Here’s Why This Connecticut Town Is One Of The Top 20+ Places To Celebrate Halloween

MONTVILLE, CT — When it comes to celebrating Halloween, small towns like Montville are a great place to revel in the spooky season.

In her “20+ Best Small Towns for Celebrating Halloween,” HGTV’s Lynn Coulter was particularly enamored of The Dinosaur Place at Nature's Art Village, located in Oakdale, a village in Montville.

"Not every Halloween adventure has to be screamingly scary," the travel and lifestyle author wrote.

That's certainly true of The Dinosaur Place, a 60-acre theme park that transforms at Halloween into The Pumpkin Passage, a "festive trail of illuminated pumpkins, friendly dinosaurs and fun things to see and do."

The trail opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October and on Columbus Day, October 13, 2025.

Expect nightly entertainment, food trucks, family lawn games, free marshmallow roasting, inflatables like a 20-foot slide, bounce houses and other activities and adventures.

Here’s the full list of Coulter’s recommendations:

California

• Morro Bay

Connecticut

• Montville

Colorado

• Manitou Springs
• Estes Park

Georgia

• Macon
• Athens
• Savannah

Illinois

• Galena

Indiana

• Fishers

Kansas

• Independence

Kentucky

• Newport

Louisiana

• Baton Rouge

Massachusetts

• Sturbridge
• Salem

New York

• Sleepy Hollow
• Niagara Falls

North Carolina

• Oxford
• Hendersonville
• Boone

Rhode Island

• Providence

South Carolina

• Conway

Tennessee

• Philadelphia
• Adam

Vermont

• Corwith