There is no public parking at Riley Lake Park or along Riley Lake Road on the afternoon of Harvest to Halloween. That one line on the city's event page sums up October in Eden Prairie. The biggest event of the month is free, and what it asks of you is a plan for getting there. Meanwhile the smaller programs at the Outdoor Center and the Art Center charge a fee, cap their numbers, and ask you to register before you show up.
So Eden Prairie's Halloween season runs on two tracks. Free events want you to sort out logistics. Paid events want you to commit early. One Saturday, October 24, is where the two tracks overlap.
The month at a glance
| Date | Event | Where | Cost | What it asks of you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Oct. 6 | Bats, Spiders, and Pumpkins, adults only | Outdoor Center | $15 | Registration |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Harvest to Halloween | Riley Lake Park | Free | Shuttle from Grace Church |
| Oct. 16–18 | Rose Craft Show Autumn Marketplace | Eden Prairie Center, upper level | Not listed | Nothing |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Trick or Treat Tote Bag, ages 6–10 | Art Center | $30 | Registration |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Trunk-or-Treat | Helping Paws, 6569 City West Parkway | Free | Nothing |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Truck or Treat | Fleet Maintenance, 7140 Washington Ave. S. | Free | A food-shelf donation if you can |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Bats, Cats and Ghosts Treat Bags | Art Center | $25 | Registration |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Hunter's Moon hike | Outdoor Center | $10 | Registration |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Adaptive Halloween Party, ages 12–50 | Community Center | $28 | Registration |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Boo Bingo | Senior Center | $5 | Registration |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Not-So-Scary Nature Trail | Outdoor Center | $10 per child | A timed slot |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Spooky Skate | Community Center | Free for members | Nothing |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween at Fat Pants! | Fat Pants Brewing | Not listed | Nothing |
Dates and fees come from the city's registration system and event pages, from Eden Prairie Local News event listings, and from the individual hosts.
The first adult program comes up fast. Bats, Spiders, and Pumpkins is Tuesday, October 6, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Outdoor Center. It costs $15, pumpkin carving is included, and it's for adults only. That's two days from now. If it sounded good, register this weekend.
October 10: the free one, and the shuttle that makes it work
Harvest to Halloween runs from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, at Riley Lake Park, 9180 Riley Lake Road. The city's list of free activities includes horse-drawn carriage rides, llamas, inflatables, live music, art projects, treat stations, a sensory-friendly area, and pumpkin decorating while supplies last. Kids can come in costume with a treat bag.
The planning comes down to where you park. Use the Grace Church South Lot at 9301 Eden Prairie Road and take the shuttle. Buses run continuously from 12:45 to 5:15 p.m., and strollers, wagons and service animals can ride, but pets cannot. The park itself is open only for drop-off and pick-up, bike parking, and accessible parking with a valid permit.
Longtime residents may remember parking at the park. An Eden Prairie Local News listing for the 2021 event pointed people to Riley Lake's main lot. By 2025 the city's Friday Report was sending everyone to the Grace Church shuttle and limiting access at the park, just as this year's page does. So this is the second year in a row with the same setup. Expect it to be the standard arrangement from now on.
The shuttle window also changes how the afternoon flows. Buses start 15 minutes before the gates open and keep running 15 minutes after they close. A family that arrives late isn't stuck walking down Riley Lake Road, and nobody has to circle for a spot near the barn. Last year's Eden Prairie Local News recap described families turning out and a crowd gathering at the pumpkin smash.
Food is local. The vendor list includes Brick Oven Pizza Bus, Fat Pants Brewing Co., Game Day Grub, I & E Treats, Mason's Sweets and Mi Pueblo. As of this writing, the city still lists the treat trail and activity partners as "TBD," so check the page again before you go. The city also has a volunteer sign-up for anyone who'd like to help run the event.
The weekend after: a craft show and a dog-friendly trunk-or-treat
The weekend of October 16 to 18 is lower-key. The Rose Craft Shows Autumn Marketplace takes over the upper level of Eden Prairie Center all three days, with artisans, crafters and small businesses. Friday, October 16 is the MEA no-school day, and the Art Center fills part of it with a Trick or Treat Tote Bag workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. for ages 6 to 10. It costs $30.
On Saturday, October 17, Helping Paws holds a free public Trunk-or-Treat from 2 to 4 p.m. at 6569 City West Parkway. There are prizes for costumes, trunks and themes, and leashed dogs are welcome. Few Halloween events this month let the dog come along, so this one may be the easiest fit for households that want to bring theirs.
October 24: the night both tracks meet
Three events land on the same Saturday evening, and their times overlap.
- Truck or Treat at Fleet Maintenance, 7140 Washington Ave. S., runs 4 to 7 p.m. It's free and has a candy lane, a costume contest, hot chocolate, and a collection for the food shelf.
- Family Fun: Bats, Cats and Ghosts Treat Bags at the Art Center runs 4 to 6 p.m. It's for ages 7 and up with an adult and costs $25.
- Hunter's Moon at the Outdoor Center, 13765 Staring Lake Parkway, runs 7 to 8:30 p.m. A naturalist leads the hike, and the evening ends with a bonfire. It costs $10, all ages are welcome, and anyone under 16 needs an adult with them.
Truck or Treat ends at 7, the same time the hike begins, and the treat-bag class takes up most of the Truck or Treat window. Realistically, a family picks two of the three. The free event needs nothing in advance. The other two need registration through the city's system.
The city describes the Hunter's Moon as the full moon after the Harvest Moon, and the hike covers its history while walking the forest after dark. For $10 and an hour and a half, it's one of the few October events built for grown-ups as much as for kids.
The last week belongs to the Outdoor Center
The Not-So-Scary Nature Trail on Friday, October 30 is the most structured event of the month. Families walk a lantern-lit trail at the Outdoor Center, learn about the woods and wildlife, and pick up a Halloween treat at each station. It runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in staggered 30-minute slots, so younger children can go early and braver ones can go after dark. Each child is registered for a single slot at $10 per person. Adults attend free, and every child needs an adult along.
Because the slots are timed, this is the event where early registration matters most. If your family wants the full-dark experience, the later slots are the ones to grab.
That same week has events for other groups too. The Community Center's Adaptive Halloween Party is Thursday, October 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. It's listed for ages 12 to 50 and costs $28. On Friday afternoon, Boo Bingo at the Senior Center runs 1:30 to 3 p.m. for $5, and players are invited to wear costumes or orange and black.
Halloween itself is a Saturday
October 31 falls on a Saturday this year, and the daytime schedule fills up before trick-or-treating starts. The Community Center's Spooky Skate is a Halloween-themed open skate, and costumes are encouraged. The kids' skate runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., followed by open skate from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Community Center members skate free. Non-members pay $8 per youth or adult, or $25 for a family of up to five at one address, and skate rental is $5.
Fat Pants Brewing has "Halloween at Fat Pants!" on its October calendar for 11 a.m. on the 31st. So far the brewery hasn't posted more details. Hennepin County Library's Eden Prairie branch has its regular Saturday programs that morning and afternoon, including Baby Storytime from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and teen Game Zone from 1 to 3 p.m.
If you need a fast dinner before costumes go on, Dave's Hot Chicken opened on W. 78th St. on August 7. Eden Prairie Local News reported it as the chain's 10th Minnesota location.
What to book this week
Most of the free events need no preparation beyond a costume. The ones with a fee need a few minutes in the city's registration system:
- Bats, Spiders, and Pumpkins, October 6
- Trick or Treat Tote Bag, October 16
- Bats, Cats and Ghosts Treat Bags and Hunter's Moon, October 24
- Adaptive Halloween Party, October 29
- Boo Bingo and the Not-So-Scary Nature Trail, October 30
For Harvest to Halloween, the one thing to remember is 9301 Eden Prairie Road, where the shuttle picks up.
At Ben Hahn's Local Roots team, we keep track of Eden Prairie's calendar the way neighbors do: which events need a ticket, which lot to park in, and which Saturday is going to be busy. If you're a longtime resident thinking about what your home is worth, or you just want to talk through the neighborhood, request a free home valuation and neighborhood consultation. We're glad to meet you at the Grace Church shuttle line.
