Most campgrounds in Alabama have packed it in by the time Halloween actually arrives.
Great Escapes Chesnut Bay has not.
Halloween 2026 lands on a Saturday. October 31. And the resort on Weiss Lake will be wide open, fully decorated, and running a Zombie Run that night.
That is the headline. Here is everything else.
Quick Answer: When Is Halloween at Chesnut Bay 2026?
Four weekends, October 9 through November 1.
- October 9 to 11: Monster Mash Bash
- October 16 to 18: Monster Mash Bash, plus face painting Saturday the 17th
- October 23 to 25: Monster Mash Bash
- October 30 to November 1: The Grand Howl-O-Ween Celebration
Every weekend includes a haunted trail on Saturday. That part is new this year.
Why Four Weekends Beats One
Halloween is famously a one-night event that families spend six weeks preparing for.
Four weekends flips that math.
The costume gets worn more than once. The kid who could not decide between a dinosaur and a ghost gets to be both. And the family that always ends up double-booked on the last weekend of October finally has options.
Pick a weekend. Or pick two. Nobody is counting.
Monster Mash Bash: October 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25
Three weekends, same lineup, and it is built for the under-12 crowd without being boring for anyone else.
The Magic Pumpkin Seed patch is the one kids talk about for a year. They plant a seed in the patch. They go to bed. They come back the next morning and there is a full pumpkin sitting exactly where the seed went in.
No green thumb required. No explanation offered. Pure chaos in the best way.
The rest of the weekend:
- Pumpkin decorating
- Ghost Toss
- Mummy Wrap Race, which is exactly what it sounds like and ends with someone tangled in toilet paper
- Monster Mash Bash Dance Party
- Costume contest
- Haunted trail on Saturday night
Face painting joins the lineup on Saturday, October 17.
The Haunted Trail Is on All Four Weekends Now
This is worth saying twice.
Chesnut Bay used to save the haunted trail for the finale. Not anymore. Every Halloween weekend at the resort now includes one on Saturday night.
Which means there is no wrong weekend to book. Whichever one fits the calendar delivers the full experience.
The Grand Howl-O-Ween Celebration: October 30 to November 1
The finale goes bigger, and it lands directly on Halloween.
The Haunted Wagon Ride rolls through eerie scenes and spooky surprises. The Haunted Trail runs again. And the Zombie Run turns the whole thing into a sprint, with roaming zombies trying to grab runners off the course.
Then there is the part that quietly beats every neighborhood in America: park-wide trick-or-treating.
Every site is decorated. Every kid is in costume. Nobody drives anywhere. Parents walk about four hundred feet total and the candy haul is still absurd.
The Site Decoration Contest is where things get competitive. Somebody always shows up with a fog machine and a fully wired graveyard, and that somebody could be anyone.
Spooky games, festive crafts and daytime live music run through the weekend.
Halloween Night, Specifically
Saturday, October 31.
Costumes everywhere. Trick-or-treating through the campground. The Zombie Run after dark. Campfires going once the candy sorting begins.
And Sierra Gant plays live from 6 to 8 PM, included for resort guests at no extra charge.
Halloween on a Saturday night only happens every few years. This one has live music and a haunted trail attached to it.
Where to Stay
Chesnut Bay sits on Weiss Lake in Leesburg, about an hour and a half from Birmingham and an easy drive from Gadsden, Centre, Rome, Chattanooga, Huntsville and Atlanta.
Options depend on the crew:
- Cabins sleep four to eight, with kitchens and real beds. October mornings on the lake get cool, and a heated cabin starts sounding smarter than it did in July.
- Vacation homes work for multiple families sharing a weekend.
- Full-hookup RV sites come in 50-foot pull-thrus and back-ins with concrete pads, some with lake views.
- Tent sites are available for anyone committed to the full experience.
A golf cart rental is the quiet MVP of a Halloween weekend. Trick-or-treating, site-hopping and hauling tired kids back after the haunted trail all get dramatically easier.
October on Weiss Lake Is Its Own Reason
Halloween is the headline, but fall in Cherokee County holds up on its own.
Weiss Lake is the Crappie Capital of the World, and the fall crappie run gets going in late September and holds through December. Cherokee Rock Village sits 11.5 miles away with sandstone formations and Lookout Mountain views. Little River Canyon National Preserve is 16.3 miles out.
Foliage, cool mornings, a fire ring and a campground full of people in costume. October does a lot of work here.
FAQ
Is Great Escapes Chesnut Bay open on Halloween?
Yes. The resort is open year round and open on Halloween itself, Saturday, October 31, 2026. The Grand Howl-O-Ween Celebration runs that weekend, October 30 through November 1.
When are the Halloween weekends at Chesnut Bay in 2026?
Monster Mash Bash runs October 9-11, October 16-18 and October 23-25. The Grand Howl-O-Ween Celebration runs October 30 through November 1.
Is there trick-or-treating at Great Escapes Chesnut Bay?
Yes. Park-wide trick-or-treating takes place during The Grand Howl-O-Ween Celebration, October 30 through November 1.
Does every Halloween weekend have a haunted trail?
Yes. As of 2026, all four Halloween weekends at Chesnut Bay include a haunted trail on Saturday.
What is the Magic Pumpkin Seed patch?
Kids plant a seed in the pumpkin patch during Monster Mash Bash weekends and return the next morning to find it has grown into a full pumpkin overnight.
What is the Zombie Run?
A course run during The Grand Howl-O-Ween Celebration where participants dash through while roaming zombies try to catch them.
Is there live music on Halloween?
Yes. Sierra Gant performs Saturday, October 31 from 6 to 8 PM, included for resort guests at no extra charge. Daytime live music also runs through the Howl-O-Ween weekend.
Where is Great Escapes Chesnut Bay?
4507 County Road 147, Leesburg, Alabama 35983, on Weiss Lake in Cherokee County. Call (256) 526-7779.
Is Pirates Bay Waterpark open in October?
No. The waterpark closed for the season on September 7, 2026. October at Chesnut Bay is all fall programming.
Book the Weekend
Four weekends. Four chances to get Halloween right. One of them lands on Halloween itself, and that weekend goes first.
Reserve a cabin, vacation home or RV site at Great Escapes RV Resorts Chesnut Bay, or call (256) 526-7779.
The costume conversation starts now. It will change four times before October. That is simply how it works.