Fall guide · Neighborhoods
Decorated streets, neighborhood parades and daylight Main Street events. 15 spots from Beacon Hill to the Cape where tiny voyagers can fill their buckets.
Updated Oct 2026 · 3 min read
Mount Vernon & Pinckney Streets, Boston
Boston's most elaborately decorated stoops, on gaslit streets. Wander over to Louisburg Square and West Cedar Street too. Parts of nearby streets have closed to cars in recent years.
Best decorations · Busy & festive · Acorn St: no strollers
Back Bay, Boston
Brownstone after brownstone with doors close together, so bags fill fast. On Halloween, the street closes to traffic between Berkeley and Fairfield Streets from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Great for older kids · Doors close together
South End, Boston
A free Halloween party at Titus Sparrow Park runs 4–5 p.m. on Oct 31, with a kids' parade at 5 and the square closed to traffic. Perfect for toddlers.
Best for little ones · Kids' parade · Free
Charlestown, Boston
A beloved neighborhood tradition that has run for about four decades, kicking off at the Bunker Hill Monument. Be a good guest: bring a non-perishable donation for the local food pantry.
Neighborhood tradition · Historic setting
Jamaica Plain, Boston
A longtime Halloween block party with music and decorated homes along one friendly street.
Block party · Music
Roslindale, Boston
Close-set homes and decorated porches. Start near Roslindale Square and walk over to Tyndale.
Porch decorations · Easy to walk
Brookline
Victorian homes and walkable side streets near Coolidge Corner.
Walkable · Victorian homes
North Cambridge
Residents go all out with themed displays: lights, sound effects and fog.
Big displays · A little spooky
Newton
Tree-lined streets made for traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating.
Classic door-to-door · Stroller-friendly sidewalks
Malden
Bainbridge Street is known for heavy decorating. Malden Center's 22nd annual trick-or-treat is Friday, Oct 30, 3–5 p.m., at the Edwin C. Lucey Courtyard at City Hall and nearby businesses, with a treasure map for kids 12 and under. Neighborhood hours are 5:30–8 p.m. on Halloween.
Two nights of fun · Treasure map · Free
Salem
Haunted Happenings fills the whole month with family events, but more than half a million visitors come. Plan ahead, or go on an October weekday with little ones.
Month-long events · Very crowded on Halloween
Scituate
Halloween in the Harbor brings shop-to-shop treats to Front Street, 4–5:30 p.m. on Oct 31, and Minot is a longtime residential favorite.
Harbor shops · Before dark
Hingham
Downtown shops welcome costumed kids for treats on the Saturday afternoon before Halloween, a daytime option for little ones. This year's was Oct 24, so save this one for next fall.
Daytime · Shop-to-shop · Held Oct 24 this year
Hyannis
Main Street closes to cars for the Halloween Safe Trick or Treat, 4–6 p.m. on Oct 31, with treats from local businesses.
Car-free · Done before dinner · Free
Yarmouth Port
Trick-or-treat around the historic houses on Yarmouth Port Common, 4:30–6:30 p.m. on Oct 31, with a spooky story from the Yarmouth Port Library at Thacher Hall at 5.
Village green · Storytime · Free
Each town sets its own hours, usually late afternoon into the early evening on October 31. Malden's neighborhood hours this year are 5:30–8 p.m., for example. Check your town's website or police department for this year's times.
Try the South End's Titus Sparrow Park party (4–5 p.m., parade at 5), Hyannis Main Street's car-free trick-or-treat (4–6 p.m.), or Malden Center's business trick-or-treat on Friday, October 30 (3–5 p.m.).
Main Street events like Hyannis close the road to cars, and suburban sidewalks in Newton are easy going. On Beacon Hill, skip cobblestoned Acorn Street with a stroller.
Salem expects more than half a million visitors during its month-long Haunted Happenings, so Halloween night is very crowded. Many families with little ones visit on an October weekday instead.