Scarywood Haunted Nights is Silverwood’s annual Halloween-themed event, featuring haunted attractions, scare zones, rides, themed food, and more. It’s hard for us to contain our excitement, because this is our favorite time of the year when it comes to our home park in northern Idaho. If you’ve been before, you’ll know what we’re talking about. If not, you NEED to check it out! In this post, we’ll take you through everything you need to know when planning a trip to Scarywood this year. (Updated September 4, 2026)

We’ve attended Scarywood Haunted Nights nearly every October since its inception, so we feel that we’ve had plenty of opportunities to get this event down to a fine art. The event has grown from the likes of a corn maze haunted house into a fully fledged, award-winning experience. It has been so fun to watch the park change bit by bit over the years into what it is now.

In this guide, we’ll cover all the basics to get you started when planning a night at the event. For more info on the specific attractions at Scarywood, click here for our 2026 Scarywood Haunts and Attractions Guide. Also, if you’re interested in what our “perfect night” at the park looks like, check out our Scarywood 1 Night Itinerary.

WHEN SHOULD I ATTEND?

This year’s Scarywood calendar is slightly different from last year. It will run for the same number of weekends as 2025 – five weekends in total, starting with the first weekend in October. Last year, the park dropped Thursdays from the lineup in favor of Sundays for the “shorter” evening operations from 7pm-11pm. For 2026, Thursdays have returned in addition to Sundays, but not every weekend; only the final three. So if you visit earlier in the month, you’ll only have Friday or Saturday to choose from. To recap, starting October 2nd, the park will operate Fridays and Saturdays for two weekends, through October 10th. And then starting on October 15th, it will operate Thursdays through Sundays for the remainder of the month. The lone exception to this is Saturday October 31st, when the park will be closed for Halloween.

Thursday and Sunday hours are 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., while Fridays and Saturdays run from 7 p.m. to midnight. If you’ve ever been to any other haunt, you’ll know what we’re about to say: the earlier in the month that you visit, the less busy it will be. Crowds at these events always get worse the closer you get to Halloween, and it’s no different for Scarywood. Also, the crowds are increasingly higher the later into the week you get, as are the prices. We find Fridays to be the best sweet spot, as you still get the extra hour that you will miss on a Thursday or Sunday, while avoiding the Saturday crowds. And that’s not to mention weather; obviously the later in the year, the colder it will be.

WHO SHOULD I BRING?

DINING

Scarywood doesn’t have as much in the way of food as you’ll find during the regular season. Several food stands are open, but have more limited menus. You’ll also find some great snacks and treats throughout the various food carts in the park, but aside from that there isn’t much to write home about.

And that’s not a bad thing. If you want to get the most out of your Scarywood evening, you don’t want to be wasting time eating at a restaurant! Our advice: Go eat at Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese in CDA before getting to the park, and then grab a caramel apple or funnel cake to get you through the night if you get hungry.

WHAT RIDES SHOULD I GO ON?

We attended Knott’s Scary Farm many years ago, well before Scarywood was ever a thing. During the day, the park was open and we got our fill of coasters in. We talked to several ride ops about what advice they would offer for getting the most out of their Halloween Haunt that evening. Most of them said the same thing: skip the rides!! The same thing goes for Scarywood. You can go on the tilt-a-whirl any other day of the year. Ironically, it (and all the other rides) always seems to have unusually long lines, and we wonder “why?!” You’re paying for scare zones and haunted attractions, so heed our advice: skip the rides, and focus on the Halloween stuff! If you do find yourself with extra time at the end of your night, we highly recommend hitting up the coasters, as they are a lot of fun to ride in the dark. But that’s ONLY if you have time.

OTHER TIPS

1. The weather can turn very quickly in northern Idaho in October. We’ve seen it all: strangely warm evenings, freezing cold nights, even rain. Watch the forecast, and dress accordingly.

2. We mentioned this in our Silverwood guide, but for Scarywood it’s even more important—if you’re coming from out of town, stay in a hotel that’s as close to the park as possible. With the park open until midnight, you will not want to have a long drive back to Spokane or Kellogg to get to your room.

3. Get to the park early. Seriously, at least an hour before it opens. Yes, that means you’ll be standing outside the gate for a while, but trust us, it will be worth your while. Scarywood likes to tout that “there are too many frights to fit into one night”. But we have found that we have always been able to fit everything into one evening every single year, even on a busy Saturday. One of the keys to our success has been ensuring we are one of the first groups into the gate.