"October is one of those months when Parks & Recreation seems to have something happening around every corner." That's how the City of Dickson opens its October 2026 Parks & Recreation newsletter. In the last two weeks of the month, it's true.
Halloween in Dickson doesn't happen on one night this year. It happens on two Saturdays, a week apart, in two different parts of town. BooFest is downtown on October 24. Haunting at Henslee fills Henslee Park on October 31. In between, the Henslee Splash Pad shuts off for the year, and nearby Montgomery Bell State Park holds evening programs. All of it falls inside the window the parks department calls "often one of our best windows for widespread fall color." Treat it as one stretch rather than a single evening, and the second half of October gets much fuller.
The Late-October Calendar at a Glance
Here's the calendar from today, October 12, through the middle of November. It pulls together the City of Dickson's published schedule and the event pages at Tennessee State Parks.
| Date | Event | Where | Time | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Star viewing with the Barnard Seyfert Astronomical Society | Montgomery Bell State Park ball field | 7–10 p.m. | Free, weather permitting |
| Sun., Oct. 18 | Henslee Splash Pad's last day | Henslee Park | Water off at 8 p.m. | Closed until spring 2027 |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | BooFest | Tom Waychoff Memorial Park and downtown | Listed from 5 p.m. | Free candy |
| Mon., Oct. 26 | Full Moon Tandem Kayak Float | Creech Hollow Lake Parking, Montgomery Bell | 7:30–8:30 p.m. | Sold out |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Hoots & Hisses | Montgomery Bell Visitors Center | 10–11 a.m. | Free |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Haunting at Henslee | Henslee Park, 800 Henslee Drive | 5:30–8:30 p.m. | Costumes encouraged |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Werewolf Springs Lantern Hike | Montgomery Bell | 7:30–8:30 p.m. | Sold out |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | Veterans Day concert | Holland Park | 2:30 p.m. | Family activities |
There are two sold-out listings on that list. In the Dickson area, the most popular fall programs fill up before the month is over. Anything in the free column is still open for planning.
Before the Costumes: The Splash Pad Goes Quiet
The first marker comes before any trick-or-treating. The water at the Henslee Splash Pad stops at 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, and the splash pad stays closed until spring 2027. The city's online schedule adds "weather permitting" to that date. The playground and green space at Henslee stay open through fall and winter, according to the newsletter. That matters because the park's biggest night of the season is still two weeks away.
The leaves are changing on roughly the same schedule. The parks department's guide describes early October as mostly green with the first hints of yellow and red. Mid-October brings more color. Late October is one of the best windows for widespread color, and some late-season color may hold into early November as more leaves fall. By that guide, both Halloween Saturdays land in the department's best stretch.
If you have a free Friday before then, Montgomery Bell has a public star viewing on October 16 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the ball field. The Barnard Seyfert Astronomical Society is bringing telescopes, weather permitting, and it's free. The newsletter's own advice applies here too: keep a light jacket or blanket in the car, because fall afternoons can cool off quickly once the sun goes down.
Saturday One: BooFest Downtown
BooFest is the downtown half of Dickson's Halloween. The City's parks page describes it as an annual event at Waychoff Park on the last Saturday of October, with free candy. This year that Saturday is October 24, and the city's 2026 schedule lists the event at Tom Waychoff Memorial Park and downtown Dickson. The park sits at the corner of Main Street and College Street. It's named for Tom Waychoff, who served Dickson as a city councilman, mayor, city administrator and CEO/president of the Dickson County Chamber of Commerce. The Dickson Post's roundup of 2026 parks events, published in May, also lists BooFest on the department's calendar.
The City's BooFest 2026 page gives contact details but no hour-by-hour schedule. The most detailed timing comes from a third-party event listing that names Downtown Dickson Events as the organizer. It has these three times:
- Treats start at 5 p.m.
- A costume contest at 6 p.m. in Holland Park.
- Story time at 7 p.m.
That listing doesn't give an end time, and the City hasn't published those times itself. Check them against the City's page as the date gets closer.
Last year's event shows what the format can look like, though it isn't a promise for 2026. The Dickson Post reported in October 2025 that downtown businesses hosted trick-or-treating starting at 5 p.m., the costume contest was at 6 p.m. in Holland Park, and Main Street was set to close to vehicle traffic between College Street and West Walnut Street. The 2026 listing again names downtown, Main Street and the surrounding merchants as the location. Any 2026 street closure hadn't been announced in what we reviewed.
The Week Between
The Monday after BooFest is the full-moon tandem kayak float at Montgomery Bell. It runs October 26 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., leaving from Creech Hollow Lake Parking, at $25 per participant. The event page already shows it as sold out. Tennessee State Parks notes that schedules can change, so the page is worth watching if you're hoping a spot opens up.
For the rest of the week, the city's suggestions don't need a calendar. The October newsletter recommends an evening walk, a picnic, fishing on a cool morning, photographing the changing leaves, or visiting a playground you haven't been to lately. Leaf photos also have somewhere to go. The department is running a Parks Photo Contest for photos you took yourself, and any image with people in it needs permission from the person or from a parent or guardian.
Saturday Two: Halloween Belongs to Henslee
The second Saturday moves Halloween across town to Henslee Park at 800 Henslee Drive. The newsletter's headline is "Halloween Night Belongs at Henslee." Haunting at Henslee returns October 31 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with hayrides, food trucks, prizes, candy, face painting, Jeeps & Treats and more. Costumes are encouraged.
BooFest is downtown around the Main and College corner. Haunting at Henslee happens at a park whose splash pad went dark thirteen days earlier, while its playground and green space stay open. A family with costumes ready in time for the 24th gets two separate evenings out of them, in two different settings, a week apart.
Halloween Day also starts early at Montgomery Bell. "Hoots & Hisses" runs from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Visitors Center. It's a free program led by Ranger Sara about the park's snakes and its resident Barred Owl. That evening, Ranger Paige leads the Werewolf Springs Lantern Hike from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. It's a night walk of under a mile for ages 10 and up, and the event page lists it as sold out. Since Haunting at Henslee starts at 5:30 p.m., one October 31 can include an owl in the morning and a hayride in the evening, with plenty of the afternoon left over.
After the Candy: November 15 at Holland Park
The Halloween Saturdays end, but the parks calendar keeps going. Holland Park, where the BooFest costume contest is listed, comes back on Sunday, November 15, at 2:30 p.m. for a Veterans Day concert. Along with live music, the newsletter lists face painting, balloon art and a bounce house. If the parks department's color guide holds, some late-season leaves may still be on the trees in early November. The department says its calendar stays busy through December.
At Emerald Key Realty, we keep track of Dickson's calendar the way our neighbors do, from the splash pad's last day to the costume contest at Holland Park. If you live near Waychoff Park or Henslee and you're wondering what your home is worth this fall, ask Nicky for a free home valuation. She'll go over it with you before the last leaves come down.
