Halloween Train Rides Near North Dakota (2026)
North Dakota's railroad museum in Mandan listed no Halloween ride for 2026, and we found no other Halloween train in the state. For families in the Red River Valley, the answer is Minnesota, where the Twin Cities and Duluth both run gentle pumpkin rides in October. You can compare every state on our Halloween train rides guide.
From Fargo, the Minnesota Streetcar Museum's Como-Harriet line in Minneapolis is about 3.5 hours away, and the North Shore Scenic Railroad's Great Pumpkin Train in Duluth is about 4. All five rides below are gentle family outings, and none is a haunted ride. Two popular streetcar events, the Trick 'r Trolley and Excelsior Trolleyween, sold out before October 14, so we swapped in rides that still have room. Bismarck and western North Dakota families face a much longer trip, and we say so below. Closer to home, we also list Halloween events for kids in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot that need no train at all.
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 North Dakota 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.
See the full bookPage 1 of 8
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: Halloween Events for Kids in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot
These are family Halloween events in North Dakota that we confirmed on the organizers' own pages, so you can skip the long drive to Minnesota. None of them is a train ride; they are trick-or-treat afternoons at a zoo, a downtown and two libraries.
Fargo: 2026 Trick or Treat Wish Walk
Downtown Community Partnership · Trick or treat
Downtown Fargo turns into a daytime candy route: kids pick up a treat bag at the Downtown Community Partnership stand in Broadway Square, then walk from shop to shop collecting candy. The Partnership says every dollar of the suggested $5 per child goes to Make-A-Wish North Dakota. Daylight hours and short blocks make it an easy first trick-or-treat for a preschooler.
Bismarck: Zoo Boo! Trick or Treat
Dakota Zoo · Zoo
The Dakota Zoo describes Zoo Boo as merry-not-scary trick-or-treating, with treat booths from area businesses, spooky decorations and a chance to visit the animals in costume. Admission is $5 for everyone, members too, because it is a fundraiser for animal care over the winter. It is a single afternoon, and the zoo notes its schedule can change, so check before you drive.
Grand Forks: Haunted Stacks
Grand Forks Public Library · Other
On Halloween afternoon the Grand Forks Public Library fills its conference room with crafts, games and music from DJ Patrick, with candy waiting at the game stations. The library sets aside a quiet room for breaks, a thoughtful touch for kids who tire of noise and crowds. The listing posts no price, so check the organizer's site.
Minot: Halloween Puppet Show
Minot Public Library · Other
Barkley, the Minot Public Library's puppet, gets ready for Halloween with his friends in a half-hour story time with a story, songs and, the library promises, plenty of giggles. Costumes are encouraged, and children 8 and under need a caregiver with them. It is short and gentle, so it suits toddlers, and no price is posted, so check the organizer's site.
The closest Halloween trains to North Dakota
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Farmer Ken and Jan's Pumpkin Patch on the Como-Harriet line
Pumpkin and costume ride Minnesota Streetcar Museum
A century-old streetcar between Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska makes frequent trips out to a pumpkin patch, where kids can buy one for $7. No advance tickets, so you just show up. This weekend is the last for the patch, which makes it a quick decision for a Fargo family.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Transylvania Trolley
Pumpkin and costume ride Minnesota Streetcar Museum
Count Karl the Vampire Motorman runs a roughly 15-minute Halloween streetcar trip, and kids in costume get a treat. The museum calls it not scary, just silly. It runs the same Sunday afternoon as the pumpkin patch, so one drive covers both.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: All Aboard Halloween Hangout
Pumpkin and costume ride Minnesota Streetcar Museum
A calmer, quieter Halloween streetcar session with candy and an ASL communicator, set up as sensory friendly. It is the option for North Dakota families who cannot make mid-October; details are thinner, so check the operator site.
Excelsior, Minnesota: Streetcar After Dark
Pumpkin and costume ride Minnesota Streetcar Museum
Lit-up streetcar No. 265 runs short trips on Excelsior's half-mile line by Lake Minnetonka, with a pumpkin path to the platform and a glow-in-the-dark giveaway for kids. Costumes are encouraged and no advance tickets are needed. A weeknight makes it a fit for a family already in the Twin Cities.
Duluth, Minnesota: The Great Pumpkin Train
Pumpkin and costume ride North Shore Scenic Railroad
The real-train choice: a 90-minute round trip to a pumpkin field along the tracks, a pumpkin for every ticketed rider, and Lake Superior Railroad Museum admission. As of Oct 14, coach is sold out only for the Saturday 10:30 AM train, and several domecar trains are full.
Train rides in North Dakota this fall
The North Dakota State Railroad Museum in Mandan is the in-state name parents ask about, but it listed no Halloween ride for 2026 in our research.
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.
Freezing Nights at Home, Lake Wind in Duluth
North Dakota late October highs are in the 40s F, and nights freeze, so a pre-dawn departure from Fargo or Grand Forks means scraping windshields and bundling kids into the car in coats.
Minnesota is only a little kinder. Twin Cities highs run in the 40s and 50s F in mid to late October, and Duluth sits on Lake Superior, where it is colder and windy. The Como-Harriet pumpkin rides run weather permitting, so check the museum's site the morning you leave.
Nothing Spooky Here for North Dakota Kids
Every ride on this page is gentle, so the main worry for a little one is the long car ride, not a scare. Even the vampire motorman on the Transylvania Trolley is billed by the museum as silly rather than scary, and the Halloween Hangout on Oct 31 is built to be calmer and quieter.
Streetcar After Dark in Excelsior runs in the evening, but it is a glowing, lit-up car and a pumpkin path, not a haunt. Duluth's Great Pumpkin Train is longer at about 90 minutes, so bring something to do on the way back.
Rally gets ready for his train trip in our book by waking early and packing a suitcase with his turtle toy, his green bone and his yellow ball. On the long drive to Minneapolis, a small bag of your child's own favorite things makes the miles shorter.
Rally began as my mom's bedtime idea, and here is how she dreamed him up. For the car, print some Rally coloring pages for train fans.
Planning the Minnesota Trip From North Dakota
- Duluth's Great Pumpkin Train runs only Oct 15 through 18. As of Oct 14, coach seats are gone only on the Saturday 10:30 AM train, but domecar is full on four trains, so book before you leave Fargo.
- In Duluth, kids 2 and under ride free in coach but do not get a pumpkin, and Saturday tickets cost $5 more.
- Sunday Oct 18 is the best single day in Minneapolis: the pumpkin patch and the Transylvania Trolley both run 1:00 to 4:00 PM on the Como-Harriet line, with no advance tickets.
- The Wild Rumpus Trick 'r Trolley (Oct 24 and 25) and Excelsior Trolleyween (Oct 25) are sold out, so do not plan a trip around them.
- Como-Harriet pumpkins are $7 while supplies last, so earlier in the afternoon is safer.
- From Bismarck, add the drive to Fargo on top of the times on this page and plan an overnight.
A train book for the ride
North Dakota also has a long-distance passenger train of its own, and our guide to riding the Empire Builder with young kids covers it.
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
What North Dakota Parents Ask About Halloween Trains
Is there a Halloween train in North Dakota this year?
No, we found no Halloween train ride in North Dakota for 2026, and the North Dakota State Railroad Museum in Mandan listed none. The nearest rides are in Minnesota: the Minnesota Streetcar Museum's pumpkin rides in Minneapolis, about 3 hours 30 minutes from Fargo, and the North Shore Scenic Railroad's Great Pumpkin Train in Duluth, about 4 hours away.
What Halloween events for kids are there in Fargo, North Dakota?
Downtown Fargo's Trick or Treat Wish Walk runs Saturday Oct 24, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM: kids pick up a candy bag in Broadway Square for a suggested $5 donation, then trick or treat at downtown businesses, with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish North Dakota. There is no Halloween train in Fargo this year. The closest is the Minnesota Streetcar Museum's pumpkin patch in Minneapolis, about 3 hours 30 minutes away, on Oct 17 and 18.
Is there a Halloween train ride near Bismarck, North Dakota?
No, but Bismarck has a gentle zoo option. The Dakota Zoo's Zoo Boo is Saturday Oct 24, 1:00 to 4:00 PM, $5 for all ages, with merry, not scary trick-or-treating at treat booths. There is no Halloween train in North Dakota this year. The nearest rides are in Minnesota, past Fargo, which is itself about 3 hours 30 minutes from Minneapolis, so a train trip means an overnight.
Where can Grand Forks, North Dakota kids ride a pumpkin train?
Nowhere close, but Grand Forks kids have Haunted Stacks at the public library on Saturday Oct 31, 2:00 to 3:30 PM, with crafts, games, candy at game stations and a quiet room for breaks; no price is posted. For a train, the nearest pumpkin rides are in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota. Our research lists drive times from Fargo, not Grand Forks, so check your map.
Are there Halloween train rides near Minot, North Dakota?
No, but Minot has a gentle option at home: the Minot Public Library's Halloween Puppet Show on Saturday Oct 31, 10:30 to 11:00 AM, with Barkley the puppet, songs and costumes encouraged. No price is posted. There is no Halloween train in North Dakota this year, and the nearest Minnesota rides are well beyond Fargo, so a train trip from Minot means an overnight.
What can West Fargo, North Dakota families do for a Halloween train?
The nearest Halloween fun is next door: downtown Fargo's Trick or Treat Wish Walk on Saturday Oct 24, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with a suggested $5 per child candy bag. There is no Halloween train in West Fargo. For a train, it is about 3 hours 30 minutes to the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, where Sunday Oct 18 has both the pumpkin patch and the Transylvania Trolley, 1:00 to 4:00 PM.
Is the Como-Harriet streetcar pumpkin ride worth the drive from Fargo?
It is if you can go this weekend and make a Twin Cities day of it. The drive is about 3 hours 30 minutes, and the ride is a century-old streetcar between Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska with frequent trips to a pumpkin patch, where pumpkins are $7 while they last. It runs only Oct 17 and 18, 1:00 to 4:00 PM, at regular fares.
Is the Transylvania Trolley in Minneapolis worth it for a Fargo family?
As part of a Sunday Oct 18 trip, yes. Count Karl the Vampire Motorman runs a roughly 15-minute streetcar ride from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, kids in costume get a treat, and the museum describes it as not scary, just silly. No advance tickets are needed. The Como-Harriet pumpkin patch runs the same afternoon, so one long drive gets you both.
Is Streetcar After Dark in Excelsior worth the trip from North Dakota?
Only if you are already in the Twin Cities that week. Streetcar After Dark runs Thursday Oct 22 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, with a $2 fare, a lit-up century-old streetcar, a pumpkin path to the platform and a glow-in-the-dark giveaway for kids. Excelsior is about 30 minutes past the Twin Cities, which are about 3 hours 30 minutes from Fargo.
Is the Halloween Hangout streetcar on Oct 31 a good fit for North Dakota kids?
It can be, especially for a child who finds busy Halloween events overwhelming. The Minnesota Streetcar Museum's All Aboard Halloween Hangout runs Saturday Oct 31 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM in Minneapolis, with a calmer, quieter ride, Halloween candy and an ASL communicator. Regular fares apply, but the amount is not posted, so check the operator site.
Is Duluth's Great Pumpkin Train worth the drive from Fargo?
Yes, if you can go this weekend. It is about 4 hours from Fargo, and the ride is a real train, a 90-minute round trip to a pumpkin field with a pumpkin for every ticketed rider. Coach is $38 for ages 3 and up and domecar is $58, with $5 more on Saturday. As of October 14, only the Saturday 10:30 AM coach train is sold out.
Can North Dakota kids wear costumes on the Minnesota Halloween rides?
The Minnesota Streetcar Museum invites costumes on its Halloween runs: the Transylvania Trolley gives a treat to riders in costume, and Streetcar After Dark encourages them. The North Shore Scenic Railroad has not posted costume rules in our research, so check the operator site. Dress kids warmly underneath, since Duluth on Lake Superior runs colder and windy.
Are the Trick 'r Trolley and Excelsior Trolleyween still available for Fargo families?
No. As of October 14, the Minnesota Streetcar Museum lists the Wild Rumpus Trick 'r Trolley as sold out for both Oct 24 and Oct 25, and Excelsior Trolleyween on Oct 25 as sold out too. Families from North Dakota can still ride the Como-Harriet pumpkin patch and Transylvania Trolley on Oct 18, or Streetcar After Dark in Excelsior on Oct 22.
Which Minnesota Halloween ride is best for a North Dakota toddler?
The streetcar rides. The Como-Harriet pumpkin patch trips and the Transylvania Trolley are short, about 15 minutes for the trolley, and the museum calls the vampire motorman silly rather than scary. The Oct 31 Halloween Hangout is a calmer, quieter session. Duluth's 90-minute train suits kids who can sit longer. Stroller rules are not posted in our research.
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?
Shop the kids tee
Adult
Kids
Toddler
Baby