Halloween Train Rides Near Idaho (2026)
Idaho's railroads went quiet for Halloween in 2026: the Thunder Mountain Line and the state's other rail operators listed no Halloween ride this year. If your kids have their hearts set on a costume train, the answer is a road trip, and the right direction depends on which corner of Idaho you live in. For rides in other states, start with our map of Halloween trains across the US.
Boise and the Treasure Valley point west to the Sumpter Valley Railroad in eastern Oregon. Eastern Idaho points south to Heber Valley in Utah, where the daytime Pumpkin Train is already full but the evening Halloween Express still has seats, and the Panhandle points west to Snoqualmie, Washington. Sumpter and Snoqualmie run in daylight; Heber's ride leaves at 7:00 PM, though the railroad insists it is fun and not scary. Further down, we also list zoo Halloween events for kids in Idaho Falls, Boise and Pocatello, no train needed.
Look inside the book
A dark tunnel, a brave corgi. Bring Rally along.
In Rally Takes the Train, a corgi rides into a dark tunnel, gets a little scared, and comes out to a big bright light and happy cheers. It takes about five minutes to read, a good fit for the long drive from Idaho to a pumpkin train.
Rally Takes the Train
Eight pages from the book
Turn the page
That's 8 of 25 pages
See who’s waiting at the station
Grandmommy and Papa are at the last stop. Get the full hand-painted book, $13.99 on Amazon.
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Like it so far? See the full book
25 hand-painted pages, paperback, $13.99 with fast shipping from Amazon.
Every page is real watercolor on paper, painted by hand by Leslie Dunn. Nothing in this book was made with AI.
No Train Needed: Zoo Halloween Nights for Kids in Idaho Falls, Boise and Pocatello
Idaho's three big zoos each throw a Halloween party this month, and we confirmed every date on the organizers' own sites. These are costume and candy days on foot, not train rides.
Idaho Falls: Boo at the Zoo
Tautphaus Park Zoological Society · Zoo
An evening walk through the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park lit with thousands of lights and sculptures, with treats from community vendors and costume contests at 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM on the main stage. The city bills it as merry, not scary. It starts this week, tickets are sold through Eventbrite with no refunds, and we could not see the price, so check before you go.
Boise: Boo at the Zoo
Zoo Boise · Zoo
Zoo Boise turns its grounds into a daytime trick-or-treat route, with candy stations, costume contests for all ages, face painting and photo spots. The detail kids remember: the animals get Halloween themed treats too. There is no separate event ticket, just normal zoo admission, but the event page posts no special hours, so check the organizer's site before you go.
Pocatello: Zoo Boo
Zoo Idaho · Zoo
Pocatello's zoo saves its party for Halloween itself: a daytime trick-or-treat loop around Zoo Idaho with vendor activities and a costume contest, which leaves the evening free for neighborhood candy. The cost is regular zoo admission. One caveat: the event page gives 2900 South 2nd Avenue while the zoo's contact page says 3000, so confirm the entrance on the organizer's site.
The closest Halloween trains to Idaho
Sumpter, Oregon: Halloween Express
Pumpkin and costume ride Sumpter Valley Railroad
The closest Halloween train to the Treasure Valley, and it runs on Halloween itself, with six departures across the weekend and all of them bookable as of Oct 14. The locomotive is an orange diesel wearing a grinning jack-o'-lantern face, and the trip is about 45 minutes and 6 miles round trip, an easy length for preschoolers.
Heber City, Utah: The Halloween Express
Pumpkin and costume ride Heber Valley Railroad
Eastern Idaho's pick now that Heber's daytime Pumpkin Train is sold out for Oct 17 and Oct 24. This 90 minute evening round trip runs to a haunted village the railroad calls Grim Hollow, yet the railroad says plainly that it is fun and not scary. It is a school night, so it suits a family already staying near Heber.
Snoqualmie, Washington: Halloween Train
Pumpkin and costume ride Northwest Railway Museum
For the Panhandle this is a weekend trip, not a day trip. The museum encourages costumes on a family ride of just under 2 hours, with a 30 minute stop at its Railway History Campus and a small gift for every child, and it now runs on Halloween weekend too.
Train rides in Idaho this fall
Boise does have one Halloween ride people ask about: Boise Trolley Tours runs a Haunted Halloween tour on a trolley-style bus. It rolls on tires, not rails, so it is not a train, and we have not researched its scare level or ages. If your kids just want something festive close to home, check that operator's site directly.
Rally’s Spooky Train Ride: Halloween shirts
The tunnel page from the book, Rally on his red seat in the dark, is printed on black shirts in sizes for the whole family, from baby to 5XL. Skip the costume hassle: no masks to fog up, no capes caught in the train door, just a shirt that already says Halloween and layers under a coat on a cold platform. A matching set makes for easy pumpkin train photos. See everything in the Rally shop.
Adult tee
Sizes XS to 5XL, black, printed with the tunnel page from the book.
Kids tee
Sizes S to XL, black, printed with the tunnel page from the book.
Toddler tee
Sizes 2T to 5T, black, printed with the tunnel page from the book.
Baby bodysuit
Sizes 3 to 18 months, black, printed with the tunnel page from the book.
Packing for a Late October Drive Out of Idaho
Idaho late October days sit in the 50s F, and nights drop to near freezing, so any trip that leaves before sunrise or gets home after dark needs real coats in the car, not just costumes.
The destinations are no warmer. Oregon's research notes that the Blue Mountains around Sumpter are often near freezing in the morning, Heber City sits near 5,600 feet with October evenings in the 30s F, and Snoqualmie is in the wet Cascade foothills where drizzle is the norm. Layer the costume over warm clothes and pack rain shells for the Washington trip.
Gentle Pumpkin Ride or Grim Hollow: Choosing for an Idaho Kid
For a nervous three- or four-year-old, the Sumpter Valley Halloween Express is the safe bet: it runs in daylight, lasts about 45 minutes, and the scariest thing on it is a jack-o'-lantern face. Snoqualmie's Halloween Train is longer, just under 2 hours, but the museum calls it family friendly.
Heber's Halloween Express sounds spookier than the railroad says it is. It leaves at 7:00 PM for a haunted village at Grim Hollow, but the railroad bills it as fun and not scary. The real question for a small child is the hour, so if bedtime is 7:30, save it for a later year.
In our book, Rally wakes up early, spots the suitcase, and starts packing: his turtle toy, his green bone, his yellow ball. A two-hour drive to Sumpter is the perfect excuse to let your little one pack a bag like that, a few favorite things for the car.
My mom dreamed up that corgi long before I wrote him down, and you can read how the book came to be. For the backseat, print a few Rally train pictures to color on the way.
Road Trip Notes for Idaho Families
- Sumpter's Halloween Express has four departures on Oct 31 (11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM) and two on Nov 1 (11:00 AM and 12:30 PM), so pick a later train if you are leaving Boise the same morning.
- Heber's Pumpkin Train is sold out for Oct 17 and Oct 24, so do not plan a drive around it. Its evening Halloween Express sold out Oct 16 and was nearly full for Oct 15 as of Oct 14.
- Sumpter Valley has not posted fares that we could confirm, and stroller and parking details for these rides are not in our research, so check each operator's site before you leave.
- The Snoqualmie trip from Coeur d'Alene is about 5 hours each way. Plan it as an overnight, and note there are no restrooms on that train.
- Pack snacks, a change of clothes and warm layers for every trip; all three rides are across a state line, a long way from home if a costume gets wet.
A train book for the ride
For a different kind of train day, the Panhandle has its own long-distance train: read our guide to riding the Empire Builder with kids.
Free for train families
Print the Rally coloring pages before the drive
Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. They fit in a folder with a few crayons for the line at the depot or the drive home.
Get the free coloring pages for the drive
A train story for the ride homeRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi's first train trip to see his grand-paw-rents, including one dark tunnel he is brave enough to ride through. Hand-painted in real watercolor. $13.99 on Amazon, for ages 0 to 8.
Buy on AmazonMore for train families
- Halloween train rides in every state: pumpkin trains and haunted rides by state
- Every Amtrak route with kids: find a train by city or station
- Halloween books for toddlers for the drive
Idaho Parents Ask: Where Is the Nearest Halloween Train?
Is there a Halloween train in Idaho this year?
No, we did not find a Halloween train ride running in Idaho for 2026. The Thunder Mountain Line and other Idaho rail operators listed no Halloween ride. The nearest options are across state lines: Oregon's Sumpter Valley Halloween Express for southwest Idaho, Utah's Heber Valley Halloween Express for eastern Idaho, and Washington's Northwest Railway Museum for the Panhandle.
What Halloween events for kids are there in Boise, Idaho?
Zoo Boise's Boo at the Zoo on Sat Oct 24 and Sun Oct 25 is the big one, with candy stations, costume contests, face painting and Halloween treats for the animals, all for regular zoo admission ($15 ages 12 to 61, $12 kids 3 to 11). There is no Halloween train in Boise this year; the closest is Sumpter Valley's daytime Halloween Express in Oregon, about 2 hours 15 minutes away, on Oct 31 and Nov 1.
Where can Coeur d'Alene, Idaho families find a Halloween train ride?
Coeur d'Alene has no Halloween train this year, and the nearest one in our research is the Northwest Railway Museum's Halloween Train in Snoqualmie, Washington, about 5 hours away. It is a family-friendly daytime ride of just under 2 hours, with costumes encouraged, running Oct 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31 and Nov 1. Kids 2 to 12 are $16. It works best as an overnight trip.
Is there still a pumpkin train near Idaho Falls, Idaho?
Not with open seats. The closest, the Heber Valley Railroad's Pumpkin Train in Heber City, Utah, about 3 hours 30 minutes from Idaho Falls, is sold out for both remaining Saturdays, Oct 17 and Oct 24, as of October 14. The same railroad's evening Halloween Express still has seats on several nights, at $35 for general admission, and the railroad calls it fun and not scary.
What Halloween events for kids are there in Idaho Falls, Idaho?
The Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park holds Boo at the Zoo this week, Thu Oct 15 through Sat Oct 17, from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM, with thousands of lights, vendor treats and nightly costume contests. The city calls it merry, not scary, and one ticket covers any night; check Eventbrite for the price. For a train, Heber Valley's evening Halloween Express in Utah is about 3 hours 30 minutes away.
What can Nampa, Idaho kids do for a Halloween train this October?
Nampa families are close to Zoo Boise's Boo at the Zoo on Oct 24 and 25, a daytime trick-or-treat with costume contests for normal zoo admission. There is no Halloween train in Nampa, so the train trip is the same one Boise families make: the Sumpter Valley Halloween Express in Sumpter, Oregon, about 2 hours 15 minutes from Boise, a gentle daytime ride on Oct 31 and Nov 1.
What Halloween events for kids are there in Pocatello, Idaho?
Zoo Idaho's Zoo Boo runs on Halloween day, Sat Oct 31, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with trick-or-treating around the zoo, vendor activities and a costume contest for the price of zoo admission. There is no Halloween train in Pocatello. The nearest is Heber Valley's 7:00 PM Halloween Express in Utah, about 3 hours 30 minutes from Idaho Falls, which runs through Oct 30.
Where is the closest Halloween train to Twin Falls, Idaho?
Twin Falls has no Halloween train this year, and our research does not list a drive time from there. The two candidates are the Sumpter Valley Halloween Express in eastern Oregon, a daytime ride on Oct 31 and Nov 1, and Heber Valley's evening Halloween Express in Utah, which runs through Oct 30. Compare the routes on your map before you choose.
Is the Sumpter Valley Halloween Express worth the drive from Boise?
For a preschooler who loves trains, yes. It is about 2 hours 15 minutes each way for a ride of about 45 minutes and 6 miles round trip, behind an orange diesel with a jack-o'-lantern face. Trains leave at 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM on Halloween, plus 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM on Nov 1. Check the operator site for fares.
Is Heber Valley's Halloween Express worth the drive from Idaho Falls?
It can be, if you pair it with a night in Utah. The drive is about 3 hours 30 minutes each way for a 90 minute ride that leaves at 7:00 PM. General admission is $35, lap toddlers are $5, and first class is $75 per person. Oct 16 is sold out and Oct 15 was nearly full as of October 14.
Is Heber's Halloween Express too scary for an Idaho preschooler?
Probably not, by the railroad's own description: it calls the Halloween Express fun and not scary and family-friendly, even though the train runs to a haunted village at Grim Hollow station. The harder part for a preschooler is the 7:00 PM departure and 90 minute ride on a school night. Bring pajamas for the drive back to the hotel.
Is the Snoqualmie Halloween Train worth it from Coeur d'Alene?
Only as a weekend trip. The drive is about 5 hours each way, and the ride is just under 2 hours, with a 30 minute stop at the museum's Railway History Campus and a small gift for every child. Dates left are Oct 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31 and Nov 1. Adults pay $32, kids 2 to 12 pay $16, and under 2 ride free.
Can Idaho kids wear Halloween costumes on these out-of-state trains?
On Washington's Northwest Railway Museum Halloween Train, yes: the museum encourages costumes and allows masks, but no prop guns. Sumpter Valley and Heber Valley have not posted costume rules in our research, so check each operator site. Whatever you pick, put the costume over warm layers, because late October mornings near Sumpter and evenings in Heber can be near or below freezing.
Which Halloween train near Idaho is best for a toddler?
The Sumpter Valley Halloween Express. It runs in daylight, lasts about 45 minutes, and children 2 and under ride free with a complimentary ticket. Heber's toddler-friendly Pumpkin Train is sold out, and its Halloween Express starts at 7:00 PM. Neither Sumpter Valley nor Heber has posted a stroller policy in our research, so check the operator site.
Rally’s Spooky Train RideThe no-fuss Halloween costume
Skip the costume hassle. Wear Rally.
No itchy masks, no last-minute store run, no meltdown on the platform. Pull on the tunnel tee from the book and you are dressed for the pumpkin train, warm under a jacket, and matching in every photo.
Who is riding?
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