It’s Halloween y’all, which means: It’s time to get your spook on.
And honestly, is there anything spookier than Halloween camping? It’s dark, the trees are bare, and the warm campfire casts ominous shadows over the forest floor. Eek! [Shudders].
Francis and I have a Halloween tradition of stocking up on candy, finding a free campsite, popping up a tent and binge-watching Stranger Things.
Is it a selfish tradition? Maybe.
Does it mean less candy for neighborhood kids and more for us? Most definitely.
But it’s what we do. And it’s a ton of fun! This year though, we wanted to up our game and make our creepy camping trip extra fun. So I did some research, some pre-planning/pre-downloading, and [to the dismay of my husband] some Amazon shopping.
The result? THE BEST HALLOWEEN CAMPING TRIP EVER.
TOO AFRAID TO GO HALLOWEEN CAMPING? READ HOW TO DEAL WITH BEING SCARED OF TENT CAMPING!
During our chilly camping trip, I thought to myself: I can’t be the only person that wants to go camping on Halloween – so why not share the fun and photograph/document our super-awesome camping trip?
So here it is: The post that nobody asked for! 13 [yes, that number was intentional] of my favorite, spookiest ideas + activities for your best-ever Halloween camping trip.
AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. Anything you purchase using one of my links earns me a small monetary kickback at NO extra cost to you. Of course I only link to products that I believe to be useful and good quality. If you want more information on affiliate links, click here.
1. Set the Halloween Mood with Creepy Lighting!
You’re going to need lights around your campsite, so why not make them on-theme!?
There are plenty of options out there for string lights, but very few options that are portable [for those of us who camp off-grid] and even fewer portable options that come in multiple colors!
Enter the MPowerd Solar String Lights – Multicolored edition!
I am now the proud owner of 3 sets of these string lights [2 regular, 1 multi-colored]. Crazy, I know. But it’ll seem less crazy once you try them for yourself. These things are magic! And with the multi-colored version, you can set your lights to either blue, violet, turquoise, green, pink, white or color-cycle mode. Though I would recommend green or purple so your campsite exudes Halloween-y good-ness 😉
NOTE: If you’re on the fence about this product, you can read my full solar string light review, here!
2. Carve Pumpkins!
This is a great option during the afternoon when you’re kind of bored around camp. Rather than twiddling your thumbs, test out your knife skills [carefully] and create what could potentially be a work of art!
Pumpkin carving kits are available at almost every store when you’re shopping in-season, but you can also find them on Amazon!
NOTE: If you have kids and don’t want them using sharp tools, you can choose to paint pumpkins instead! This is what Francis and I normally do, but since it requires more clean-up we opted for carving instead. Plus, I didn’t want to risk spilling paint outside or leaking paint in the car on the way there or back.
3. Stock Up on Candy
No, not candy corn! And not “healthy candy” [a.k.a. raisins] either! I mean REAL candy.
Halloween just isn’t Halloween without sweet, sugary candy! Unless you’re diabetic of course, in which case I’m sure you can have a perfectly pleasant Halloween sans candy.
NOTE: You’ll also need candy if you plan on using ideas #5 and #6
4. Decorate Your Campsite!
What better way to set the Halloween mood than to decorate?! Not only does it help get everyone into a spooky spirit, it’s also a fun activity that everyone can participate in around camp!
It’s important to note that whatever you haul in for decorations [or otherwise] you’ll also need to haul back out. And it’s also important to avoid putting up decorations that could potentially blow away in the wind [like fake spider webbing]. The most important thing when camping is to leave things as you found them. I am a real stickler about this, to the point of returning any upturned rocks to their former position. It sounds extreme, but I really appreciate it when I come to a clean campsite with no visible human alterations, aside from a fire ring. I am one of those party poopers who disassembles cairns [stacks of rocks] because they take away from the natural feel. Sorry, not sorry.
Some Ideas for Campsite Decorations:
- Skeletons/Skulls
- Pumpkins: Of course!
- Green/Orange/Purple String Lights: I use these solar powered ones!
- DIY Lighting: Cut shapes out of brown paper bags [bats, skulls, pumpkins, witches, etc] and put tea lights [battery-powered tea lights, not candles!] inside! NOTE: You’ll also need to put a rock in the bottom of the bag to keep it from blowing away.
5. Have a Halloween Camping Movie Night!
Yes, some developed campgrounds have Wifi, but even if you don’t have access to internet or even cell service [i.e. dispersed camping, off-grid camping, backcountry camping] you can STILL watch your favorite flicks. For free, too! All it takes is a little pre-planning. I wrote a post about this, which I’ll link to below, but basically all you need to do is download your movies/TV shows ahead of time and make sure you have a compatible [and fully charged] device.
CHECK OUT MY COMPLETE GUIDE ON HOW TO DOWNLOAD MOVIES + TV SHOWS [FROM NETFLIX, DISNEY+, PRIME AND HULU] FOR OFFLINE VIEWING!
You don’t absolutely have to watch scary/creepy movies on your Halloween trip, I’m not going to peer pressure you! But if scary [or at least Halloween-themed] is what you’re looking for, here are some TV/Movie options to choose from:
From Netflix
- Stranger Things
- Fear Street (3 Movies)
- The Haunting of Hill House
- The Haunting of Bly Manor
- Hubie Halloween
- 2 Sentence Horror Stories
- Locke & Key
From Hulu
- The Addams Family [cartoon]
- Paranormal Activity 4
- American Horror Story
- Scream Queens (Comedy-Horror)
- Parasite (one of my personal favorites!)
- Pet Semetary (2019)
- IT (1990)
- Fright Night
From Prime Video
- American Horror Story
- Black Box
- Stonehearst Asylum
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Secret Window
- When a Stranger Calls
- 30 Days of Night
From Disney+
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- The Haunted Mansion
- Hocus Pocus
- Frankenweenie
- Don’t Look Under The Bed
6. Set Up a Halloween Candy or Scavenger Hunt
Who says Easter has a claim to scavenger hunts? If you’re camping with a group, this can be a super fun activity for kids [and maybe adults, too!]. Just hide candy or items around camp and see who can collect the most!
NOTE: To make it even more enticing, hide one extra-awesome item [a gift card, perhaps?] in a super-secret spot to ramp up the competitive spirit!
7. Go for a Creepy Night Hike
This is one of my favorite things to do, even on non-Halloweeny camping trips! Night hikes are fun, challenging and can result in some pretty epic stargazing opportunities. It’s also an opportunity to burn off some of those candy calories 😉
NOTE: If you plan to do this, make sure you pack a headlamp and tread carefully [a.k.a. watch your footing and be mindful of potential wildlife encounters].
8. Tell Scary Campfire Stories
There’s nothing more classic or nostalgic than telling scary stories around a campfire! Maybe they’re true, maybe they’re not. The fun is in not knowing, right? Either way, it’s a great excuse to gather together and roast some marshmallows [or just warm up your feet!].
Even if you’re not a creative genius or master story-teller, there are thousands of scary stories you can find on the internet, too! They range from kid-friendly to, well, completely disturbing. Honestly, when you Google “scary stories” you’re opening the door to some pretty terrifying stuff. Personally, I like to stick to the fictional ones so I can at least get a few winks of sleep at night!
9. LISTEN to Scary Campfire Stories
Not interested in being the center of attention around the campfire? No biggie! Try out some of these creepy podcasts:
- Dirtbag Diaries: “Tales of Terror” [Scary campfire stories – told by multiple contributers]
- LORE [True Scary Stories]
- The NoSleep Podcast [Horror Fiction]
- The Black Tapes [Horror Fiction]
NOTE: You can download podcasts for offline listening!
10. Create a Halloween Camping Playlist
Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE making playlists! I even made a playlist for my dog’s adoption day, including hits such as “Who Let The Dogs Out”, “Atomic Dog”, and Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog”.
Is it corny? Absolutely. But so fun! And there are so many great Halloween hits to set the tone for your camping trip.
Here are 20 potential songs for the ultimate Halloween playlist – don’t say I never did anything for ya 😉
- “Thriller” Michael Jackson
- “She Wolf” Shakira
- “Monster Mash” Bobby Pickett
- “Black Widow” Iggy Azalea
- “This is Halloween” The Citizens of Halloween
- “Superstition” Stevie Wonder
- “Monster” Lady Gaga
- “Somebody’s Watching Me” Rockwell
- “Disturbia” Rihanna
- “Freaks Come Out At Night” Whodini
- “Pyscho Killer” Talking Heads
- “I’m In Love With A Monster” Fifth Harmony
- “Get Your Freak On” Missy Elliot
- “Stranger Things Theme” Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
- “Ghostbusters Theme” Ray Parker Jr.
- “Season of the Witch” Donovan
- “Witchy Woman” The Eagles
- “Bury a Friend” Billy Eilish
- “Hungry Like the Wolf” Duran Duran
- “I Put a Spell On You” Bette Midler
11. Camp in Costume
Costumes and Halloween are basically synonymous with each other. And yes, you might look stupid camping in a full Halloween costume get-up, but who cares?
NOTE: Depending on where you live, I’d recommend going with a onesie costume so you can layer underneath and stay warm! It’s not the sexiest option, but it’s practical – and I like that! Plus, there are so many options. You can be a flying squirrel, a rainbow unicorn, Stitch [from Lilo and Stitch], and so much more!
12. Serve Up Some Fall or Halloween Themed Drinks
Unless you’re camping in the South, it’s probably gonna be a lil’ chilly for your Halloween camping trip. So why not warm yourself up from the inside out with some tasty drinks? Cowboy coffee is always an option [and one of my personal favorites], but I’ll list some more festive options below. 🙂
Some cold-weather drinks that are easy to make/heat up over a campfire [or with a Jetboil]:
- Hot Apple Cider
- Hot Cocoa
- Warm Russian Tea
- Egg Nog
13. Toast Some Pumpkin Seeds!
If you’re planning on carving pumpkins on your Halloween camping trip, you’ll probably have a lot of pumpkin guts leftover! And if you have the time [and the patience] to do some cleaning/separating, toasted pumpkin seeds make for a yummy campfire-side treat.
All you need is a cast iron skillet and a little bit of oil and salt! Check out this recipe for Campfire Toasted Pumpkin Seeds from 50campfires.
Ever been Halloween camping? Have your own tips or activities to share? Leave it in the comments!
SHARE ME!
