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October is peak season in Morris County. Festival weekends stack up early in the month, Oktoberfests and food festivals fill the middle, and by the last two weekends nearly every town has a trunk or treat, a haunted trail or a Halloween bash. Here is our month-long guide to things to do in Morris County in October 2026, with dates, locations, and links to our full coverage of each event.
A Big First Weekend: Festivals, History and a Postponed Favorite
The month starts fast. On Friday, October 2, Milwaukee Brewers prospect Andrew Fischer signs autographs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Morris County Card Show at the Parsippany PAL, and the Screamline Haunted Car Wash opens its Friday and Saturday night run at 376 Route 46 in Rockaway, 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, October 3 brings Mendham Fest at Mendham Borough Park with a fire department beer garden and a morning 5K, Eleventh Hour Rescue’s Puptoberfest at Horseshoe Lake in Succasunna with adoptions and more than 60 vendors, and Jamtoberfest ’26, a full day of jam bands at the Roxbury Swim and Sport Club. All weekend, October 3 and 4, Pathways of History opens 32 Morris County museums and historic sites for free.
Sunday, October 4 is one of the busiest days of the fall. The Morristown Festival on the Green, postponed from September, takes over the Green with 170 exhibitors and five entertainment areas. A few blocks away, Macculloch Hall’s Historic District House Tour opens seven private Morristown homes, Randolph hosts the free Mission Gratitude Touch-a-Truck for its 11th year, and Lake Loop 2026 brings a bike, hike and paddle challenge to Lake Hopatcong. On Tuesday, October 6, CCM’s Legacy Project opens its free fall series with a 6 p.m. Zoom talk on the history of popular music in New Jersey.
Books, Oktoberfest and a Taste of Italy
The Morristown Festival of Books runs Friday and Saturday, October 9 and 10, with a free author day and KidFest. Saturday, October 10 is packed: the Taste of Italy Italian Festival fills Mine Hill Fireman’s Field at 230 Route 46 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. ($5, kids under 5 free), and that night the Great Big Book Swap After Dark returns to the Dover Sportsplex. All weekend, October 10 and 11, Mount Olive’s Oktoberfest at the Park brings German music, dancers and Jersey Girl beer to Turkey Brook Park ($5 adults, kids free). On Sunday, October 11, Briz brings his free Voices of Rock show to the Florham Park Public Library, and the George Ottavinia Memorial Fishing Derby for kids 5 to 14 runs 3 to 6 p.m. at Turkey Brook Park.
Trunk or Treat Saturday: October 17
The night before, Friday, October 16, Pink Witches Night Out returns to Broadway in Downtown Denville from 5:30 to 10 p.m., free to attend. Halloween season officially kicks in on Saturday, October 17. Dover’s free 16th Annual Trunk-or-Treat runs 1 to 4 p.m. at Crescent Field, Mount Arlington’s Halloween Bash brings a trunk or treat and vendors to Fireman’s Field, and the Boonton Trick or Treat Trail lights up Grace Lord Park from 6 to 8 p.m. For grown-ups, The Witchery returns to Ayres Knuth Farm in Denville the same day with artisans, practitioners and performances. On Sunday, October 18, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown hosts Ghostbusters in Concert, the first of its two Halloween shows at MPAC, with The Rocky Horror Picture Show and a costume contest on Halloween night.
Haunted Trails, Bar Crawls and Halloween Week
Saturday, October 24 is the other big Halloween day. Mine Hill’s Halloween on the Hill runs 4 to 8 p.m., with fireworks at Mine Hill Beach on Friday, October 30. That night, Boonton’s Haunted Trail runs 7 to 9 p.m. ($3 cash), and the 21-and-over Morristown Halloween Bar Crawl runs 4 to 11 p.m., returning on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 10 p.m. Later that same night, Stirling Tavern at 150 South Street in Morristown celebrates a decade in town with its free Halloween and 10th Anniversary Party, 8 p.m. to midnight, with a live DJ, a costume contest, a photo booth and a martini luge. On Sunday, October 25, the free Pequannock Chamber Street Festival takes over Pompton Plains from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then on Friday, October 30, Pumpkin Spice and Everything Fright brings haunted hayrides, a trick-or-treat trail and costume contests to Turkey Brook Park. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and our Halloween in Morris County guide has every town’s trick-or-treat times.
Fall Farm Fun All Month
Between the big events, the farms carry the month. Fall Farm Fun at Fosterfields runs weekends in October with cider pressing, wagon rides and pick-your-own pumpkins, Monster Fall Fest at High View Farms in Mount Olive offers monster truck rides and a corn maze on weekends through November 1, and Alstede Farms Harvest Moon Nights add moonlit hayrides and bonfires in Chester on select evenings. Plan your farm day with our apple and pumpkin picking guide, catch the color with our fall foliage guide, and find more scares in our haunted hayrides roundup. For the whole season, see our Fall Festivals and Fairs in Morris County guide.
Whether you are after an Oktoberfest stein, a haunted trail or a quiet afternoon picking pumpkins, Morris County gives you a full month of reasons to get outside. Check individual event pages before you go, since dates and hours can change.
Looking ahead to fall: fall festivals and fairs, Halloween events and trick or treat times, haunted houses and Halloween attractions, and the best apple cider donuts.
Already looking ahead. November brings Thanksgiving, and our guide to Thanksgiving in Morris County covers where to eat dinner, farm pies to order and turkey trots. For the holidays, we keep running guides to Christmas lights in New Jersey and Christmas markets in New Jersey.
The other big one. New Jersey’s Polar Express Train Ride runs out of Whippany Station right here in Morris County, and the December weekends sell out early. Our guide has the 2026 prices, the showtimes and the one change families should know about.
Getting the tree. Our guide to Christmas tree farms in New Jersey covers every choose-and-cut farm in Morris County, what each one grows, and why the families who get the best trees show up in October.
Planning your weekend? See our list of things to do in Morris County this weekend, updated every week with dates, times and prices.
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