Trunk-Or-Treat: How To Celebrate Halloween On The Road

Amelia ArvesenOctober 4, 2023

Trunk-Or-Treat: How To Celebrate Halloween On The Road

Halloween is a celebration of spooky and scary as much as it’s a celebration of creativity and community. The most inventive costumes win at parties, and friends and family bring yummy snacks for the festivities. But if you’re planning to be away from your neighborhood on the road during this fall holiday, you and your kiddos can rest assured. There are plenty of ways to bring the spirit of this holiday to your road trip—without getting too spooked to stay in the campground.

From bringing your costume trunk on the road to cuing up your best kid-friendly ghost stories to finding festivals near you, here are 5 ways to create a memorable Halloween on the road.


RVs For Rent Near You

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1. Decorate Your Rig

Trunk-Or-Treating is a genius Halloween tailgating and block party trend, which involves decorating your trunk as a monster’s face, such as a shark or a zombie or a ghost. These events have popped up in the last few years to encourage getting to know your neighbors and staying safe on the streets.

We like to look to this idea to inspire ways to decorate your rig. You could string jack-o’-lantern lights outside, and hang cobwebs and ghosts around the campsite. Just make sure to check with your host before you tape a banner to the ceiling, bring pumpkins, or do anything else to the inside. 

Spooky woods

2. Dress Up And Get Silly

Your packing list must include crazy costumes if you’re planning on traveling during Halloween. If you don’t already have costumes picked out, bring your whole costume trunk to dive into for a family dress-up party at the campground in masks, hats, bags, capes, and silly shoes.

Add a little competition by incentivizing the most creative and spooky costumes with more candy. Or plan your costumes around a theme, like “lost hikers” or “lumberjacks.” 

3. Go Trick-Or-Treating 

Picture this: the streets of quaint towns and bustling cities alike transform into a fantastical realm as Halloween draws near. Many communities come together to orchestrate downtown trick-or-treating extravaganzas. Merchants dress to delight and pass out sugary treats, while little monsters and ghosts walk down the illuminated Main Street hand-in-hand with their parents. Here are a few enchanting events happening in October 2023 to check out across the country: 

Grand Junction, CO

Portland, OR

Flagstaff, AZ

Elgin, TX

Orlando, FL

Portland, ME

San Luis Obispo, CA

If there isn’t a community-wide trick-or-treating event near where you’ll be camping, consider visiting a pumpkin patch or one of these fall festivals. Or head to a music festival this October.

4. Pass The Candy

Halloween, the spookiest time of the year, simply demands an extra dose of sweetness. As you plan your journey to the campground, don’t forget to sneak in a bag (or maybe two, we won’t tell) of delectable candies that’ll sprinkle magic on your adventure. And for those feeling particularly adventurous, why not get a little crafty by incorporating one of those chocolatey wonders into your s’mores concoction? Just be sure to practice responsible candy consumption – stash away all those wrappers and leave no trace of your sugary indulgence behind as you venture into the night. 

5. Swap Ghost Stories

Picture this: The moon and stars light up the sky, the campfire crackles and casts eerie shadows, and a group of adventurous souls gather in the woods. It’s the perfect setting for telling ghost stories. Bring your own creepy story to the circle, or sort through some of these examples. Just make sure to tailor your tale-telling depending on your kids’ ages and sensitivities so a story doesn’t ruin their experience.

Spooky moon

Can you feel the spine-tingling excitement in the air? Celebrating a holiday like Halloween on the road can end up being even more memorable for your whole family. A graveyard smash like no other. Now it’s time to choose the perfect vessel for your spook-tacular escapade. Just remember, as you embark on your Halloween adventure, to pack the candy and costumes that will transform your road trip into a ghoulishly good time.


RVs For Rent Near You

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Amelia Arvesen, Outdoorsy Author


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