Halloween Events in Mesa, AZ: Haunts, Farms, and Family Nights (2026)

A hometown guide to Halloween events around Mesa and the East Valley for 2026, from our own outdoor haunt to the corn maze and pumpkin patches nearby, kept current by the crew that runs Scarizona every October. Dates shift every year, so every third-party listing links to the venue's own page.

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5 venues · Mesa & East Valley · Compiled by a Mesa haunt operator

By the Scarizona Scaregrounds crew, a Mesa haunt operator · Updated August 2026 · 6 min read

We run our outdoor haunt at Thompson Event Center in Mesa, near the Loop 101 and Loop 202 interchange, so the East Valley's Halloween season is our home turf every September and October. This is the short list we would hand a neighbor: the haunt, farms, and patches within easy reach of Mesa, with our own included and disclosed. When the scares are the point, our three haunts run every October a few minutes from wherever you are in the East Valley.

By the Numbers

What This Guide Covers

Real Mesa and East Valley Halloween events, each with a live official site.

One intense, after-dark haunt, not recommended for guests under 12.

Daytime pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and a harvest festival nearby.

From Mesa itself to Queen Creek, Gilbert, and Scottsdale.

Why This List Exists

The East Valley Season, Close to Home

Halloween in the East Valley does not require a drive across the Valley floor. This is the short list of what is actually close: our own haunt in Mesa, a corn maze practically down the road, and pumpkin patches families can reach in twenty minutes or less. Phoenix and Glendale have their own haunts and festivals, and our broader Phoenix and Mesa guide covers those too, but this page stays close to home.

Same two rules as always. Every venue here has a live official site, and every seasonal fact that changes, dates, days of the week, and ticketing, links straight to that site so you can confirm it before you drive. Where our own haunt appears, we say so plainly.

The Directory

Halloween in Mesa and the East Valley, by Kind

The list is sorted into our haunt and the family daytime outings nearby, with no quality ranking implied. Each entry carries the basics, a note from us, and a link out to the venue's own page for current dates.

The haunt, not recommended under 12

Haunt Late Sept to Nov 1

Scarizona Scaregrounds

Mesa, AZ · Our haunt (listed and disclosed)

Our own outdoor haunt at Thompson Event Center in Mesa: three walk-through haunts on one price, free parking, minutes from the Loop 101 and Loop 202 interchange. Not recommended for guests under 12.

Location: Mesa, AZ
Category: Haunt
Typical season: Late September through November 1 (dates announced on the ticket page)
Good for under 12?: No, not recommended under 12

This is us, and a Mesa Halloween guide that skipped its hometown haunt would be pointless. One timed-entry ticket walks you through all three of our walk-through haunts, outdoors and after dark, with a live cast working every corner of it. It is built to be intense, so we do not recommend it for guests under 12.

Buy Tickets See the 3 Haunts

Family and daytime outings

Corn maze October

Vertuccio Farms

Mesa, AZ

A Mesa corn maze with a ropes course, wagon rides, and a jump pad, billed as the Valley’s longest-running maze.

Location: Mesa, AZ
Category: Corn maze
Typical season: Through October (verify current dates on their site)
Good for under 12?: Yes, a daytime family outing

Practically down the road from us. Spend the afternoon in the maze at Vertuccio, then come to our place after sundown for the scares.

Visit official site

Fall festival October

Schnepf Farms

Queen Creek, AZ

The Pumpkin & Chili Party in Queen Creek: 25-plus rides, hay rides, a corn maze, and pig races, one of the East Valley’s largest fall festivals.

Location: Queen Creek, AZ
Category: Fall festival
Typical season: Through October (verify current dates on their site)
Good for under 12?: Yes, a daytime family outing

This is the whole-day family outing on our side of the Valley. Bring a wagon and plan for hours, you will not see all of it in one trip.

Visit official site

Pumpkin patch October

Mother Nature's Farm

Gilbert, AZ

A kid-first Gilbert pumpkin patch built around hay rides, farmyard animals, and daylight hours.

Location: Gilbert, AZ
Category: Pumpkin patch
Typical season: Through October (verify current dates on their site)
Good for under 12?: Yes, a daytime family outing

When neighbors ask us where to take a three-year-old, this is the answer. It is a patch for the youngest visitors, and it never pretends to be anything else.

Visit official site

Pumpkin patch October

MacDonald's Ranch

Scottsdale, AZ

A daytime pumpkin patch with a petting zoo, a hay maze, gold panning, and trail rides in the north Scottsdale foothills.

Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Category: Pumpkin patch
Typical season: Early October through Halloween (verify current dates on their site)
Good for under 12?: Yes, a daytime family outing

A short drive from Mesa for families with little ones. The gold panning and the pony rides fill the daylight hours long before our gates open after dark.

Visit official site

Our Corner of the Season

What Scarizona Runs in Mesa

Our core October run is Three Haunts, One Price: a single timed-entry ticket walks you through Mayhem in Madness, Startled Darkness, and Dr. Death's Haunted ICU. We are open select nights from September 25 through November 1, with the first check-in at 6:45 PM, and free parking at Thompson Event Center every time you visit.

It is built to be intense. We do not recommend it for guests under 12, though we do not turn anyone away at the gate. In 2024, The Scare Factor named our cast the Highest Rated Cast in the Southwest, a credential from people who review haunts across the region for a living. See the rest of our season on the events calendar.

Buy Tickets See the 3 Haunts

Best For

Find Your Group

A night of real scares

The haunt end of the season is close to home. Our three walk-through haunts run every night in Mesa at Thompson Event Center. If you want more haunts across the Valley, Phoenix and Glendale have their own, covered in our broader Phoenix and Mesa guide.

Kids and daytime plans

Mother Nature’s Farm in Gilbert and MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale are daytime pumpkin patches, and Vertuccio Farms in Mesa runs a corn maze with a ropes course and a jump pad. All three run in daylight and are built for young children. For more patches around the state, see our Arizona pumpkin patch guide.

A full East Valley day

Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek fills an entire afternoon with rides, a corn maze, and pig races, a whole-family plan that pairs well with an evening at our haunt. For more mazes around the state, see our Arizona corn maze guide.

Want more haunts across the Valley, or the full Phoenix picture? Our Phoenix and Mesa guide covers the wider metro, and our Arizona pumpkin patch guide and Arizona corn maze guide round out the daytime options statewide.

Side by Side

Every Mesa-Area Venue at a Glance

Season shows the general window each venue tends to keep. Confirm current days and dates on each venue's official page before you go.

Mesa and East Valley Halloween venues compared by city, category, family-friendliness, and typical season
Feature	City	Category	Under-12 friendly	Season
Scarizona Scaregrounds	Mesa	Haunt	Not included	Late Sept to Nov 1
Vertuccio Farms	Mesa	Corn maze	Included	October
Schnepf Farms	Queen Creek	Fall festival	Included	October
Mother Nature's Farm	Gilbert	Pumpkin patch	Included	October
MacDonald's Ranch	Scottsdale	Pumpkin patch	Included	October

How This Guide Was Built

Our Method, Stated Plainly

This is a directory, sorted by kind and deliberately left unscored. We do not grade one venue above another, because a haunt operator ranking its rivals is not a ranking anyone should trust. Every entry had to clear one bar to make the list: a real Mesa or East Valley Halloween event with a live official site. From there we sorted by kind so you can find what fits your group, and labeled each one by category and by whether it works for young children.

Scarizona Scaregrounds, our own haunt in Mesa, is on this list, and we want that stated in the open. We included it because a Mesa Halloween guide that omitted its hometown haunt would be incomplete, and we flagged it as ours everywhere it appears so you can weigh our note accordingly.

On Third-Party Dates

Season windows, days of the week, ticketing, and prices for the other venues change every year, and we do not control any of them. We do not print other venues' 2026 dates or prices here on purpose. Every listing links to the venue's official site so you confirm the current details before you drive. This guide is refreshed before each September.

Came for the Scare?

If the haunt is what pulled you to this page, one price walks you through all three of ours at Thompson Event Center in Mesa, outdoors and after dark. Timed entry means the busy nights sell out first.

Buy Tickets See the 3 Haunts

Mesa Halloween, Answered

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best Halloween events in Mesa, AZ?

For real scares, our own haunt at Thompson Event Center runs three walk-through haunts on one ticket. For families, Vertuccio Farms and Mother Nature’s Farm keep things in daylight with a corn maze and a pumpkin patch, and Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek fills a full afternoon with rides and a corn maze. Confirm current dates on each venue’s own page before you drive.

Are there family Halloween events near Mesa?

Yes. Vertuccio Farms in Mesa runs a corn maze with a ropes course and a jump pad, Mother Nature’s Farm in Gilbert and MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale are daytime pumpkin patches, and Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek is a full-day harvest festival. All of them run in daylight and are built for young children, with no scares involved.

Is Scarizona in Mesa good for kids?

It is built to be intense, so we do not recommend it for guests under 12, though we do not gate anyone at the door. If you are bringing younger kids, the daytime pumpkin patches and corn mazes in this guide are the better fit for your group.

Where is Scarizona Scaregrounds located?

We run at Thompson Event Center in Mesa, close to the Loop 101 and Loop 202 interchange, with free parking included every visit.

When does Scarizona's 2026 season run?

Our haunt is open select nights from September 25 through November 1, with the first check-in at 6:45 PM. Exact nightly dates are posted on our ticket page.

What makes Scarizona's haunts stand out?

In 2024, The Scare Factor, an outlet that reviews haunted attractions, named our cast the Highest Rated Cast in the Southwest. One ticket walks you through all three of our walk-through haunts: Mayhem in Madness, Startled Darkness, and Dr. Death’s Haunted ICU.

Do I need to buy tickets in advance for Mesa Halloween events?

It depends on the venue, so confirm on each one’s official page. Some patches sell at the gate, while our haunt and the larger festivals sell timed-entry tickets online that can fill up on peak weekends. Buy Scarizona tickets through our own ticket page before the busiest nights sell out.

About the Author

Written by a Mesa Haunt Operator

The Scarizona Scaregrounds crew runs a family-owned outdoor haunt at Thompson Event Center in Mesa, working the East Valley's October season every year. That is the credential behind this guide: we live inside the neighborhood's Halloween calendar every season, ours and the ones down the road, so we can tell you honestly which outing fits your group.

See what we run at the 3 haunts, or check the whole season on our events calendar.

The Season Is Short. Plan the Night.

Wherever you land around Mesa and the East Valley this October, use the list above and confirm the dates on each venue's own page. And when you want the serious end of the season, our gates at Thompson Event Center open for the first check-in at 6:45 PM, as the desert goes dark, and they run on timed entry, so the busy nights sell out before they open.

See the 3 Haunts

5 Mesa & East Valley Halloween venues · Compiled by a Mesa haunt operator