Kolmården opens its Halloween season on October 3, 2026, and runs it on selected days through November 8. The Swedish animal park announced the lineup on September 4. Four of the attractions are new this year, and the park is also adding a season that has not existed before, a two-weekend crossover in November called HalloXmas.
The dates, the hours and the price
Halloween at Kolmården runs on October 3 and 4, October 10 and 11, October 17 and 18, October 24 and 25, then continuously from October 26 to November 1, and finally November 7 and 8. Opening hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tickets start at 199 Swedish kronor for children aged 3 to 12 and at 299 kronor for visitors aged 13 and over. Holders of the park’s Wild Card 2026 annual pass get in free but have to book in advance. Every Halloween ticket includes a Jetpass, which lets the holder reserve a time slot at one of the park’s three haunted houses.
What is new
The headline addition is a haunted house called Unsafe Zone. Kolmården’s premise for it is a research center shut down and placed under quarantine after an unexplained incident: the alarms are still live, the doors lock without warning, and in the dark are the people who never left the building.
A second new scare attraction, Skräckpassagen, opens later, from the Swedish autumn half-term week. It is a dark passage lined with some of the park’s most frightening characters. Both carry a recommended minimum age of 11, as do the two returning haunted houses, Hospitalet and Värdshuset, and the park’s Skräckshow.
The other two new items are aimed at families rather than at nerves. Magiska Skogen is a walk-through fairytale forest with a large living maze at its center called Skogens hjärta, where visitors look for the forest’s four powers. Skurkparad i Trollskogen is a parade in which the villains take over the troll forest, ending in a disco that the park says the whole family is welcome to join.
There are also three new stage productions: an ice show called “Häxan och Halloweenriket,” bringing characters from across the Halloween areas together on skates; “Drakriddarkampen,” a dragon-knight tournament with stunts and dancing; and “Grevinnan Natalias revansch,” a family musical.
The returning areas
The family side of the event is built from areas rather than rides. Häxans stig is a quest to collect ingredients for a witch’s brew, with a sweet at the end for anyone who finishes. Pumpafarmen is a pumpkin area with games and characters. Riddartorget sets four challenges, and anyone who passes them is dubbed a dragon knight and given a certificate. Drakskogen is a walk among dragons that the park says gets more atmospheric after dark, and this year it opens with a new castle gate. Häxans Torg is a gathering place with fire pits. Bamses Värld stays free of ghosts entirely, which is a sensible thing to publish for anyone bringing a nervous four-year-old.
HalloXmas is the genuinely new idea
The part of this announcement with no precedent at the park is what happens after Halloween ends. In November, Kolmården opens a season it calls HalloXmas, which exists to let guests watch the park change over from one holiday to the other rather than closing for the switch.
On November 14 and 15, the park says Halloween is still clearly present while Christmas starts to take up space. By November 21 and 22, its Sagojul Christmas season has taken over more of the park. The practical effect is more open days in a month when a park this far north would usually be shut, and the marketing effect is that the changeover itself becomes the reason to visit.
What the announcement does not cover
Kolmården’s release is a program announcement, not an operations note. It does not say which animal areas of the park are open during Halloween days, or whether the zoo route runs on the same 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. hours as the event. It gives no price for HalloXmas and does not say whether the Wild Card covers those November dates. Anyone planning a trip around the animals rather than the pumpkins will need the park’s own booking pages for that.
For American readers, the closest comparison is a zoo Halloween event of the Boo at the Zoo kind, scaled up: three haunted houses with an age guidance, a fire show, and an ice show, on a site that is also a working animal park. Scandinavian parks have been running the format for years, and it is a reminder that the seasonal-event business that funds a lot of zoo work is not a North American invention. A lighter version of the same idea runs at Skansen in Stockholm, which is tripling the size of its own Halloween this year.
Source: Kolmårdens Djurpark press release, September 4, 2026. Press contact: Cecilia Björling, informationsansvarig.
Quick answers
- When is Halloween at Kolmarden 2026?
On selected days from October 3 to November 8, 2026: October 3 and 4, 10 and 11, 17 and 18, 24 and 25, then continuously from October 26 to November 1, and finally November 7 and 8. Opening hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- What does it cost?
Tickets start at 199 Swedish kronor for children aged 3 to 12 and 299 kronor for visitors aged 13 and over. Wild Card 2026 annual pass holders enter free but must book in advance. Every Halloween ticket includes a Jetpass for a timed slot at one of the three haunted houses.
- Is it suitable for young children?
Partly. The scare attractions, Unsafe Zone, Skrackpassagen, Hospitalet, Vardshuset and the Skrackshow, carry a recommended minimum age of 11. The family areas, including Pumpafarmen, Magiska Skogen, Drakskogen and Riddartorget, do not, and Bamses Varld is kept free of ghosts entirely.
- What is new this year?
Four attractions and three shows. The haunted house Unsafe Zone, the later-opening Skrackpassagen, the fairytale area Magiska Skogen with its living maze Skogens hjarta, and the villain parade Skurkparad i Trollskogen, plus an ice show, a dragon-knight tournament and a family musical.
- What is HalloXmas?
A new November season at Kolmarden that lets guests watch the park change from Halloween to Christmas rather than closing for the switch. On November 14 and 15 Halloween is still clearly present while Christmas arrives; by November 21 and 22 the park's Sagojul Christmas season has taken over more of the site. No price was published for it.
