The Grimes Brief
Every October the same three questions come up: what night is trick-or-treat, when is the trunk or treat, and is there a haunted house close by? Here is Halloween in Grimes for 2026 in one place, with every date checked against whoever is running it. We add Grimes events here as they post through the month.
Trick-or-treat is Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. citywide. The city's free Trunk or Treat is Sunday, Oct. 25, 2 to 4 p.m. at the South Sports Complex, and Lutheran Church of Hope Grimes runs a second one on Wednesday, Oct. 28. There is no ticketed haunted house in town that we could find; the nearest are the Tunnel of Terror car wash in West Des Moines and the Timberline haunted hall near Waukee.
The Grimes Brief is a free weekly email: this week's events with the times confirmed, what just opened, and the holiday events as they post. One email, no spam.
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 [email protected] with a link to the organizer's post and we'll add it once we confirm it.
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 [email protected]. 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.
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.
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.
The Grimes Brief is a free weekly email. Every October we run the confirmed trick-or-treat hours, and every December the holiday lights are on the list.
Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. citywide, per the City of Grimes calendar.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Free, every Monday 7 AM
Everything new in Grimes this week, in one email. No spam, unsubscribe any time.