Halloween and Día de los Muertos in Flagstaff: The 2026 Seasonal Guide

Flagstaff celebrates Halloween as a season, and it does something most mountain towns don't: it runs straight from Halloween into Día de los Muertos. The two weeks from the last weekend of October through November 1 pack the calendar with family trick-or-treating, a haunted 1904 mansion, ghost tours of the old downtown, and one of Arizona's biggest Day of the Dead festivals. Here is the sourced 2026 guide to the spooky season in Flagstaff.

The anchor event: Celebraciones de la Gente at the Museum of Northern Arizona

The centerpiece of the season is Celebraciones de la Gente, the 23rd annual Día de los Muertos festival at the Museum of Northern Arizona, presented in partnership with Flagstaff Nuestras Raíces. It runs Saturday, October 24 from 10 AM to 7:30 PM and Sunday, October 25 from 10 AM to 4 PM.

The weekend fills the museum's historic courtyard with ofrendas, the ancestor altars at the heart of the holiday, plus papel picado, mariachi and folklorico performances, sugar skull decorating, lotería, and cultural lectures. Saturday evening adds Courtyard After Dark, and the Parade de los Muertos brings Ballet Folklorico de Colores dancers through the courtyard in traditional folkloric costumes.

Admission is $20 general, $10 for museum members, $8 for youths 10 to 17, and free for kids 9 and under.

Día de los Muertos beyond the museum

The celebration spills out of the museum. Downtown Flagstaff hosts a multi-day Day of the Dead celebration at the DSB Beer Garden on West Birch Avenue, with daytime and evening programming that typically spans late October into early November; dates shift year to year, so check the downtown calendar before you go. The Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy also hosts FALA Celebrates Día de los Muertos in late October through November 1, a community remembrance with celebration woven through it.

Riordan Mansion Halloween Tours: the haunted historic option

For the spookier side of the season, Riordan Mansion State Historic Park, the 1904 log-and-stone mansion on West Riordan Road, runs adult-oriented Halloween storytelling tours on October 28, 29, and 30, 2026, with tours at 7, 8, and 9 PM each night. Tickets are $22 per person and must be purchased in advance. Part of the tour is outdoors, so dress for a Flagstaff October evening.

Halloween night for families

Halloween itself, Saturday October 31, is a family holiday in Flagstaff. The free Downtown Flagstaff Halloween Trick or Treat Trail runs from 4 to 7 PM starting at Heritage Square, with downtown businesses handing out treats along the route. The Flagstaff Visitor Center hosts the 2026 Halloween Bash from 10 AM to 1 PM with costumes, crafts, and a kids' costume contest. And Flagstaff Medical Center puts on a free Trunk or Treat with trick-or-treating and a costume contest the same day.

Ghost tours and the haunted side of old downtown

Flagstaff's spooky reputation lives in its old downtown. Flagstaff Ghosts, the local outpost of US Ghost Adventures, leads a guided haunted walking tour of Old Town Flagstaff past the Hotel Monte Vista and the Weatherford Hotel, two of the town's most storied buildings, meeting at the Flagstaff Visitor Center on Historic Route 66. Adults are $26, youth under 13 are $17, and children under 6 are free. The tour runs year-round, which makes it a good pick for a fall evening that is not Halloween itself.

The Orpheum and the arts

The Orpheum Theater gets in on the season with The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Shadow Cast, a live shadow-cast performance by The ConGLAMorate on Saturday, October 24, with early and late shows. It is the flagship Halloween show on the downtown arts calendar, and the full entertainment guide on this site covers the rest of the Orpheum's year.

One honest note about haunted houses

Flagstaff does not have a permanent walk-through haunted house; the nearest full haunted houses are in the Phoenix and Glendale area. What Flagstaff offers instead is a season built on ghost tours, historic sites, community events, and one of the state's biggest Día de los Muertos festivals, which most families find is the better trade anyway.

Plan for a cold holiday

Halloween in Flagstaff is a cold-weather holiday at 7,000 feet: costumes go under coats, and the evening events wrap up before the mountain chill sets in. The winter guide on this site covers what the season brings, and the weekly What's Happening page keeps a running, sourced list of events as dates get confirmed. If you are house hunting for a family that loves this season, Mike can point you to the neighborhoods with the best trick-or-treating streets and the shortest drives to the museum and downtown.

When is Celebraciones de la Gente in Flagstaff in 2026?

Celebraciones de la Gente, the 23rd annual Día de los Muertos festival at the Museum of Northern Arizona, runs Saturday, October 24 from 10 AM to 7:30 PM and Sunday, October 25 from 10 AM to 4 PM, 2026.

How much does Celebraciones de la Gente cost?

Admission is $20 general, $10 for museum members, $8 for youths 10 to 17, and free for kids 9 and under.

When are the Riordan Mansion Halloween tours?

Riordan Mansion State Historic Park runs Halloween storytelling tours on October 28, 29, and 30, 2026, at 7, 8, and 9 PM each night. Tickets are $22 per person and must be purchased in advance.

Where do kids trick-or-treat in Flagstaff on Halloween?

The free Downtown Flagstaff Halloween Trick or Treat Trail runs 4 to 7 PM on October 31 from Heritage Square, the Flagstaff Visitor Center hosts the Halloween Bash from 10 AM to 1 PM, and Flagstaff Medical Center offers a free Trunk or Treat the same day.

Is there a haunted house in Flagstaff?

No. Flagstaff has no permanent walk-through haunted house; the nearest full haunted houses are in the Phoenix and Glendale area. The local spooky scene is ghost tours, the Riordan Mansion tours, and community events instead.

What is the Parade de los Muertos?

The Parade de los Muertos is the Day of the Dead parade held in the Museum of Northern Arizona courtyard during Celebraciones de la Gente, with Ballet Folklorico de Colores dancers performing in traditional folkloric costumes.

Sources and further reading

Celebraciones de la Gente on the Museum of Northern Arizona site

Celebraciones de la Gente on Discover Flagstaff

Riordan Mansion Halloween Tours on Arizona State Parks

Flagstaff Ghosts haunted walking tour

Downtown Flagstaff Trick or Treat Trail on Flagstaff365

2026 Halloween Bash at the Flagstaff Visitor Center on Flagstaff365

Orpheum Theater events calendar

Downtown Flagstaff Day of the Dead Celebration

FALA Celebrates Día de los Muertos at Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy

Spooky Halloween happenings in Flagstaff on Visit Flagstaff

Current Flagstaff market data from the Flagstaff Property Experts hub

Mike's current listings on Zillow

See the full Moving to Flagstaff guide