Day trip to Halloweentown

If you’re a 90s kid like myself, then I probably don’t even have to tell you what Halloweentown is. But just in case, in 1998 the Disney Channel released one of my all time favorite “Disney Channel movies” Halloweentown. It starred the late Debbie Reynolds who played the “cool grandma” who happened to be a witch and only visited her grandkids in the mortal world on Halloween. But that year, the eldest granddaughter, played by Kimberly J. Brown, finds out that she comes from a family of witches and of the place her grandmother lives called Halloweentown. Anyway, then there’s a lot of magic, good and bad, some fighting, cute boys, yada yada, you get the gist. Made me question why I wasn’t supernatural… *shrug* Did you know you can visit Halloweentown every fall??

Visit the real Halloweentown

The movie Halloweentown was actually filmed in St. Helens, Oregon, which is only a 2.5 hour drive from Seattle (without traffic). Ever since the movie premiered, the town of St. Helens hosts the Spirit of Halloweentown Festival in October. They go all out and decorate the town square with halloween decor, and lots of photo ops. They have a replica of the giant jack o lantern from the movie right in the center of the square. It’s just like the iconic shot of Halloweentown from the movie. The area to walk around isn’t very big, as it’s just a small Main Street of area. But, there are a lot of cute little shops to walk around and restaurants to eat at. St. Helens is right on the Columbia River, so you can walk around behind the Town Hall and get some great views of the river. There’s also bathrooms over there, as well as a playground for the kids.

The Spirit of Halloweentown Festival is free to the public, so it gets really busy during weekends and close to Halloween. We went on a Friday morning, and it wasn’t very crowded, but even at that time, there still wasn’t a ton of parking available. So I can only imagine how crazy it is during busy days. There are also extra activities and events that you can choose to pay extra for. Check out their Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest news for the upcoming Festival.

Getting to Halloweentown

St. Helens, OR is about 30 minutes from Portland, OR, and 2.5 hours from Seattle, WA (without traffic). We just used the Courthouse Plaza address to get us right into the downtown area, which is 275 The Strand Street, St. Helens, OR 97051.

Things to do in St. Helens, OR during Halloweentown

Like I said, the area isn’t huge, but there’s plenty to do to keep you busy for the day.

Walk around the square and take pictures of/with the decor
Visit all of the little shops on First Street (especially the Halloween ones, they had some great seasonal decor and souvenirs)
Go to a family friendly haunted house
If you have kids, check out the playground on the river, right behind the Town Hall
Do the Museum of Peculiarities and Oddities Walking Tour ($5 per person, under 2 is free)
Do a tour by the Columbia County Historical Society and Museum Association to hear some spooky stories about some local history, including the hanging that took place in the town square. (Only available on Saturdays and Sundays)
There are other daily events that take place during October that you can find a schedule for on the Halloweentown website or Facebook page.
If you’re a Twilight fan, you can drive a few short minutes down to see “Bella’s house” from the movies. You can even rent it through AirBnB now too!

Where to eat

There are plenty of options for food within walking distance of the town square. All of these restaurants have great reviews, so you can’t really go wrong! Here are some ideas:

Roof – We ate at this cute rooftop sandwich shop that had great views of the river, and the food was really good too.
Dockside Steak & Pasta – An Italian food joint that has great reviews and their menu looks delish.
Roy Thai – If you’re in the mood for Thai food, Roy Thai also has great reviews.
Running Dog Brewery – Stop in for a drink or a bite to eat at this cute little brewery. I don’t drink beer, so any brewery I visit has to have good food, and their food looks great!
Plymouth Pub – Yet another spot with great reviews, and they even serve breakfast on weekends!

Would love to hear if you’ve visited or are planning to visit Halloweentown in the comments! And if you’re interested in other day trips in the PNW, checkout my Friday Harbor, WA post!

xx,

Kirsten