The Ultimate Halloween Weekend in Grants Pass

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which makes October 30 through November 1 the perfect long weekend to explore the spookier side of Southern Oregon. Josephine County does October two ways: golden afternoons in the pumpkin patch, and nights built for a good scare. This itinerary covers both, with a carnival, a candlelit cave, a haunted corn maze, a coffin you can climb into, and a costume party, plus a few haunts worth visiting any time of year.

Whether you’re bringing the kids or your bravest friends, here’s how to spend Halloween weekend in Grants Pass and Josephine County.

Friday: Carnival by Day, Cornfield by Night

Afternoon: THE Halloween Carnival in Cave Junction

Kick off the weekend about 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass in Cave Junction, where The Motherline hosts its third annual THE Halloween Carnival on Friday, October 30, from 1 to 7pm at the Cave Junction Farmers Market grounds (24100 Highway 199, Kerby).

Admission is free, and carnival game tickets are $1 each, with tons of prizes up for grabs. Kids can get their faces painted for free, tackle the haunted scavenger hunt, try the guessing contests, and show off their costumes in the costume contest. RiverStars Performing Arts takes the stage, and local band Fire Your Boss provides the soundtrack. Cash and cards are both accepted.

While you’re in Cave Junction, grab dinner at Wild River Pizza & Brewing or Carlos Restaurante before heading back toward Grants Pass.

Evening: 23 Screams Haunted Corn Maze

Once the sun goes down, it’s time to get scared. At Fort Vannoy Farms, 23 Screams transforms the corn maze into nineteen rooms of horror, from Clowns with Chainsaws to Vampires to Zombies, complete with lights, sound effects, themed cornstalk rooms, and full costumes. It’s not recommended for young children, so this one’s for the teens and grown-ups.

The maze runs October 30 and 31 from 7:30 to 11pm. Tickets are sold in 5-minute timed slots of 20 people each, so book yours ahead. It runs rain or shine, and fall nights can turn the fields muddy, so wear a warm coat and shoes with good traction. Warm drinks and treats are available at the Farm Stand.

Fort Vannoy Farms is at 5791 Lower River Road, Grants Pass.

Saturday: Underground, Downtown, and Out Late

Morning: Haunted Candlelight Tour at Oregon Caves

Spend Halloween itself underground. About 20 miles up the mountain from Cave Junction, Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve is one of the few marble caves in the country open to the public. On Saturdays, October 24 and 31, rangers lead a Haunted Candlelight Tour throughout the day: you’ll carry your own candle lantern through the cave’s winding passages while your guide shares spooky stories from local history.

Tickets are $20 per person, and the tour is open to ages 10 and up. Costumes are welcome, but leave the glitter, capes, and oversized getups at home. Reservations are strongly recommended. The cave stays chilly year-round, so bring a jacket.

The drive from Grants Pass takes a little over an hour. On your way back through Cave Junction, stop for a scoop at Yeti’s Ice Cream & Treats.

Afternoon: Grants Pass’s Weird Side

Back in Grants Pass, spend the afternoon downtown browsing two shops built for the season (and open all year).

OdditiesForSale is a shoppable oddities warehouse and mini museum at 550 SW 6th Street, Suite G. Expect gothic home decor, crystal balls, vintage medical pieces, taxidermy and bones, and what the shop calls the largest selection of resin specimens in the U.S. Eerie exhibits are tucked throughout the shop, and the brave can climb into the coffin ride: a “buried alive” experience complete with sound, movement, and smells. Admission is $5 per person, and the full amount is credited toward anything you buy. All ages are welcome, though the shop recommends parental discretion for kids 13 and under. It’s wheelchair accessible and open Thursday through Saturday from 11am to 7pm and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

Something Weird combines a tattoo studio with a gift shop full of oddities, curiosities, and unconventional finds. Browse the whimsical gift collection, or let one of the resident artists give you a permanent souvenir of the trip. First-timers and seasoned collectors are equally welcome. It’s open at 118 SE H St Wednesday through Friday 12pm to 7pm and Saturday through Sunday 12pm to 6pm.

Night: The Haunted Hivve (21+)

Adults can end Halloween night dancing in costume. Crash & C-Mac Productions brings Colorado electronic producer Late Night Radio to The Hivve, 164 SE G Street, for The Haunted Hivve. Late Night Radio has played Red Rocks, Electric Forest, and Hulaween, and calls his sound “electronic music for people who don’t really like electronic music.” Hometown favorite DJ BeRadley opens with house, funk, and dark disco.

Doors open at 8pm and music starts at 9pm. The show is 21+ with valid ID, and costumes are encouraged (no fake or real weapons). Seating is limited and first-come, first-served.

Not a dance-floor crowd? The 23 Screams Haunted Corn Maze runs Halloween night too, from 7:30 to 11pm.

Sunday: One Last Ghost Story at Wolf Creek Inn

Before you leave town, take Interstate 5 about 20 minutes north to Wolf Creek (exit 76) for a stop at what may be the most famous haunted address in Southern Oregon. Completed around 1883, the Historic Wolf Creek Inn is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the Northwest, a former stagecoach stop on the route between Portland and San Francisco.

Its guest book reads like a who’s who: Clark Gable, John Wayne, Orson Welles, and President Rutherford Hayes all stayed here, and author Jack London spent an entire summer at the inn. According to staff and guests, some visitors never checked out. Reports include piano music, knocks, and footsteps echoing down empty halls, and the inn has appeared on the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.”

The inn is an Oregon State Heritage Site, and you’re welcome to walk the grounds and historic rooms. Plan to arrive in the late afternoon and stay for dinner in the inn’s historic dining room, a fitting last meal before the drive home. Want the full experience? Book an overnight stay, or join a tour, hosted Thursday through Sunday at 8:30am and 6:00pm.

Can’t Make Halloween Weekend?

Much of this itinerary works on other dates, too.

The weekend of October 23-25 is the best alternative: you can catch the candlelight tour on Saturday, the haunted maze any of the three nights, and the pumpkin patch in daylight. And the oddity shops and Wolf Creek Inn make a strange and wonderful detour any month of the year.

Plan Your Stay

With a carnival, a candlelit cave, a haunted cornfield, and a 140-year-old ghost story all within an hour of downtown, Grants Pass makes an easy home base for Halloween weekend. Find a place to stay at visitgrantspass.com/stay, and start planning your spookiest Southern Oregon getaway yet.