Trick-or-Treating 2026: What Time It Starts and Hours by City

In most of the United States, trick-or-treating starts around sunset, between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and ends by 8 or 9 p.m. Where a city sets official hours, the most common window is 6 to 8 p.m. Halloween 2026 falls on Saturday, October 31, but not every town trick-or-treats that night: some hold it on the Thursday before, some on the Sunday before, and many big cities set no hours at all. Check your own city or township before you plan the evening. The table below shows how much the answer changes from place to place.

What Time Does Trick-or-Treating Start and End?

There is no national schedule and no state that sets one. Three patterns cover almost every community:

• Official hours. Common in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Kentucky and New England. The city council, mayor, township board or police department announces a date and a two-hour window, usually in September or early October.
• Recommended hours. The city suggests a window but does not enforce it. Madison, Wisconsin, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, work this way.
• No hours at all. Typical of large cities and most of the South and West. Families go out around dusk and stop when porch lights go off, usually by 9 p.m.

Who is going out	Typical time
Toddlers and preschoolers	4:30–6 p.m., while it is still light
Elementary-age kids with parents	5:30–7:30 p.m. (the busiest stretch)
Tweens and teens	6:30–8:30 p.m.
Last polite doorbell	8 p.m. where hours are set; 9 p.m. at the very latest elsewhere

Trick-or-Treat Hours 2026: 22 City Examples

These are 2026 dates and hours as published by the cities themselves or by local news outlets tracking official announcements, checked on October 13, 2026. Hours can still change (Manchester, New Hampshire, changed its hours that very day), so confirm with the linked source before you go.

City	2026 date	Hours	Source
Columbus, OH	Thursday, Oct. 29	6–8 p.m.	Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
Worthington, OH (Columbus suburb)	Saturday, Oct. 31	6–8 p.m.	NBC4 Columbus list
Cleveland, OH	Saturday, Oct. 31	6–8 p.m.	FOX 8 Cleveland list
Akron, OH	Saturday, Oct. 31	5–7 p.m.	FOX 8 Cleveland list
Canton, OH	Saturday, Oct. 31	3–5 p.m.	FOX 8 Cleveland list
Kettering, OH (Dayton area)	Saturday, Oct. 31	6–8 p.m. ("always on October 31")	City of Kettering
Pittsburgh, PA	Saturday, Oct. 31	5:30–7:30 p.m.	City of Pittsburgh
Lancaster, PA	Saturday, Oct. 31	6–8 p.m.	City of Lancaster
York, PA	Thursday, Oct. 29	6–8 p.m.	abc27 central Pennsylvania list
Lebanon, PA	Thursday, Oct. 29	6–8 p.m.	abc27 central Pennsylvania list
Milwaukee, WI	Saturday, Oct. 31	5–7 p.m.	City of Milwaukee
Green Bay, WI	Saturday, Oct. 31	4–7 p.m.	WBAY northeast Wisconsin list
Madison, WI	Saturday, Oct. 31	No official hours	City of Madison
Des Moines, IA	Saturday, Oct. 31	6–8 p.m.	WHO 13 central Iowa list
Ames, IA	Friday, Oct. 30	5:30–7:30 p.m.	WHO 13 central Iowa list
Marshalltown, IA	Sunday, Oct. 25	5–7 p.m.	WHO 13 central Iowa list
Grand Rapids, MI	Saturday, Oct. 31	6–8 p.m. (recommended)	WOOD TV8 West Michigan list
Fishers, IN (Indianapolis area)	Saturday, Oct. 31	5:30–8 p.m.	Indy's Child list
Manchester, NH	Saturday, Oct. 31	4–7 p.m. (first announced as 4–6 p.m.)	WMUR
Oklahoma City, OK	Saturday, Oct. 31	No official hours	News 9
Virginia Beach, VA	Oct. 31	Dusk to 8 p.m., ages 12 and under (city rule; most recent city notice is from 2025)	City of Virginia Beach
Chesapeake, VA	Oct. 31	6–8 p.m., children up to 14 (city ordinance)	WAVY Hampton Roads guide

Three things stand out. First, neighbors disagree: Columbus trick-or-treats on Thursday, while Worthington, which borders it, goes Saturday. Second, the window moves earlier as you go north and east, where the sun sets sooner: 3 to 5 p.m. in Canton, 4 to 7 p.m. in Green Bay and Manchester. Third, "Halloween night" is not guaranteed. If your region has a tradition of a separate "Beggars' Night" or a fixed weekday, a Saturday Halloween is exactly when the date shifts.

How Cities Set Trick-or-Treat Hours

Regional recommendations

In central Ohio, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission recommends one date for the whole region so that families and drivers know what to expect. Its rule is simple: when October 31 falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, trick-or-treat is held on the Thursday before. That is why Columbus and most of its suburbs are out on Thursday, October 29, in 2026. Each municipality still makes its own final call, and a few choose Halloween itself.

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, does the opposite. Under the Lancaster Inter-Municipal Committee's policy, member municipalities trick-or-treat from 6 to 8 p.m. on October 31, whatever day that is.

City council, mayor or police

Pittsburgh's hours were announced by the mayor's office on October 8, 2026. In Manchester, New Hampshire, the police department announces them. In many townships the board of supervisors passes a short resolution. There is rarely a penalty for ringing a bell at 8:05; the hours are a signal to residents about when to be home and to drivers about when to slow down.

Hours can change after they are announced

Manchester is this year's example. Police first announced 4 to 6 p.m., two hours earlier than in previous years. After residents objected that it was too early, officials extended the window on October 13 to 4 to 7 p.m., saying the goal was to accommodate families who prefer daylight and those who prefer dark. If your town's hours were announced in September, check again the week of Halloween.

Where to find your town's hours

1. Your city, village or township website: search the site for "trick or treat."
2. The police department's or city's official social media pages.
3. Local TV station and newspaper websites, which publish county-by-county lists every October.
4. If you live in an unincorporated area, check the county or township, not the nearest city.
5. Homeowners' associations sometimes set their own hours; check the neighborhood newsletter or group.

Sunset on Halloween 2026

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the morning after Halloween. That means the evening of October 31 is still on daylight time, with a later sunset than the week that follows. Approximate sunset times on October 31:

City	Sunset (local time, approximate)
Boston	5:39 p.m.
New York	5:54 p.m.
Pittsburgh	6:19 p.m.
Columbus, OH	6:31 p.m.
Atlanta	6:46 p.m.
Miami	6:40 p.m.
Chicago	5:47 p.m.
Milwaukee	5:46 p.m.
Minneapolis	6:03 p.m.
Dallas	6:37 p.m.
Denver	6:00 p.m.
Phoenix	5:38 p.m.
Los Angeles	6:01 p.m.
Seattle	5:54 p.m.

These times were calculated from standard solar position formulas for each city's coordinates and can be off by a minute or two; NOAA's Solar Calculator gives the exact figure for your address. It stays light enough to see for roughly 25 to 30 minutes after sunset, then gets dark quickly.

What Age Should Kids Stop Trick-or-Treating?

There is no national age limit, and most communities have no rule at all. In practice, many kids drift away from it around 12 to 14, when parties and handing out candy start to look more appealing.

A handful of cities do have age limits on the books, mostly in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia:

• Virginia Beach: children up to age 12, from dusk to 8 p.m.
• Chesapeake: children up to 14, 6 to 8 p.m. The city council updated the ordinance in 2019, raising the age limit from 12 and removing a never-used jail penalty.
• Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News: local codes limit trick-or-treating to children 12 and under and end it at 8 p.m.

These are old ordinances, and Chesapeake's jail penalty had never been used when the council removed it. Everywhere else, the unwritten rule is reasonable: if a teenager wears a real costume, says "trick or treat" and "thank you," and lets the little kids go first, most people are happy to hand over a candy bar.

What age can kids go without a parent?

Safe Kids Worldwide advises that children under 12 trick-or-treat with an adult. The American Academy of Pediatrics says older children going on their own should stay in a group, follow a route their parents have reviewed, carry flashlights and agree on a specific time to be home.

Trick-or-Treating Etiquette

For trick-or-treaters and parents

• Porch light on means yes; porch light off means no. This is the one rule every neighborhood shares. Skip dark houses, even if you can see people inside.
• Ring or knock once, wait, and move on if nobody answers.
• Say "trick or treat" and "thank you." Parents of shy toddlers can say it for them.
• Take one piece unless you are told otherwise, including from unattended bowls.
• Stay on sidewalks and paths; do not cut across lawns or flower beds.
• Never go inside a house or get into a car for a treat. Stay on the porch.
• Respect the end time. When the hours are over, or it is 9 p.m., stop.
• Do not comment on what you were given.

For people handing out candy

• Turn the porch light on and clear the path of hoses, toys and wet leaves.
• Keep dogs inside and away from the door; costumes and a constantly ringing doorbell stress even friendly pets.
• Do not quiz kids about costumes or age. Some children are nonverbal, have sensory issues or simply cannot afford a costume.
• Offer a non-food option if you can. A teal pumpkin by the door signals that you have treats for kids with food allergies; see our Halloween candy guide for how it works.
• Out of candy, or not taking part? Turn the porch light off. A short sign on the door helps too.

Trick-or-Treating in the Rain: Backup Plans

Most communities trick-or-treat rain or shine; Lancaster County's policy says so explicitly. A few announce a rain date in advance. Greencastle, Pennsylvania, for example, scheduled Thursday, October 29, with Friday, October 30, as its rain date this year. Postponements for severe weather do happen, and they are announced the same way the hours were: city website, police social media, local news.

If the forecast looks bad:

1. Dress the costume for the weather. Buy or make it one size up so a jacket fits underneath. A clear poncho keeps the costume visible.
2. Swap the pillowcase for a bucket. Wet fabric and paper bags tear; plastic pails do not.
3. Go early and go short. Hit the 15 closest houses in the first half hour, before everyone is soaked.
4. Add light. Rain cuts drivers' visibility. Glow sticks, reflective tape and a flashlight for every child matter more on a wet night.
5. Have an indoor fallback. Malls, libraries, churches and community centers often host indoor trick-or-treating, and many trunk-or-treat events move into a gym when it rains.
6. Stay in for lightning or high wind. Hide candy around the house for a flashlight hunt, put on one of our picks for Halloween movies, and let the kids hand out candy to anyone brave enough to show up.

First Time Out With a Toddler or Preschooler

Small children do not need the full two hours, and most are done after 20 to 30 minutes.

• Go at the very start of the window, or a little before it where no hours are set, while it is still light and the sidewalks are quiet.
• Practice once. Knock on your own front door, say "trick or treat," hold out the bucket, say "thank you." Rehearsing takes the fear out of ringing a stranger's bell.
• Pick 8 to 10 houses you know. Neighbors and friends make the best first route, and you can skip any porch with loud or scary decorations.
• Bring a wagon or stroller for the walk home, and a small flashlight the child can hold.
• Let them hand out candy afterward. For many three-year-olds, giving treats to the big kids is the best part of the night.

A Simple Plan for Halloween Night

1. A week ahead: confirm your town's date and hours. Try on costumes with shoes and a coat.
2. 4:30 p.m.: feed everyone a real dinner. A full child eats less candy on the sidewalk. Quick options are in our Halloween food ideas.
3. 30 minutes before start: costumes on, glow sticks cracked, phones charged. Agree on the route and, for older kids, the time to be home.
4. Start time: begin with your own street. Work one side, cross once at a corner and come back down the other.
5. At home: an adult checks the candy before anyone eats it. The full checklist is in our Halloween safety tips.

For costume ideas, party plans and everything else, start at the main Halloween 2026 guide.