Michigan Travel · Grand Rapids
Things to do near Grand Rapids Oct. 23–25: Ada’s Pumpkin Prowl, a 1,000-pound pumpkin dropped on a car and a zombie 5K downtown
ADA, Mich. — Downtown Ada turns into one long trick-or-treat route Friday night, a Grand Rapids-area farm drops a 1,000-pound pumpkin onto a car Saturday, and runners try to dodge zombies through downtown Grand Rapids that evening. Halloween weekend around Grand Rapids, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 23–25, is packed.
Here is what is on the calendar. Times and prices come from organizers’ listings; check them again before you go.
Pumpkin Prowl, Ada, Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. The Ada Business Association calls it the village’s largest family-friendly Halloween event of the year. River Street closes to traffic for trick-or-treating, and kids can also collect candy in the JH Realty/Dixon lot and around the village, according to the association’s listing, which promises a new “Haunted Bridge” this year. Experience Grand Rapids, the area’s visitors bureau, says the Ada Covered Bridge will become a journey to the Emerald City inspired by The Wizard of Oz, with mini pumpkin decorating, a DJ and a dance party.
Free “Hocus Pocus” under the stars, Ada, Friday, 7:45 p.m. Ada Parks & Recreation and the business association are showing the movie on the lawn at the new Covered Bridge Park – South, 7490 Thornapple River Drive. Admission is free; bring your own blankets and chairs.
Nearly full moon hike, Grand Rapids, Friday, 7 to 8 p.m. Blandford Nature Center, 1715 Hillburn Ave. NW, pairs a lesson on the phases of October’s Hunter’s Moon with a moonlit hike and a stop in its Wildlife Center to see which nocturnal animals are awake. The hike is for ages 10 and up and costs $13, or $10.40 for members.
Hallowee-Ones, Meijer Gardens, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 East Beltline Ave. NE, invites kids to dress up and join costume parades at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden, with a not-so-spooky storytime in the Log Cabin and fall play in the Kid-Sense Garden. It repeats Oct. 31. Meijer Gardens is cashless.
Zombie Dash Survival 5K, downtown Grand Rapids, Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m. The evening race is based at Sixth Street Bridge Park, 647 Monroe Ave. NW, according to its listing. Runners wear flags as their “life bars,” and zombies try to grab them, especially in the course’s feeding zones. There are overall and age-group awards, a Kids Trick or Treat Mile opens the evening, and entry runs from free to $30.
Pumpkin Smash n Bash, Ed Dunneback & Girls Farm, Friday through Sunday. The farm’s annual fall weekend includes a corn maze, a playground, farm animals, wagon rides and u-pick apples and pumpkins, according to Experience Grand Rapids. On Saturday, a 1,000-pound pumpkin gets dropped onto a car. On Sunday, another giant pumpkin is launched into a pond.
Kids Day at The Haunt, Sunday. The Grand Rapids haunted house tones down the scares for a day of trick-or-treating, face painting, a costume contest and a kid-friendly attraction, the visitors bureau says.
Sources:
Experience Grand Rapids, “Halloween in Grand Rapids,” https://www.experiencegr.com/articles/post/halloween/
Ada Business Association, “Ada Village Pumpkin Prowl 2026,” via Experience Grand Rapids, https://www.experiencegr.com/event/ada-village-pumpkin-prowl-2026/98556/
Ada Parks & Recreation, “Pumpkin Prowl Movie Night,” via Experience Grand Rapids, https://www.experiencegr.com/event/pumpkin-prowl-movie-night/100291/
Blandford Nature Center, “(Nearly) Full Moon Night Hike,” via Experience Grand Rapids, https://www.experiencegr.com/event/(nearly)-full-moon-night-hike/100299/
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, “Hallowee-Ones: Parade and Programming,” https://www.meijergardens.org/events/hallowee-ones-parade-and-programming/
“Zombie Dash 5K,” via Experience Grand Rapids, https://www.experiencegr.com/event/zombie-dash-5k/96604/
Photo: Darcyjeh5, “Ada Covered Bridge1.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ada_Covered_Bridge1.jpg
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