I work here, which means every October I get a front-row seat to the same discovery happening over and over: Halloween is different at a campground.
Not "one pumpkin on the porch" different. I mean a family three sites down builds a full graveyard with a fog machine, and by Saturday afternoon their eight-year-old is running tours.
If you've been curious about Halloween camping in Texas but you're not quite sure what you'd be signing up for, this is the honest version. Written by someone who has scraped a fair amount of melted candy off a golf cart.
Here's what actually happens.
First things first: a Halloweekend is four weekends, not one
This is the detail people miss, and then regret missing.
We don't run a single Halloween weekend. We run four, back to back, and each one has its own name and its own personality.
- October 9–11: Halloween Hijinks. The season opener. First costumes, first candy haul, first "wait, we can come back and do this again?"
- October 16–18: Halloween Hoots & Howls. The weather finally cooperates and the sites start glowing. Peak spooky season.
- October 23–25: Halloween Hullabaloo. The weekend the golf carts stop being subtle.
- October 30–November 1: Halloween Haunts. Actual Halloween, at a campground, with a few hundred neighbors handing out candy.
Plenty of families come back for more than one. Some of them treat October here the way other people treat a season pass.
The site decorating contest is not a casual affair
I say this with love, because every year a few first-timers arrive with a single skeleton from the seasonal aisle and realize within an hour what they've walked into.
By Friday afternoon there are inflatable arches. There are projectors. There is usually at least one family who brought a generator specifically for lighting.
What makes it work is that nobody is precious about it. The most committed decorators are usually the first ones offering tips to a family setting up next door, and somebody always ends up lending an extension cord. It's the friendliest competition I've ever been around.
First place in each decorating contest wins a free camping certificate for 2027. Every weekend. Which explains a lot about the animatronics.
If it's your first year
You don't need a haunted mansion. Some of the best sites every October are simply:
- String lights and a few carved pumpkins
- A themed doormat and a wreath
- Kids' drawings taped up in the RV windows
- One good inflatable, placed with confidence
Confidence really is half of it.
Then there are the golf carts
Separate contest. Separate free 2027 camping certificate. Entirely separate level of creativity.
Over the years I've seen a golf cart converted into a mystery van, a cart done up as a hearse, and one with a fog effect I still think about.
If you're bringing a cart, decorate it. If you're not bringing one this year, you'll probably want to next year.
Trick-or-treating, but walkable
This is the part I get genuinely sentimental about.
Park-wide trick-or-treating means kids go site to site, and the "houses" are RVs and cabins decorated by people who chose to be here for exactly this. No driveways. No traffic. No street to cross. Parents can hang back with a coffee and actually let their kids run ahead.
A lot of parents tell me some version of the same thing: this is what Halloween felt like when they were kids. That comes up more than anything else all month.
One practical note from someone who has watched this play out many times: bring a bucket with a handle. The pillowcase families tend to regret it around hour two.
The haunted trail, and one honest warning
The outdoor haunted trail returns for a second year, running every Saturday evening. It's bigger this time, and a little meaner, which was very much on purpose. There's also a haunted house for anyone brave enough to walk in.
Parent to parent: you know your kid. Some seven-year-olds walk the trail twice and ask for a third lap. Some eleven-year-olds take one look and decide against it, and that's completely fine.
That's the quiet advantage of doing Halloween at a campground. The daytime activities are still running, the lazy river is still open, and there's always an off-ramp from the scary stuff. It usually leads to a s'more.
Costume weekend, or as I think of it, the parade
Costume contests run for kids, grown-ups, and pets, and the whole thing turns into an informal parade well before it turns into a contest.
A few things I've noticed:
- The pet category is the most competitive and the least serious
- At least one dad commits fully and quietly out-dresses his entire family
- Every kid changes their mind about their costume at least once, and with four weekends on the calendar, the rejected one still gets its moment
Bring the backup costume. It always gets used.
The Halloween Pass, explained plainly
There's a Halloween Pass for $41.99 per person. It exists mostly so you're not doing math at a counter while three kids ask for things at once.
It covers the Magic Pumpkin Patch, a gem mining bag, a glitter tattoo, a paid arts and crafts project, a glow item, Pucker Powder, a small Lime Licker, and a souvenir cup that goes home with you. All together, it runs about ten dollars less than buying each piece separately.
Add it to your reservation when you book. Passes are non-refundable, though dates may be transferable.
What to actually pack
A quick list from someone who fields the "do you happen to have an extra..." question all October:
- A costume, plus the backup costume
- Buckets with handles, not pillowcases
- Something warm for the evening, because Texas Octobers change their mind quickly
- Swimsuits, because the lazy river is still very much in play
- Extension cords and outdoor-safe lights if you're decorating
- More batteries than you think you need
You can leave the candy at home. There will be candy.
Come for one weekend, plan for two
Here's my honest read after a few years of watching this.
Families book one Halloweekend to try it out. Then they spend Sunday morning at the front desk asking which of the other three still has sites open.
Halloween at Austin North wraps November 1, and the weekends fill in the order you'd expect. The one closest to actual Halloween goes first, every year.
Pick your weekend. Book your stay. The costume can wait.
Book a Halloweekend!