New York City really knows how to celebrate Halloween, and I have previously blogged about townhouse decorations, the Upper East Side at Halloween, the events at Carl Schurz Park, Halloween on Governors Island, and Halloween decor at Chelsea Market. It’s so much fun even just walking around the city this month because of all the elaborate Halloween decorations (check out my Instagram for some of the best this year, including this one). Recently I was able to check out another fun October activity in the city, Harvest Glow at the Bronx Zoo.

Harvest Glow at the Bronx Zoo is a separately ticketed, timed-entry event taking place after dark in the fall. There is no access to animals, but there is an elaborate trail with animal-themed illuminated jack-o-lanterns, live pumpkin carvings, food carts, games, face-painting, and an opportunity to do the dinosaur safari at night.

The trail is quite immersive – lighting is low and the different animal-themed areas are elaborate.

There is spooky music and lighting.

They make it clear at the beginning of the trail that the decoration on this trail are not living pumpkins that have been carved, but there are live pumpkin carving demonstrations at the hub between the trail and the dinosaur safari, and there are also food carts at the hub.

Along the trail, there are also people dressed up as skeletons, and a giant pumpkin head character. While not intentionally scary, I would say that depending on an individual child’s personality, having these suddenly appear in a fairly dark environment with spooky music might be alarming. For older children and adults, though, these characters just add to the immersion.

You can experience Halloween all over New York City in October at no cost just by walking around, but for a fun Halloween-themed evening, the Harvest Glow is an event to consider. There are discounts for zoo members, and I noted a discount code on the site for certain dates (FALLFEST). Book early if you want the earliest entries – there is no time limit once you enter. And if you are already looking ahead to the next holiday, Holiday Lights tickets at the Bronx Zoo are already available!