 26th and another for children with sensory needs and who preferred quieter spaces on October 27th. 2024 details are to be confirmed. For details, see the City of Surrey‘s website.

Halloween for Kids in Coquitlam

Halloween for Kids in New Westminster

There are also scarier events that some youth and older children might enjoy, while others won’t.

Haunted house-style attractions that usually take place at this time of year include the Haunted Corn Mazes in Abbotsford, Brinkworth Dungeon in Langley and Reaper’s Maze of Terror in Chilliwack. They are all amazing, but also fairly hard core. As a result, they are recommended primarily for older youth and young adults, although some older (and braver) children also attend.

Two other scary haunted attractions that also take place are Fright Nights at the PNE and Cougar Creek’s House of Horrors in Surrey. Don’t take young kids to either! Older youth who like scary things, however, will enjoy them both.

For a list of other Halloween haunted houses, most of which aren’t appropriate for folks under 12, check out Lower Mainland Haunted Houses.

Interested in learning about other great activities in the month of October? Then check out the following:

If you happen to be in British Columbia’s capital city in late October, another kid-friendly event you might want to check out is Wicked Victoria.

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