Halloween Events for Kids Near Me: Boo at the Zoo in the Bronx

Search for halloween events for kids near me anywhere north of Manhattan and the Bronx Zoo comes up first, for good reason. Boo at the Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Society's daytime Halloween festival, fills the 265-acre park at 2300 Southern Boulevard every Saturday and Sunday from September 26 through November 1, 2026. The zoo pitches it at toddlers, preschoolers and elementary-age children, and everything on the program, from the costume parade to the candy trail, is included with a regular zoo ticket and free for WCS members.

The Bronx Zoo opened on November 8, 1899, and it is now the flagship park of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which also runs the Central Park, Prospect Park and Queens zoos and the New York Aquarium. The zoo counts more than 11,000 animals from over 640 species, and in 1916 it opened what it calls the first modern zoo animal hospital with a full-time veterinary staff. That scale is why Boo at the Zoo feels different from a block party: the Halloween stations are spread between real habitats.

Fall is also the last stretch of the season for several seasonal attractions. The Wild Asia Monorail, Congo Gorilla Forest and the Children's Zoo stay open through November 1, so a Boo weekend is the final chance this year to ride past the tigers and rhinos on the monorail or let small kids climb through the Children's Zoo before winter hours start on November 2.

Astor Court, the historic plaza at the center of the original zoo, is Halloween headquarters. The Costume Parade steps off at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3:15pm, led by Halloween and animal-themed performers, and each parade rolls straight into a Boo Dance Party with music, games and bubbles fifteen minutes later. Free face painting for children 3 and up runs at Astor Court from 11am to 4pm, next to the Boo Play Space lawn games and a giant community mural kids color in together.

The Candy Trail follows the Rhino Trail from 11am to 2pm and hands out palm oil-free treats only. The zoo limits it to one turn per family, reserves candy for children, and stops when supplies run out, so plan to walk the trail before lunch rather than at the end of the day.

Over at Giraffe Corner, the Wildlife Theater puts on The Tale de los Animales Who are No More, a puppet musical in which Bruja Alma and her spooky animal friends tell the stories of extinct species. Shows run about 15 minutes at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 3:30pm. The same corner hosts a Halloween craft table where kids decorate a creature puppet to carry in the next parade, plus a Creepy Crawly Mystery Wall of textures to touch.

The Pumpkin Garden in Rhino Garden is open 11am to 5pm with four super-sized animal pumpkin displays built by the zoo's pumpkin artists, and it is the photo stop most families queue for. Nearby, the Dancing Crane Pavilion runs pumpkin carving demonstrations from 11am to 4pm, where artists turn giant gourds into animals and detailed scenes, with speed carving sessions at 11:30am and 2:30pm that are worth timing your walk around.

New for 2026 is a Hay Maze and Challenge Trail at the Butterfly Patio, open 11am to 4pm, with oversized animal hay sculptures and a course that asks children to climb, crawl, balance and jump. Next to Astor Court the Boo Carnival adds inflatable games such as Pumpkin Smash, shuffle ball, ring toss and tic-tac-toe, also from 11am to 4pm.

This year the zoo added scheduled Animal Chats with keepers: Tiger Mountain at 10:30am, World of Reptiles crocodiles and snakes at 11am, Big Bears at 1pm, and Birds of Prey owls and vultures at 2pm. Pair the 10:30am tiger talk with an early arrival and you will reach the Candy Trail before the midday crowd builds.

Grizzly Corner has a magic and mind reading show at 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm, alternating with Spooky Stories to Tickle Your Spine, folktales from around the world featuring animals you can see in the park, at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 3:30pm. Older kids who like the eerie side can visit the Extinct Animal Graveyard at Astor Court from 10am to 5pm, a mock cemetery of lost species with tips on preventing extinctions, or the nocturnal residents of the new World of Darkness exhibit.

Tickets must be reserved online in advance, and member reservations include Boo activities. Bronx Zoo admission starts at $28.95 for adults 13 and over, $26.95 for seniors 65 and over, and $20.95 for children 3 to 12; children 2 and under are free. During Boo at the Zoo, kids ages 3 to 12 who arrive in costume get 50% off a child ticket with the promo code COSTUME.

Park hours through October 31 are 10am to 5:30pm on weekends, and Boo activities and final performances end at 4pm. Some stations are weather permitting. The remaining dates this season are October 17 and 18, October 24 and 25, and the closing weekend of October 31 and November 1, which tends to be the busiest because it lands on Halloween itself.

The 2 and 5 trains stop at West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue, a short walk from the zoo's southern side, and the Bx9 and Bx19 buses run along Southern Boulevard. Driving is possible but the zoo warns its lots can fill on peak days: all-day parking is $22 per car, and Weekend Preferred Parking at Fountain Circle is $30.

For lunch outside the park, Arthur Avenue in Belmont, the Bronx's Little Italy, is about a fifteen-minute walk west of the zoo. The Arthur Avenue Retail Market at 2344 Arthur Avenue, opened in 1940 under Mayor Fiorello La Guardia's push to move pushcart vendors indoors, is good for a casual sandwich stop with kids still in costume.

Address: Bronx Zoo, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460. Phone: (718) 220-5100. Dates: Saturdays and Sundays, September 26 to November 1, 2026. Activity hours: about 11am to 4pm, inside regular park hours. Admission: from $28.95 adults and $20.95 children 3 to 12, with Boo included; costume discount code COSTUME for ages 3 to 12.

Best plan: arrive at 10am, catch the 10:30am tiger chat, walk the Candy Trail before 2pm, then end at Astor Court for the 3:15pm parade. The zoo's FAQ says costume props and weapons are not allowed and adults should not wear masks, though costume makeup is fine. Bring a bag for crafts and candy, and dress kids in costumes that are easy to walk in, because the park is large and the Rhino Trail and Astor Court sit at opposite ends.