When Halloween falls on a weeknight, the plan is easy. You do a costume check after school, walk the block once it's dark, and the kids are in bed by nine. With October 31 on a Saturday in 2026, the daylight hours are open too. In Rio Rancho, the Halloween season covers two Saturdays. The city's own trunk-or-treat comes a full week early, and the 31st has something going from the morning until a hockey game starts at 7 p.m.
That puts the costumes to work twice. Here is how the two weekends fit together, starting with the one that arrives first.
On October 24, the city's trunk-or-treat comes early
The City of Rio Rancho's Fall Festival is Saturday, October 24, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Campus Park, 2516 King Blvd. NE. The listing invites people of every age to come in costume. It also includes carnival games, and the live music, food truck alley and artisan market run the whole afternoon.
The time slots are what matter for families with young kids. The festival isn't one block of activity. It shifts through the afternoon:
| Time | At Campus Park on October 24 |
|---|---|
| 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Live music, artisan market, food trucks |
| 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. | Children's cakewalk |
| 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. | Pumpkin carving |
| 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. | Costume contest |
| 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Trunk-or-treat |
If you're carving a pumpkin and getting the kids into the costume contest, plan to arrive before 5. The cakewalk wraps up at 5 and the carving tables close at 6. Trunk-or-treating doesn't start until 6, so the candy hour comes at the end of the day. The city notes the schedule is subject to change, and questions go to the Cabezon Community Center at 505-892-4499.
A second trunk-or-treat overlaps that same evening. The Enchanted Hills Trunk-or-Treat, Chili Cook Off, and Pot Luck is listed as free. It runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on October 24 at 275 Avenida de Bernalillo in Bernalillo, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its candy hours line up almost exactly with the Fall Festival's, so most families will end up picking one. If you live on the north side of town, the chili and potluck may make the shorter drive the easier evening.
Kids who get their trunk-or-treat in on the 24th still have Halloween night free for the neighborhood walk. The 31st then opens up for daytime plans.
October 31 starts at the library and the rec center
Halloween morning has two free or nearly free stops, one at each end of the age range.
At Loma Colorado Main Library, 755 Loma Colorado Blvd., the Halloween Storytime & Trick-or-Treat Trail runs from 10:30 a.m. to noon. It's free and doesn't require a booking. The library describes it as "more silly than scary," aimed at young children and families. There are two storytime sessions, at 10:30 and 11:30, with trick-or-treating around the library at 11. The two sessions are the same, so either one works. If you come at 10:30, you can stay for the trick-or-treating and be out before the second group arrives. If you come at 11, the kids trick-or-treat first and sit for stories after.
On the same morning, the city's DÃa de los Perros (Y Gatos) Pet Fiesta runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sabana Grande Recreation Center, 4114 Sabana Grande Ave. It includes a pet-friendly vendor market, pet photos, a costume contest and adoptions. The contest costs $5 per pet to enter. The four-hour window overlaps the library's, so a household with both a toddler and a dog in costume can fit in both before lunch.
The afternoon belongs to teens, adults and goats
By early afternoon the young kids have had their storytime and candy, and the day turns toward older crowds.
Project Outbreak: A Halloween Escape Room runs from 2 to 5 p.m. at The HUB @ Enchanted Hills. It's free and open to ages 16 and up. There are four sessions, first come first served, for groups of six, and each group takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Groups of six on a first-come basis favor a full team that arrives early, so bring six friends at 2 rather than three at 4:30.
The bigger afternoon option is the last day of the season at Galloping Goat Pumpkin Patch. The patch's 2026 season runs October 1 through 31, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Its own site lists a corn pit, duck races and miniature golf among the family activities. The patch sits in the upper southwest parking lot of the Events Center, at 3001 Civic Center Circle NE, and also has pig races and a petting zoo.
Admission listed for 2026 is $11.99 plus tax for ages 3 to 17, $13.99 for ages 18 to 54, and $12.99 for seniors and military. A season pass is $29.99 plus tax. Parking is free, and the patch takes cash, credit and debit. The patch's own site doesn't post those prices, so check with Galloping Goat directly before you go. Halloween Saturday is the final day of the season, so it's your last chance at the patch this year.
Where the patch closes, the puck drops
The pumpkin patch closes at 6 p.m. in the Events Center parking lot. An hour later, inside the same building, the New Mexico Goatheads play the Rapid City Rush at 7 p.m. in their "Peanuts Halloween" game.
A family could start at the patch late in the afternoon, see the pig races, grab dinner nearby, and walk from the lot to their seats. You'd park once for the second half of the day. It's the team's first season, so this is the first Halloween home game the Goatheads have ever played in Rio Rancho.
Single-game tickets start at $15 for endzone seats and go up to $75 at the glass. The game page names the Peanuts theme but doesn't list costume rules, specialty jerseys or giveaways, so check closer to puck drop before you plan around any of those.
Halloween night still means trick-or-treaters at the door. A game that starts at 7 p.m. on a Saturday means splitting the household. One adult handles the porch light and another takes the hockey fans. Or, if the kids already got their candy at Campus Park the week before, they can spend Halloween night in the stands.
The night before has its own game
If Saturday is already full, Friday has an easier option. The Goatheads also host the Rapid City Rush on Friday, October 30, at 7 p.m. at the Rio Rancho Events Center. That game is billed as Oktoberfest. Same opponent, same building, same start time, without competing with candy at the door.
Here's how the whole stretch lines up for a Rio Rancho household that wants to make the most of it:
- Saturday, October 24, 2 to 8 p.m. Fall Festival at Campus Park. Pumpkin carving until 6, costume contest 5 to 6, trunk-or-treat 6 to 8.
- Saturday, October 24, 5 to 8 p.m. Enchanted Hills Trunk-or-Treat, Chili Cook Off, and Pot Luck in Bernalillo, if it's the closer drive.
- Friday, October 30, 7 p.m. Goatheads vs. Rapid City Rush, Oktoberfest night.
- Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. DÃa de los Perros (Y Gatos) Pet Fiesta at Sabana Grande Recreation Center.
- Saturday, October 31, 10:30 a.m. to noon. Halloween Storytime & Trick-or-Treat Trail at Loma Colorado Main Library.
- Saturday, October 31, 2 to 5 p.m. Project Outbreak escape room, ages 16 and up, at The HUB @ Enchanted Hills.
- Saturday, October 31, until 6 p.m. Final day at Galloping Goat Pumpkin Patch, Events Center lot.
- Saturday, October 31, 7 p.m. Goatheads vs. Rapid City Rush, Peanuts Halloween night.
Nothing on that list requires leaving Rio Rancho except the Bernalillo trunk-or-treat. Most of the daytime stops are free. The pet costume contest costs $5, and the paid items are the pumpkin patch and the hockey game, which share a parking lot.
If you know someone thinking about calling it home, or you're planning your own next move here, I'd love to hear what your family's Halloween looks like. Destinee Tran is always glad to talk Rio Rancho with you. Let's Connect.
