The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has built its October around two tracks that barely overlap: a month of family Halloween programming under the Zoo BOO! banner, and a short run of adult evenings that includes an Oktoberfest with more than 80 seasonal beers on sample. Proceeds from all of it go to the zoo’s animal care and conservation programs.
What is on for families?
Zoo BOO! presented by Fulton Bank runs October 2 to 4, 9 to 11, 23 to 25, and 30 and 31. It is a month-long celebration rather than a single night, with safe trick-or-treating, costume contests, games, live entertainment and animal visits.
Trunk or Treat on October 23 is free, held in the zoo’s parking lots, and run with community organizations handing out traditional Halloween candy.
Breakfast with the Animals presented by Constellation runs on October 10 and 31. Guests eat near a different animal each time and meet the keepers who work with it.
Twilight Stroll, Spooky Edition on October 25 is a flashlight tour led by the zoo’s naturalist, built around what the campus does after dark. It is the one on this list most likely to teach a child something they did not know, because a zoo at night is a genuinely different place: the cats get up, the primates settle, and the whole soundscape changes.
What is on for adults?
OktoBEARfest on October 16 and 17 opens with a Friday evening session before a full day on Saturday. Unlimited sampling covers more than 80 seasonal brews plus beer, wine, seltzer and cider, with live music and local vendors. Zoo members get $5 off any ticket level courtesy of CFG Bank.
A Night to Dismember: Mixology at the Zoo on October 22 is for guests 21 and over, who learn to make Halloween-themed cocktails alongside tarot card readings, animal encounters and costumes.
What does it cost, and what does it pay for?
Ticket prices vary by event and are listed on the zoo’s events page. The zoo makes the point that event proceeds support animal care and wildlife conservation, and in this case there is published work to point at rather than a slogan: the zoo’s Panamanian golden frogs went outdoors in 2026 for the first time in two decades, and it has bred Coquerel’s sifaka, a lemur the IUCN Red List has classed as Critically Endangered since 2018.
Alongside the ticketed events, the zoo runs free daily programming through October: keeper chats, conservation activities and education stations.
For what those conservation programs look like, see our reporting on Panamanian golden frogs going outdoors at the Maryland Zoo after 20 years and on the birth of a Coquerel’s sifaka there.
