Spirit of Halloweentown: An Oregon Halloween town on the Columbia River with a month-long Halloween themed festival celebration! Located in the Pacific Northwest city of St. Helens where Haloweentown, the Disney movie was actually filmed.
2018 Update
Spirit of Halloween Meeting for Vendors, Merchants, and other interested folks will be July 25th at 5:30 City Council Chamber. The event will happen as usual in 2018.
Nestled away on the beautiful Columbia River in the Northwest quadrant of Oregon, just 30 miles outside of Portland, you will find Halloweentown for the entire month of October. Yes, that’s right, a town that celebrates Halloween all month long! The actual name of the city is St. Helens, Oregon. It is located on Highway 30 in Columbia County in the Columbia Gorge. This area is so beautiful, it is worth the drive alone. It is located between Portland and the coast, so if you wanted to make a beach day out of the trip, you could stay in a local hotel overnight.
The events take place every weekend in October at the Courthouse Plaza in the Historic Riverfront District. It’s quite epic for a small Oregon town.
Photo Credit Facebook
Spirit of Halloweentown Events and Attractions
These events are listed in no particular order. You must check the official Columbia County schedule for actual times and dates. Also, note that these are not all free events. This information is also provided for you on the official documentation.
View my favorite Halloween costume!
- Lighting of the Great Pumpkin
- Bonfires
- Costume contests for humans and pets
- Parades
- Live music
- Street performances
- Haunted tours
- Pumpkin patch
- Treasure hunts
- Pumpkin carving contest
- Pony rides
- Happy hours for adults
- Paranormal convention
- Tractor Rides
- Family Fun
- Pumpkin Patch
- Hot Rod Hearse Rally
- Ghost talks
- Tarot card readings
- Face painting
- Celebrity meet and photo ops
- Giant scarecrows
- Lots of local food vendors
- And much more!
Check out these Halloween Address Labels! And tons of other custom printed labels.
Be prepared to see a lot of great Halloween costumes, pumpkin carvings, spooky decorations, creative local businesses and more! Many great photo ops, street performances, treasure hunts and more. An enjoyable weekend packed full of family fun in Halloween Town, St. Helens, Oregon.
And don’t forget to check out the haunted house!
How did Halloweentown Start?
It all goes back to 1997 when a Disney film crew showed up to the Oregon city of St. Helens to film a cult classic by the name of Halloweentown. The locals really got into the spirit of the set and decided to do a Halloween themed month-long celebration every year from then on out. Now the town transforms into a month-long festival annually for kids and families from all around. They expect up to 10,000 people on a peak night in the month of October.
Is Halloweentown Free?
Yes and no. For one, nothing is free, and you know that. Parking is so limited that it is highly likely you will be paying $10 to park in the designated lot then another $1 per person to ride the shuttle to Courthouse Plaza where the decorations are all set up. After that, one could call it free if you are just there to snap a few photos, people watch, the likes. But if you want to do any of the cool stuff, you will pay. Prices and dates can are on the official website above.
Watch the video! It’s a great place for the kids and family!
Please check out our Day Hike Equipment Guide.
April Dickey says
I am thinking of flying my family from TN to Oregon for the Halloween Town party. We will be incurring airfare, car rental, hotel, food and all activities. After reading a few comments I am getting second thoughts… Any advice from people who have been, I would greatly appreciate your input.
PortlandMofo says
There are definitely better ways to spend an expensive vacation.
Heather says
Haloweentown is more worth it for the drive and just to get exercise by walking, but other than that totally lacking, the real fun was discovering the outskirts of the town. And after paying to have my daughter read to by Marnie who took off immediately after without talking to any of the children, I was done there!
Parsons says
I’ve been wanting to go for years. My husband and I drove down 3 hours to visit Halloweentown, from Washington State. Sadly, we were disappointed. It was not as it was pictured at all except maybe the huge fake pumpkin. Town was much smaller than I had pictured and not as decked out as I had imagined. It’s really more of a kids thing for sure otherwise it won’t seem like much. Might be worth it if you live in the area, but not so much if you have to drive a few hours.
JulieC says
We are excited to visit halloweentown this year! We’ve live in Oregon for 6 years now and have never gone. But we are this year!!!!
Ginny says
Save your time and money. It is small and very few things to do. Haunted house is not much. It cost $15 (night) and $8 (day) per person Daytime no actors, night with about 3-5 actors. Not at all impressed.
wayne woolworth says
Wow, how cool is this a month-long event?
Andrew Choate says
Hey, when will Halloween Town be open? Does anyone know?
Dina says
Yes! Every weekend in October is what I read.
Amanda says
Is there a event schedule yet for 2018?
Chloe says
I just found it, it’s on the Discover Columbia County website 🙂
http://discovercolumbiacounty.com/20180101/
Jake Jones says
When visiting Halloweentown, don’t forget to stop by AJ Play’s booth and try out Spider Disc Games! We will be having drawings and of course, handing out candy! Hope to see you there! Happy Halloween!
Aryanna says
I will be visiting here with my friend who is moving to Oregon and we are excited to visit where Disney’s Halloweentown was filmed. This will be my 1st time visiting Oregon!