Trick-or-Treat Times in Columbus and Central Ohio

October is one of those months filled with nostalgia. For me, many of those memories focus on Halloween.

I had so many awesome costumes throughout the years, from 50’s poodle skirt girls to Ms. Frizzle, I deeply enjoyed letting my inner theatre kids shine. That was especially true for Trick or Treat.

Halloween in Columbus can sometimes feel like a gamble. You never know whether you’ll have decent weather or if you’ll be bundling the kids up in sweatsuits and coats under their perfectly planned costumes. But luckily, no matter what the weather is, the kiddos will be rewarded with candy!

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and that’s the exact situation that splits Central Ohio in two. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) recommends Thursday, October 29th as the regional trick-or-treat date, and most Franklin County suburbs follow it. A second group would rather go on Halloween itself, so kids in Galena, Grandview Heights, Marble Cliff, Marysville, Orange Township, Pataskala, Plain City, Powell, Riverlea, Sunbury and Worthington head out on Saturday, October 31st. Every date and time below comes from the community’s own website, with a link so you can check it yourself. The one exception is Columbus, which goes on MORPC’s regional date, so its row links to MORPC. Where a city hasn’t posted its 2026 plan yet, the table says so instead of guessing.

2026 trick-or-treat dates and hours by community

“Not announced yet” means the community’s own site still showed last year’s date, or nothing at all, on October 14th. That covers 13 communities as of this update. Those rows get filled in as the announcements come in, so keep checking as the 29th gets closer.

About Columbus: Columbus goes on the MORPC date, so inside city limits that’s Thursday, October 29th. Experience Columbus, the city’s visitors bureau, lists the hours as 6 to 8 p.m. If the city or MORPC changes anything, this page gets updated.

Why most of the region goes on Thursday, October 29th

When October 31st falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, trick-or-treat moves to the Thursday before it. When Halloween falls on a Monday through Thursday, everyone goes on the 31st. MORPC calls this a recommendation, and it says plainly that each community makes its own decision to keep or change the date. That opt-out is why the Saturday group above exists, and why the same kid can trick-or-treat twice by crossing a city line. Orange Township went a step further and voted to make October 31st its permanent date, whatever day of the week it falls on.

Some communities have the MORPC rule written down as standing policy, which is why their dates are in the table even where the annual notice hasn’t gone up yet. Upper Arlington and Gahanna both say so on their city FAQ pages, with 6 to 8 p.m. as the fixed window. Prairie Township’s trustees voted the 2026 date and hours into the record back in January. New Albany is the newest member of that group. The city moved this year’s night to the MORPC Thursday and says it’ll go with the MORPC date from now on. Riverlea follows Worthington instead. The village FAQ says its Beggars Night is the same night as Worthington’s, so this year that’s Saturday, October 31st.

Rain dates and moved dates

Most Central Ohio communities don’t have a rain date, and several say so outright. MORPC’s guidance is that the recommended date doesn’t change for bad weather, and parents should use their own judgment about sending kids out. Bexley says it won’t cancel or reschedule except in extreme conditions. Westerville and Reynoldsburg both say they won’t move the night without a major reason such as severe weather warnings, so a forecast of rain or cold alone doesn’t count. New Albany, Pickerington and Groveport all say their nights go ahead in the rain. Grove City leaves the call to parents.

Moves do happen at the edges of the region. In 2024, Hebron bumped its night up a day because bad weather was expected, and the news went out on the village’s Facebook page the day before. If a storm is in the forecast, the community’s own Facebook page or website is where a change shows up first. This page gets updated when a community moves its date.

Porch-light rules and other conventions

The porch light is the whole system. A lit porch means candy. A dark porch means skip the house, and most kids respect that without being told. Most communities run a two-hour window, and porch lights start going dark right at the end of it, so smaller kids do better starting early rather than late.

What if you don’t want to hand out candy? Keep your lights off, including landscaping lights. And don’t leave a bowl of candy on the porch with a note unless you’re at peace with one kid dumping the entire thing into his bag in the first 15 minutes.

Should you be annoyed if older kids come to your door? Don’t assume you know how old a kid is by their size. Plenty of kids are five and a half feet tall by fifth grade. As long as older kids are respectful of the smaller children and the people handing out candy, they’re not hurting anyone by going door to door.

What kind of candy should you hand out? Stick to the standbys kids universally love and save the creativity for the costumes. If you load up on Reese’s Cups, consider pairing them with a nut-free option for kids with allergies.

What’s the deal with teal pumpkins? A teal pumpkin on the porch signals that a house has non-candy treats available for kids with food allergies.

Safety basics

• Put reflective tape or a glow stick on dark costumes, and send a flashlight with every kid.
• Cross at corners, and walk facing traffic on streets without sidewalks.
• Drivers should expect kids in the street from about 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and slow down in neighborhoods, even on streets that are usually empty.
• Pick face paint over masks that block side vision.
• Have kids wait to eat until the candy has been looked over at home.
• Older kids going out on their own should have a route, a phone and a time to be back.

Weather

COLUMBUS WEATHER

Have a safe and happy Halloween, Columbus!

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