Heads up: This event has passed. It ran Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
Two nights of timed, flashlight-friendly walks past community-carved pumpkins, with trick-or-treat stations and a few of the preserve’s animals out to say hello. Tickets are $5, or $13 for a family, and only the 8:30 p.m. slots are left.
Quick Facts
- When: Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 · 6:30–9:30 p.m.
- Where: Oakland Nature Preserve, 747 Machete Trail, Oakland
- Tickets: $5 per person · $13 per family (three or more in one household) · ONP members free
- Heads up: The 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. slots are sold out both nights; only the 8:30 p.m. slots remain
A pumpkin trail, after dark
Most Halloween plans involve a crowd and a parking garage. Pumpkin Glow goes the other way: a night walk through the woods at Oakland Nature Preserve, where the trail is lined with jack-o’-lanterns carved and painted by people from the community. The preserve calls it possibly West Orange County’s only nighttime jack-o’-lantern hike, and it runs just two nights, Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24.
Kids can wear costumes, and there’s a separate patch of painted pumpkins done by young artists. Event sponsors set up trick-or-treat stations in the parking lot, and the preserve brings out a few of its “not-so-spooky critters” for the evening.
Grab an 8:30 slot
This year the preserve switched to timed tickets: three one-hour windows each night, at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. As of Wednesday morning, the 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. slots were sold out on both Friday and Saturday, leaving only the 8:30–9:30 p.m. window each night. Tickets are $5 per person or $13 for a family of three or more from the same household, and ONP members get in free. Gate sales happen only if a slot hasn’t sold out, so book online before you go and arrive during your slot.
What to bring
A flashlight or lantern, because the preserve is upfront that it’s dark out there. Bring a trick-or-treat bag for the little ones, too. Parking is along the driveway, in the lot just outside the gate and in the Family Christian School lot next door.
Want your pumpkin on the trail?
Thursday’s jack-o’-lantern carving night on the preserve’s porch is full, but you can still enter a pumpkin you carve at home or, for kids 10 and under, a painted pumpkin, through a free registration on the preserve’s site. Drop-off runs Oct. 22 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Oct. 23 from 8 a.m. to noon. Use a battery light (no open flames), and the preserve asks for natural, compostable decorations this year.
Why We’re Hyped
It’s Halloween at a walking pace: a dark trail, glowing pumpkins carved by your neighbors and a bag of candy at the end, for $5 a person. Proceeds support the preserve’s education and conservation work in the Lake Apopka basin, which makes the ticket easy to justify.
The Details
- Dates: Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026
- Time slots: 6:30–7:30 p.m. and 7:30–8:30 p.m. (sold out both nights) · 8:30–9:30 p.m. (available both nights as of Oct. 21)
- Location: Oakland Nature Preserve, 747 Machete Trail, Oakland, FL 34760
- Tickets: $5 per person · $13 per family (three or more, same household) · ONP members free · on-site sales only if a slot isn’t sold out
- Parking: Driveway, the lot outside the gate, and the Family Christian School parking lot
- Bring: Flashlight or lantern; costumes welcome
- Tickets and pumpkin registration: oaklandnaturepreserve.org/pumpkinglow
