On Saturday, October 24, Randolph Recreation hosts kids at Veterans Community Park two times. At noon, children ages 2 to 10 walk the trail in daylight and play Halloween Bingo. At 6 p.m., the same park opens again as a haunted trail with American legends and ghostly soldiers, for ages 6 and up. Brundage Park fills the hours in between with about 175 decorated cars and a community theater matinee. Taken together, the township calendar reads like a ladder. Families can pick a rung based on how much scare their kids can handle, and the age ranges overlap enough that siblings can share at least one event.
Here is the full weekend, rung by rung, with the details that matter before you leave the house.
The Saturday Lineup at a Glance
| Time on Sat., Oct. 24 | Event | Where | Ages | Before you go |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noon to 2 p.m. | Trail of Treats | Veterans Community Park, 100 Calais Road | 2 to 10 | Adults attend free |
| 2 to 4 p.m. per calendar | Trunk or Treat | Brundage Park Recreation Complex, 2 W. Bungalow Lane | All | Cars must preregister |
| 2 p.m. per Playhouse, 3 p.m. per township | GHOST the Musical matinee | Brundage Park Playhouse | All | Confirm time when buying tickets |
| 6 to 9 p.m. | Haunted Trail: US Legends | Veterans Community Park | 6 and up suggested | Timed slot, check in at the gazebo |
| 7 p.m. on township calendar only | GHOST the Musical | Brundage Park Playhouse | All | Not on the Playhouse's own list |
The two parks trade off all day. Veterans Community Park has the bookends, and Brundage Park has the middle of the afternoon. That pattern decides how most families will plan the day, so the rest of this guide follows it.
Rung One: The Daylight Trail for the Youngest Kids
Trail of Treats is written for children who aren't ready for the night version yet. The township calendar listing describes it as "a low-scare experience designed for sensory-sensitive guests." It's built for ages 2 to 10, and kids walk the trail in daylight while playing Halloween Bingo. For 2026 a hayride has been added, and adults attend free.
This is the event's second year. Its candy comes from the community. Randolph Recreation asked businesses, organizations and community groups to sponsor candy stations along the trail and offered each sponsor a table and chairs. That means the people handing out treats on the trail are likely local groups and businesses, not hired staff.
Trail of Treats is the bottom rung, but the age range goes up to 10. That reaches well into the Haunted Trail's suggested range, which starts at 6. A 7-year-old fits both events. The day can work as a test run, with a daylight walk at noon and a decision about the evening after that.
Rung Two: Brundage Park and the Trunk or Treat Clock
From Veterans Community Park, the afternoon moves to Brundage Park, where Trunk or Treat turns the recreation complex into a parking lot full of costumes. The June announcement from Randolph Recreation expects about 175 decorated vehicles. It asks each car to bring 300 to 500 pieces of candy and says to bring more if you can "due to the popularity of this event."
The event depends on residents' own cars, and the details for decorating households are specific:
- Registration is per vehicle, not per person, and an adult has to stay with the car to hand out candy.
- Registration opened September 3 through Community Pass, by phone at 973-989-7081, or in person at the Randolph Community Center.
- Cars can't save spots for each other. If you want to park next to friends or family, arrive together and line up one behind the other.
- The top three trunks win $75, $50 and $25, and participants get free hot chocolate.
- Registrations are non-refundable, and the event raises money for the Mt. Freedom Fire Company.
Check the timing before you go, because the township's own pages disagree. The event calendar lists Trunk or Treat from 2 to 4 p.m. The June announcement gives a more detailed schedule. Setup runs 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., trick-or-treating runs 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., and no vehicles are admitted after 3 p.m. For a decorating household, the 3 p.m. cutoff is the time that matters. For a family coming to collect candy, the two schedules point to different arrival times, so a quick call to Randolph Recreation at 973-989-7081 settles it.
The Indoor Rung at the Same Address
The Trunk or Treat crowd shares Brundage Park with a different kind of ghost story. Brundage Park Playhouse, which calls itself "The Community Theater of Randolph, NJ," is staging GHOST the Musical over two weekends: October 23 to 25 and October 30 to November 1. The two published schedules don't match. The Playhouse lists Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25. The township calendar agrees on Friday at 7 p.m. but shows the weekend matinees at 3 p.m. and adds a Saturday 7 p.m. show that doesn't appear on the Playhouse's list. Since the Playhouse sells the tickets, the time printed on your ticket is the one to go by.
The production is directed and choreographed by Coco Mase, with Dave Blazier as musical director. Ethan Smith plays Sam Wheat, Emily Moran plays Molly, and Dara Palms plays Oda Mae. Tickets on the Playhouse site cost $25 general admission and $20 for children under 12, seniors 62 and over, and military with ID. Buying at the box office in person adds a $2 handling fee, and the information line is 973-989-7092.
On the ladder, the musical fits sideways. It's the one ghost on the schedule that runs indoors, and its Saturday matinee overlaps the Trunk or Treat window in the same park. A household that wants both can split up, or it can take the second weekend, which has no outdoor events to compete with.
The Top Rung: Haunted Trail After Dark
At 6 p.m. the day returns to Veterans Community Park. Randolph Recreation's Haunted Trail notice runs the event Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. each night. It includes four attractions: a Haunted Walk, a Hayride "through the woods," a Wishing Cauldron, and Meet the Monsters, where costumed characters pose for photos. Smash & Dash is the food vendor. The calendar listing names the 2026 theme US Legends and promises American legends and ghostly soldiers.
This rung works differently from the others in three ways:
- It runs on time slots. Visitors are asked to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before their scheduled slot and check in at the gazebo.
- The suggested age is 6 and older, and children 2 and under get in free.
- There are no refunds.
The notice also describes the trail as "a spooky adventure for all ages," and it lists 6 and up as the suggested age. Put next to Trail of Treats, the design is clear. A 4-year-old has a daylight version of the same park built for them, and the evening is aimed at older kids.
The night shift has staff from the community too. In June, Randolph Recreation asked for Haunted Trail volunteers for one or both nights. The call said no experience was needed and costumes might be provided. Some of the monsters in the woods may be your neighbors.
One Rain Date for Everything
The ladder has one weak point. Haunted Trail, Trail of Treats and Trunk or Treat all list the same rain date, Sunday, October 25. GHOST the Musical already has a Sunday matinee at Brundage Park that day, listed at 2 p.m. by the Playhouse and 3 p.m. by the township. If Saturday gets rained out, the outdoor events all move into one day alongside the theater's matinee. Families holding Haunted Trail slots or a registered trunk should keep Sunday open until the forecast settles.
The Thursday Warm-Up Before the Weekend
The weekend actually starts on Thursday, October 22, at the Randolph Library. The library's October calendar lists two free "Halloween Magic Show!" performances with magician Steve Woyce, one from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. and one from 7 to 7:45 p.m. Registration is required for everyone attending and opens Thursday, October 15, at 10 a.m. As of October 12, that registration window hasn't opened yet.
Planning the Day by Age
Seen as one schedule, the weekend suggests a few routes based on the kids in your house:
- Toddlers through early grade school: Trail of Treats at noon, then Trunk or Treat at Brundage Park. Both happen in daylight and need no tickets for the kids walking around.
- Kids 6 to 10: Any rung works. Trail of Treats in the afternoon and a Haunted Trail slot at night shows them the same park in two different settings.
- Older kids and adults: A Saturday Haunted Trail slot pairs with GHOST's Friday 7 p.m. curtain, the one evening show that both the Playhouse and the township list. The second Playhouse weekend, October 30 to November 1, is another option.
Every event on this list is run by a local institution: Randolph Recreation, the Mt. Freedom Fire Company, Brundage Park Playhouse and the Randolph Library. For Randolph Recreation's three outdoor events, the township calendar and the June notices from the Parks department are the best places to check for last-minute changes.
If spending a Saturday at Veterans Community Park and Brundage Park has you wondering what your own Randolph home is worth, The Tucker Team can help with a clear, local market analysis whenever you're ready. Get Your Home Valuation.
