Michigan Travel · Upper Peninsula
Things to do in the U.P. for Halloween: EscanaBOO and Iron Mountain’s Pumpkin Walk on Oct. 24, Gladstone’s harvest fest Oct. 25 and Marquette trick-or-treat Oct. 31
ESCANABA, Mich. — Two of the Upper Peninsula’s family Halloween events share Saturday, Oct. 24, when Escanaba hosts its third EscanaBOO festival at the U.P. State Fairgrounds and Iron Mountain’s downtown business district holds its Pumpkin Walk, a week before Marquette and other towns set out trick-or-treat hours for Halloween itself.
EscanaBOO runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the fairgrounds, 2401 12th Ave. N., with more than 100 vendors, food trucks, a children’s scavenger hunt and a costume contest, according to the Escanaba Daily Press. Admission is $2, and children 10 and younger get in free, WJMN’s My UP Mornings reported.
The state Department of Natural Resources’ Escanaba Pocket Park, on the same fairgrounds, adds a Halloween Bash from 2 to 6 p.m. that day, with a trick-or-treat trail, a haunted house, games and costume prizes in four age groups, the Daily Press said.
In Iron Mountain, the fifth annual Pumpkin Walk runs from noon to 3 p.m. Central time on Oct. 24 at the corner of A Street and Iron Mountain Street, across from the Dickinson County Library. The Downtown Development Authority lists trunk-or-treating at the downtown stage, free face painting, mini-pumpkin painting and a children’s costume contest at 1 p.m. The library’s main branch hosts glow-in-the-dark mini golf during the same hours. Iron Mountain Street stays open to traffic, so families crossing from the parking lot should watch for cars.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, Gladstone holds its Great Gladstone Harvest Festival downtown from 2 to 6 p.m., with a farmers market, a pumpkin path and trick-or-treating at downtown businesses, the Daily Press reported. The city is partnering with Saunders Point Brewing and Michigan State University’s Forestry Innovation Center.
Marquette saves its events for Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. UP Health System–Marquette staff will hand out candy from decorated trunks from noon to 2 p.m. in Parking Lot F at the hospital, 850 W. Baraga Ave. Downtown trick-or-treating at participating businesses runs from 1 to 4 p.m., when the 100 and 200 blocks of West Washington Street close to traffic and the downtown social district shuts down, according to the Downtown Marquette organization. Families should look for the event poster in shop windows; teal pumpkin signs mark businesses handing out non-candy treats.
Citywide, Marquette police recommend trick-or-treating from 4 to 7 p.m. that evening and ask drivers to turn on headlights early, slow down in neighborhoods and watch for children near driveways. Questions go to the Marquette City Police Department at 906-228-0400.
Sources:
Downtown Marquette, “Downtown Trick or Treat,” accessed Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.downtownmarquette.org/downtown-events/downtown-trick-or-treat
City of Marquette, “Halloween Trick or Treat Schedule,” accessed Oct. 18, 2026, https://marquettemi.gov/psa/halloween-trick-or-treat-schedule/
Escanaba Daily Press, “Halloween happenings,” October 2026, https://www.dailypress.net/news/local-news/2026/10/area-trick-or-treat-schedule/
Escanaba Daily Press, “A guide to October events across the U.P.,” Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.dailypress.net/news/local-news/2026/10/a-guide-to-october-events-across-the-u-p/
My UP Mornings (WJMN), “Halloween fun for all at EscanaBoo Oct. 24,” accessed Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.myupnow.com/news/my-up-mornings/halloween-fun-for-all-at-escanaboo-oct-24/article_edca5f45-2400-4bb7-bc59-c64a4e200c36.html
Downtown Iron Mountain, “2026 Pumpkin Walk Trunk & Treat,” Sept. 30, 2026, https://downtownironmountain.com/pumpkin-walk-2026/
Downtown Iron Mountain, “Pumpkin Walk,” accessed Oct. 18, 2026, https://downtownironmountain.com/pumpkin-walk/
Photo: Imzadi1979, “Washington Street (Marquette, Michigan).jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Street_(Marquette,_Michigan).jpg
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