Haunted houses in Minnesota, 2026
Haunts, hayrides, ghost tours and kid-friendly Halloween from the metro to Duluth, Harmony and New Ulm, with this year's dates, prices and age rules.
Halloween is Saturday, October 31
Checked 2026-10-19
This season's guide has 14 haunted houses and hayrides, 10 real places with ghost stories attached, 10 ghost tours and 15 low-scare family events. Nearly every haunt and event has 2026 dates we confirmed on its own website or ticket page. Two listings don't, and each one says so on its card: American Ghost Walks' Red Wing walk, which posts no public 2026 dates (it now takes requests for private tours), and First Avenue, a concert venue with no ghost tour, which you visit for a show or on a private group venue tour. If a haunt hadn't posted anything for 2026, we left it out, which is why a few old favorites are missing this year.
Prices swing a lot by night at the big metro haunts. A Thursday can cost half what the Saturday before Halloween does, and the lines are shorter too.
Open this weekend (Fri Oct 23 – Sun Oct 25)
- Haunts, metro: ScreamTown and the Abandoned Hayride (Fri–Sun), Dead End Hayride (every night), The Haunting Experience (Fri–Sun), ValleyScare (Fri–Sat), Fear Fest at MOA (Fri–Sun), Dehns at Dark (Fri–Sat).
- Haunts, outstate: Duluth Haunted Ship and Haunted Shack (Fri–Sat, the Shack's last weekend this year), Fright at the Farm (Fri–Sat) and Monster Bash (Fri–Sun), Molitor's and Harvest of Horror (Fri–Sat), New Ulm Nightmares (Fri–Sat).
- Tours: St. Paul Ghost Tours (nightly), American Ghost Walks in Minneapolis (Fri 7 pm), Wabasha Caves Ghosts & Graves bus (Fri 7 pm; Lost Souls is sold out this weekend), Stillwater trolley (Sat; Friday has no seats left online), Ghosts of Anoka walking tour (Fri–Sun), Palmer House evening tour (Fri).
- With kids: Anoka's Big Parade of Little People (Fri, 1:15–2:15), Grande Day Parade (Sat, 1–3:30) and decorated-house viewing (Fri–Sat, 6:30–9:30), Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular (nightly; Friday and Saturday entry times before 9:30 pm are sold out), Tricks and Treats at Valleyfair (Sat–Sun), Sever's Fall Festival (Sat–Sun), Halloween Extravaganza at Dodge Nature Center (Sat, noon–4), Boo at the Zoo in Duluth, Byron and Freeport (Sat), Kids Day at New Ulm Nightmares (Sat, 11–1), and Mall of America's NICK@FRIGHT (Fri–Sat, 5–9).
Hours and prices are on each card.
Our picks
Our opinions, nothing official. The details behind each one are on the guide pages.
- Biggest scareThe Dead End Hayride, Wyoming
Hard minimum age of 10, a 13-and-up recommendation, and the haunt's own description includes the word aggressive. The slowest nights start at $20.
- Best hayrideThe Haunting Experience, Cottage Grove
Forty years of hayride practice on Highway 61, with general admission $35–$45 on its last nights, Oct 21–25 and 28–31.
- Best for kidsJack-O-Lantern Spectacular, Apple Valley
More than 5,000 lit pumpkins at the Minnesota Zoo and nothing jumping out at anybody. Halloween night is adults only, so pick another night.
- Ghost-story historyWabasha Street Caves, St. Paul
Prohibition-era caves, a gangland shooting the guides still talk about, and a $15 Lost Souls tour that walks you through the legend.
- Outstate road tripDuluth: the Haunted Ship and Glensheen
A haunt aboard a retired freighter in Canal Park, then a Glensheen Lantern Tour the same night. Both run Fridays and Saturdays through October, but as of Oct 19 the Lantern Tours on Oct 23 and 24 were sold out online, so aim for Oct 30 or 31 and book soon.
The guides
- Haunted houses & hayrides14 paid scares, from the metro scream parks to a volunteer haunt in Harmony, each with an intensity tag.
- Haunted history places10 buildings with ghost stories attached, the history behind them, and how to visit legally.
- Ghost tours10 walks, bus rides, a trolley, a lantern tour and hotel stays you can book this fall.
- Family Halloween15 pumpkin, parade and trick-or-treat events, plus which haunts are too much for kids.
By region
- Twin Cities metroHaunted houses (7) Haunted places (6) Ghost tours (6) Family (9)Chaska, Wyoming, Cottage Grove, Shakopee, Bloomington, Dayton, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Stillwater, Anoka, Apple Valley
- Duluth & North ShoreHaunted houses (2) Haunted places (2) Ghost tours (1) Family (2)Duluth, Carlton
- Rochester & southeastHaunted houses (2) Haunted places (1) Ghost tours (2) Family (2)Zumbrota, Harmony, Red Wing, Mantorville and Rochester, Byron
- St. Cloud & centralHaunted houses (2) Haunted places (1) Ghost tours (1) Family (1)Sauk Rapids, St. Augusta, Sauk Centre, Freeport
- Mankato, New Ulm & southwestHaunted houses (1) Family (1)New Ulm