Halloween is just around the corner and some might wonder what RVer’s do for the holidays. It is a common misconception that many people who live a RV lifestyle might miss out on the festivities of holiday fun!
With campfires, dark woods and communities of like-minded families, planning a trip in the ol’ RV is actually the perfect way to celebrate Halloween.
If you are looking to camp out with the ghosts and ghouls, you have an assortment of options to choose from. You can head to a campground with special Halloween activities, or find a site near a famous scary attraction. You can even camp out in your own yard and create a spooky haunted camper for trick-or-treaters.
Many RVer’s might be curious as to what to do to celebrate the holiday. They might also be unsure as to what other RVer’s do to celebrate the holidays at the campgrounds. Halloween is a family oriented event and isn’t that what RV life is all about?
You don’t have to limit the festivities to be had, so why not create a spooky fun holiday memory. Even on a budget this will be a halloween you or your family won’t forget!
Choosing The Right Campsite
These are 6 RV parks well known for the unbelievable halloween festivities that each location has:
1. Kentucky Horse Park- Lexington, KY
The popular weekend Halloween celebrations feature costume contests, trick or treating, a golf cart parade, live entertainment and of course, tons of spooky decorations all around the park. Don’t miss the nightly haunted trail where goblins and ghouls slink out of the dark night.
2. Lums Pond State Park – Delaware
The RV’s Halloween Hoot for a weekend is filled with pumpkins and treats. This event is fun for the whole family. It includes hayrides, pony rides, face painting, and pumpkin carving. Finish out your evening around the campfire with spooky stories and tasty s’mores.
3.Yogi Bear’s Hill Country Camp Resort– Canyon Lake, TX
Every weekend features pumpkin decorating, costume contests, camper-treating, and tons of fun and games. And because you can’t go home hungry, the weekend ends with a Sunday morning all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast.
4.Lake Rudolph – Santa Claus, Indiana
Seven consecutive weekend Halloween celebrations run from mid-September to the end of October. The weekend schedule is jam-packed with seasonal fun. Listen to campfire ghost stories, take a haunted hayride, and of course, wander from site to site trick or treating.
5. Far Horizons 49er Village RV Resort – Plymouth, CA
You’re sure to love the haunted treats, spooky games, and horrific contests. But the fun doesn’t stop there! While the humans enjoy sugary treats, dogs of all shapes and sizes are gearing up for the annual Dog Costume Contest.
6.Green Acres Family Campground – Williamston, NC
For two fun-filled weekends at the end of October, the park is transformed into a boo-tiful place. Kids of all ages will enjoy sack races, a pumpkin roll, and jack-o-lantern contests. There’s also a Halloween parade, campsite decorating, trick or treating, and ghost stories. If that’s not enough, take a ghostly walk through the haunted corn field…if you dare.
Now once you’ve finished selecting the perfect RV park for the spookiest scene and fun for the family, you can begin the planning. Decorations, costumes, the tricks and the treats! In the following passages you’ll learn plenty of ways to celebrate halloween RV style and on a budget.
RV Halloween Decorations
Halloween Decoration is the best part. You get to express all of your creepy creativity. It is a great way to bring you and your loved ones closer and you’ll be creating a memory and tradition for years to come.
When decorating for Halloween on a budget, the dollar stores are your go to shop stops. Around the holidays, they have mass product for dirt cheap. The Dollar Store, 99 Cent Store, Family general, etc. are all perfect for a budget friendly decor theme.
Also, you can DIY many fun Halloween decorations. Buying the materials needed may result in saving you money as well.
Today, youtube is filled with “how-to’s”, and a quick DIY tutorials of the perfect pumpkin carving is only a click away. You can find hundreds of creative ideas for halloween on limited amount of funds.
There are so many simple ways to spook up your decor without going over the top financially.
Some Halloween items to be on the watch for locally are:
- Bales of hay
- Pumpkins
- Spider webbing/ or cotton ball outdoor lighting
- Fake tombstones
- Decorations you can hang from trees
Tips For Decorating Your RV Campsite
Instead of breaking the bank for huge inflatable monsters and other spooky characters that light up, for less than $10 you can buy cheap string lighting and line the exterior of your RV with them. On the exposed areas of wire you can tape pumpkin cutouts done from construction paper.
The string lighting will give a festive Halloween aesthetic.
(Be sure to use Christmas lights that don’t get hot, because you don’t want to create a fire hazard.)
By pulling apart cotton balls you can create the feel of spider webs. The dollar store even sells fake spiders which you could stick inside of the webs, for a more life-like appearance.
You could also add some dry ice into a cauldron, which will create a fogging effect. Create a witches brew, just by adding some punch to it to top it all off.
Cover your windows with dark curtains and put orange lights behind them for an eerie glow. Turn the front of your camper into a frightening monster face with vampire fangs or werewolf eyes. Make sure to carve plenty of pumpkins with evil grins for your site.
Decorating definitely doesn’t have to be expensive to create simple, but fun, Halloween decorations for your RV campsite.
Buy some mini pumpkins from your local supermarket, you then could carve them like you would a regular sized pumpkin, to place around your campsite.
Consider using led lights the are battery operated, rather than a candle. freshly carved pumpkins can safely create a fun holiday atmosphere around your RV. Or, as an alternative, you could paint your pumpkins giving Halloween tradition a fun new twist that’s safe and fun for kids.
RV Trick or Treating & Other Campsite Activities
If your campground location is encouraging trick or treating, an easy way to save money is by baking a couple batches of goodies to hand out to the kids!
You could also create dollar store goodie bags. Just by simply purchasing simple variety toys and candy, you can add to the excitement in an affordable way.
It could be fun to get together with fellow RVers who are located near you and plan your decorating schemes together. You could even play Halloween games, and have a Halloween potluck.
Some RV parks organize such activities for their residents, but if the campground you’re staying at hasn’t, you might want to plan your own Halloween fun! Perhaps, host your very own potluck, where everyone brings a dish or some fun Halloween treats to share with those who join!
Halloween Hike In The Dark
Of course, no one in would regularly chose to take a moonlight hike in the middle of the woods, but it’s Halloween!
So set up a faux haunted experience for your friends and family along the trail. Plan very carefully, as it will be dark and getting lost in the middle of the night is not safe.
Plan ahead. Setting up props along the trail in daylight, prior to taking friends and family out will intensify the spook they receive. Here are a few ideas for you:
- A “dead” body stuffed with clothes
- A hand or foot sticking out of the ground
- Glowing eyes in the trees
Be sure to pack flashlights, headlamps, or some sort of illumination while on a Halloween hike.
Haunted RV Scavenger Hunt
This one is not just for kids, scavenger hunts can be fun for everyone.
This scavenger hunt is going to be full of scary items. Depending on the location and preferences you have plenty of options. Throw in an ax, scythe, or a few rubber rats.
Design a map that friends and family can follow hints and clues to finding every item in your scary inventory.
The most important thing is to remember where you stash the goodies, as your trick will be some other lucky person’s treat!
Storing Your Halloween Decorations & Party Supplies
Once the halloween fun is all over, all of the reusable decorations you purchased or created through your DIY tutorials can be easily stored in large plastic bins. You can find these at Walmart for only ten dollars a bin.
This way your overall clean up is made easy. Odds are, there will still be plenty of room for all of the Christmas decorations you’ll be needing in just a couple months!
Any old clothes, costumes, or accessories you used can be donated to Goodwill, and all of the paper decorations can always be recycled.
With very little waste and a modest budget, Halloween can still be a fun event for RVers on the go!
Happy Halloween From Leeds RV and Motel 👻