For non-Halloween October events — fall festivals, concerts, and craft shows — see our October Events in Northern New York 2026 roundup. Halloween season is underway across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties — haunted houses, trunk-or-treats, fall festivals, and library parties, all in one place. This guide is updated as organizers announce details; last updated October 5, 2026.
Jefferson County
Boo at the Zoo — Zoo New York, Thompson Park, Watertown — October 17, 18, 24, and 25, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Trick-or-treating through the zoo grounds, plus music, crafts, and a pumpkin patch. Admission details haven’t been posted yet — check zoonewyork.org before you go.
Trick-or-Treat-or-Trucks — Flower Memorial Library and the City Hall parking lot, Watertown — Saturday, October 3, starting at 10 a.m. Costumes, games, crafts, candy, and touch-a-truck with police, fire, and construction vehicles. Runs rain or shine.
Paddock Mansion Paranormal Investigation — 228 Washington St., Watertown — Saturday, October 10, 7 p.m.–midnight. An after-hours ghost hunt at the Jefferson County Historical Society’s Paddock Mansion. $40 per person, registration required — sold out as of late September. Eventbrite page (in case a waitlist opens).
North Country Nightmares — 17940 US-11, Watertown — Friday and Saturday nights, September 25 through October 31 (ticket sales 6:30–10 p.m., haunts from dusk), plus Sunday night October 11. Daytime actor-free haunts run Saturdays and Sundays September 26 through October 31, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., with special events all day October 31. The North Country’s full-scale haunted attraction; ticket prices aren’t published on the official site, so check northcountrynightmares.com or call (315) 777-5783 before heading out.
Mall-oween at Salmon Run Mall — 21182 Salmon Run Mall Loop W, Watertown — Friday, October 30, 4–6 p.m. Mall-wide trick-or-treating at participating stores. Free; kids 12 and under with an adult.
Fort Drum Trunk or Treat — SSG Truman Cool Memorial Ball Fields, Fort Drum — Friday, October 23, 5–8 p.m. 30+ decorated trunks, food trucks, and family activities with Fort Drum USO. Free; open to active duty, families, retirees, veterans, DoD civilians, and the general public. Details at drum.armymwr.com/trunkortreat.
Girl Scout Trunk or Treat — Watertown area — Saturday, October 24, 6–8 p.m. Games, crafts, snacks, photo ops, and touch-a-truck with police, fire, and EMS. Location hasn’t been posted yet — check the GSNYPENN event page.
St. Lawrence County
Fall Fest: Pumpkinpalooza — Downtown Massena — Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Free admission. 50+ vendors, food trucks, live music (Lacey Rae, Atom Ghost, Dad Bods, and Plan B), kids’ activities, and a costume contest — the county’s biggest fall festival. Stick around after: the Massena Volunteer Rescue Squad is hosting a haunted house later that day (time, location, and admission to be announced). Details at exploremassena.com.
Bite Night Haunted Infirmary — Clarkson Hall, Clarkson University, Potsdam — October 23 and 24, 6–11 p.m. A haunted infirmary walkthrough put on by Clarkson’s PA program; proceeds benefit Students Without Borders. Ticket price not yet posted — check the Potsdam Chamber events page.
Gouverneur Trunk or Treat (8th Annual) — Gouverneur Fair Grounds, 85 E Barney St. — Friday, October 23, 6–8 p.m. Free. Decorated trunks (on-site by 4:30), with trophies for the best trunks.
Ogdensburg Trunk or Treat (8th Annual) — Corner of Washington & State Street, Ogdensburg — Saturday, October 17, 6–8 p.m. Free. A longtime St. Lawrence County tradition: decorated trunks (on-site by 4:30) hosted by the Seaway Valley Prevention Council and the Community Health Center of the North Country, with trophies for the best trunks.
Ogdensburg Public Library Halloween Party — Ogdensburg Public Library — Wednesday, October 28, 5–6:30 p.m. Costumes, games, and candy for ages 0–12. Details at ogdensburgpubliclibrary.org.
Fright Night — Market Street & Market Square Mall, Potsdam — Thursday, October 29, 5–8 p.m. Downtown family night with candy stops, games, prizes, and trunk-or-treat, hosted by the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce. Details at potsdamchamber.com/events.
Lewis County
Nothing confirmed yet. Lowville’s Halloween Towne — the annual downtown trick-or-treating and parade — hasn’t announced 2026 details. One lead, unconfirmed: event aggregators list a trunk-or-treat at 3 Willows Event Center in Lyons Falls on Saturday, October 31 at 4 p.m., but the venue hasn’t confirmed it (unconfirmed). This section gets filled in as soon as something firms up.
Still to be announced
These happen most years but haven’t posted 2026 details yet: Halloween Towne in downtown Lowville and the Remington Haunting ghost tours at the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg. The Schine Theatre haunted house in Massena hasn’t announced 2026 plans either — this year’s Massena scares come courtesy of the Volunteer Rescue Squad’s haunted house on October 17 (details TBA; see Pumpkinpalooza above).
Trick-or-treat hours
As of October 5, no town in the tri-county area has published official 2026 trick-or-treat hours — not Watertown, Lowville, Canton, Potsdam, Massena, or Ogdensburg. They usually land in mid-October via local news. We’ll add them here (and in the Weekend Roundup archive) as they’re announced. Know of one? Submit it.