The Grimes Brief

Seasonal guide · Halloween 2026

Halloween in Grimes: trick-or-treat hours, the trunk-or-treats, library programs, decorated houses, and the haunts worth the drive.

The quick answer
Mark the calendar

Grimes Halloween dates for 2026

Mon Oct 26
Family Night: Spooky Science Stations Kids
Grimes Public Library, 6 to 6:30 p.m., all ages, no registration. Handy timing: there's no DCG school that Monday, a teacher workday (school calendar).
Wed Oct 28
Trunk or Treat at Lutheran Church of Hope Grimes Kids
5:45 to 7 p.m. in the church parking lot, 1335 NE Beaverbrooke Blvd. Free, for kids in grade 5 and younger in family-friendly costumes; the church's middle schoolers decorate the trunks and hand out the candy (event page).
Sat Oct 31
Trick-or-treat night Citywide
6 to 8 p.m., per the City of Grimes calendar. The usual rule applies: porch light on means trick-or-treaters are welcome.

Already happened: the city's Fall Festival with the Polk County Sheriff's Office was Saturday, Oct. 3, the library's Pumpkin Night family program was Monday, Oct. 5, the library's Monster Puppets craft morning was Saturday, Oct. 24, and the City of Grimes Trunk or Treat at the South Sports Complex was Sunday, Oct. 25. Know of another Grimes trunk or treat this year? Send it to hello@grimesbrief.com with a link to the organizer's post and we'll add it once we confirm it.

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Decorated houses

Where are the decorated Halloween houses?

Start with FrightMaps, where homeowners register their own displays. When we checked on Oct. 21 it had 13 locations mapped in and around Grimes, from yard haunts to a drive-through (FrightMaps: Grimes). A listing doesn't by itself confirm a house is decorating this year, so treat it as a starting route, and go the last weekend of October, when most displays are fully up.

Two metro-wide lists fill in through the month. The Des Moines Register is collecting nominations for the best-decorated Halloween homes in central Iowa (the Register's call for nominations), and Des Moines Parent keeps a reader-submitted list of yard displays (desmoinesparent.com).

Decorating in Grimes this year? Email your address and a line about the display to hello@grimesbrief.com. We'll add confirmed 2026 houses to this page and share the best ones in the Monday email. We only list a home with the owner's OK.

For the kids

Halloween with little ones

In town, the easy wins are the two trunk-or-treats and the library programs above, all free. The library also has a drop-in Craft & Play morning on Halloween itself (Sat. Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to noon; it's billed as games for all, not a costume event). Just outside town, the Tunnel of Terror at Tommy's Express in West Des Moines is a haunted run through the car wash from the safety of your own car, and Timberline's haunted hall runs a softer scare for kids from 6 to 7 p.m. (details below). Adventureland's Phantom Fall Fest in Altoona does daytime trick-or-treating and family activities on Saturdays and Sundays before the park turns spooky after 6 p.m. And the pumpkin patches and corn mazes are at their best right now.

For teens & adults

Haunted houses near Grimes, 2026

Drive times are from downtown Grimes without traffic. Nights listed are the ones still left as of Oct. 21, checked on each haunt's own site or ticket page; prices appear only where the haunt posts them. Most sell tickets online, and buying ahead shortens the line.

~15 min
Tunnel of Terror at Tommy's Express Family pick
645 S 60th St, West Des Moines. Nights left: Fri-Sat Oct. 30-31, 7 to 9 p.m. $25 per the location page, with $5-off presale tickets sold at the wash. You stay in your car the whole time. Location page
~20 min
Haunted Hall at Timberline West
31635 SE Ashworth Rd, Waukee. Fridays and Saturdays in October, 6 to 9 p.m., with a soft scare for kids from 6 to 7. $10 per person. Nights left: Oct. 30 and 31. Timberline
~20 min
Linn's Haunted House
Basement of Linn's Supermarket, 3805 6th Ave, Des Moines. Nights left: Thu Oct. 29 (7 to 10 p.m.), Fri Oct. 30 (7 p.m. to midnight) and Sat Oct. 31 (8 p.m. to midnight). $25, sold only at the door; cash preferred, cards accepted. Founder Merlyn Linn died Sept. 17, per the haunt's site. Linn's
~25 min
The Docks
97 Indiana Ave, Des Moines. Nights left: Fri-Sat Oct. 30-31, 7:30 to 11 p.m. $25 general admission, $45 fast pass. The Docks
~25 min
The Slaughterhouse
500 Locust St, downtown Des Moines, a walk-through it bills at more than 20,000 square feet. Nights left on its ticket calendar: Oct. 29-31. Online tickets from $25, and the haunt says tickets are always available at the gate. Nights & tickets
~25 min
Phantom Fall Fest at Adventureland
Altoona. Last nights: Fri-Sat Oct. 30-31. Fridays open at 6 p.m. and are all frights; weekends start with daytime family fun and turn spooky after 6 p.m., with five haunted houses and four scare zones. Online tickets were on sale from $39.99 when we checked. Adventureland
~30 min
Sleepy Hollow Scream Park
Sleepy Hollow Sports Park, 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines. Several haunted attractions on one site. Nights left: Oct. 29-31; gates open at 7 p.m. Tickets
~35 min
Haunted Woods
1478 Gateway Dr, Carlisle. An outdoor trail, this year "The Mare Witch 5." Nights left: Wed-Thu Oct. 28-29 (7 to 9 p.m.), Fri-Sat Oct. 30-31 (7 to 11) and Sun Nov. 1 (7 to 9). Hours are subject to weather. Schedule
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Quick answers

Halloween in Grimes: FAQ

When is trick-or-treat in Grimes in 2026?

Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. citywide, per the City of Grimes calendar.

When is the Grimes Trunk or Treat?

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the South Sports Complex, 750 S James St. It is free: local businesses and city officials decorate their cars and hand out candy, per the city.

Are there other trunk-or-treats in Grimes?

Yes. Lutheran Church of Hope Grimes, 1335 NE Beaverbrooke Blvd., holds a free Trunk or Treat in its parking lot on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5:45 to 7 p.m. for kids in grade 5 and younger.

Is there a haunted house in Grimes?

We have not found a ticketed haunted house inside Grimes for 2026. The closest are the Tunnel of Terror car wash in West Des Moines (about 15 minutes), the Haunted Hall at Timberline West campground near Waukee and Linn's Haunted House in Des Moines (each about 20 minutes).

Where can I see Halloween decorations in Grimes?

FrightMaps maps homeowner-registered yard haunts and displays in and around Grimes, though a listing does not by itself confirm a home is decorating this year. The Des Moines Register and Des Moines Parent also collect the best-decorated homes across the metro each October.

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Sources: City of Grimes calendar and Community Events page (trick-or-treat night, Trunk or Treat, Fall Festival); Grimes Public Library event calendar (Monster Puppets, Spooky Science Stations, Craft & Play, Pumpkin Night); Lutheran Church of Hope Grimes (Trunk or Treat); Tommy's Express West Des Moines location page; Timberline Campground; Linn's Haunted House; The Docks; The Slaughterhouse and its HauntPay ticket calendar; Adventureland; Sleepy Hollow Scream Park ticket page; Haunted Woods schedule; FrightMaps (homeowner-registered displays); the Des Moines Register via Yahoo and Des Moines Parent (decorated-house lists); DCG district calendar (Oct. 26 teacher workday). All checked Oct. 21, 2026. Dates, hours and prices can change; confirm with each event before you go.
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