Trick-or-Treating Hours & Trick-or-Treat Tips 2023

Halloween approaches and the month of October is filled with all sorts of treating activities leading up to the pinnacle, trick-or-treating! Hopefully, your goblins, princesses, and superheroes have picked their persona for Halloween. If they haven’t…you’re on your own there. But, we have at least pulled together all the info on trick-or-treating hours across McHenry County that you’ll need.

Be sure to bookmark this page (which we update throughout the season and every year) for trick-or-treating times across McHenry County.

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Looking for more treating opportunities?

Be sure to check out our Trunk-or-Treat and Other Treating Fun Guide!

Skeleton trick-or-treaters.

For the trick-or-treat hours, we have amassed quite a collection, broken out by location. Please note that we’ll include hours even for those that we haven’t been able to confirm, which we’ll note, based on previous years’ times. We’ll continue to confirm times all the way up to Halloween.

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McHenry County Trick-or-Treat Hours 2023

What time is trick or treating near you?
See your location below for trick-or-treat times…

City / VillageDateTrick or Treat Hours
Algonquin10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Barrington Hills10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Bull Valley10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Cary10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Crystal Lake10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Fox Lake10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Fox River Grove10/31/233:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Greenwood10/31/233:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Harvard10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Hebron10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Holiday Hills10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Huntley10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Island Lake10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Johnsburg10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Lake in the Hills10/31/232:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Lakemoor10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Lakewood10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Marengo10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
McCullom Lake10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
McHenry10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Oakwood Hills10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Port Barrington10/29/231:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Prairie Grove10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Richmond10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Ringwood10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Spring Grove10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Trout Valley10/31/233:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Union10/31/234:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Wonder Lake10/31/233:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Woodstock10/31/234:00 pm – 7:00 pm

*Note: all times are subject to change. †Unconfirmed.


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Did we miss one or include one that is no longer relevant? Or maybe you have information to add or we need to correct our information? We greatly appreciate any help that others can provide. Please provide as much information, including links to other sources, as you can in the form below. Thanks!


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Trick-or-Treating Tips

Safety & General Tips

Remind Your Kids

  • Never trick-or-treat alone. Go with a group of friends or family members.
  • Stay on well-lit sidewalks and avoid dark alleys and shortcuts.
  • Cross the street at crosswalks and look both ways before crossing.
  • Be aware of your surroundings and watch out for cars, especially when crossing the street.
  • Don’t go inside anyone’s house without an adult with you.
  • Only accept candy from people you know and trust.
  • Tell your parents or another adult if you see anything suspicious.
Girl in witch costume eating Halloween candy.

Pre & Post Trick-Or-Treating Tips

  • Plan your child’s trick-or-treat route in advance and make sure they know it.
  • Help your child choose a costume that is safe and comfortable. Avoid costumes with long, flowing fabric or masks that can obstruct vision.
  • Make sure your child’s costume is reflective so they can be seen by drivers.
  • Give your child a flashlight or glow stick so they can see and be seen.
  • Accompany children under the age of 12 while trick-or-treating.
  • Check your child’s candy before they eat it. Throw away any candy that is unwrapped, homemade, or looks suspicious.

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How to Signal Participation in Trick-or-Treating?

It is okay not to participate in Halloween or trick-or-treating, for whatever reason.

One of the best and oldest ways to signal that you are receptive to trick-or-treaters is by leaving a porch light on. Of course, this isn’t foolproof. Many of us leave porch and garage lights on for safety and security. And with many trick-or-treating times moved up for safety and/or for the youngest ones, it may be hard to tell if there is a light on or not anyway.

So in addition to the light, you may also want to consider putting out a sign, especially if you are not participating, if you don’t want to spend the evening trying to ignore the doorbell.

What Do Teal Pumpkins for Halloween Mean?

Like it or not, food allergies are more common and probably here to stay. Growing up, I don’t think I knew of anyone having food allergies. But like all things, times have changed. While you probably aren’t handing out shellfish…though if you are, please leave your address in the comments below…you might be more surprised about how many food allergies might be concerned in what you are handing out.

Anyone with school-aged children now is certainly aware of peanut allergies. And while perhaps one of the most common, not the only one of concern. Common food allergies extend into tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, and milk, any of which may be found in common candies. And even if the regular-sized version doesn’t have any of these items, there’s no guarantee that the smaller fun-sized versions won’t. And even if they don’t specifically have any of these items, they could have trace amounts if they were produced on equipment or in processing plants that do use these ingredients.

The easiest way around this challenge is to offer non-edible treats. Small toys, stickers, bookmarks, bubbles, fun clay, bouncy balls, crayons, etc. can all be great alternatives, or at least options in addition to the candy you would like to offer. The other benefit…you can give out any extras again next year!

Child holding decorative Jack O'lantern.

What Do Blue Pumpkins for Halloween Mean?

Children coming to your door with a blue pumpkin may signify that they may be on the Autism spectrum. But what may that mean for you?

Many with Autism may be non-verbal. This means that they may not say “trick-or-treat,” “thank you,” answer a question about their costume, or verbally respond in any way. Remember that they aren’t trying to be rude, disrespectful, or ungrateful. To help them, you can simply invite them to take a treat, wish them a “happy Halloween,” or compliment them on their costume.

Speaking of treats. Similar to those with food allergies, those with Autism may also have heightened food sensitivities. What you can do to help is to offer a variety of types of candies (i.e. chewy vs hard) or offer non-food treats or options.

These children may especially experience heightened senses. So loud or sudden noises, sudden visuals, flashing lights, sudden movements, etc. may all be overly frightening and even feel threatening. If you are able to modify or control effects for different trick-or-treaters, this could be helpful. If you can’t and still want this type of display, then it would be helpful to provide a warning sign so that those children or families can decide whether to bypass your home.

Of course, someone could be Autistic and not be carrying a blue pumpkin. Some families may not want to call attention to their child in this way, fearing that it can lead to adverse attention. It can help though to keep these challenges in mind in those instances and are also nice things to adopt for all trick-or-treaters.

You can also help signal that you have tried to make a more Autistic-receptive trick-or-treating experience by placing a blue pumpkin or sign out.


Jack O'lantern and candles.

What Are COVID Trick-or-Treating Precautions?

While, hopefully, much of our COVID woes are behind us, Halloween and trick-or-treating do yield heightened potential exposure. Please remember that there are those who may still be at increased risk. Please continue to follow the safety guidelines from public health agencies, including frequent hand washing, social distancing, and wearing masks if you are an at-risk individual. 

Consider the following safety tips and ideas for a socially distant Halloween celebration: 

  • Stay home if you are sick…which should be true regardless of COVID!
  • If you may have COVID or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID, please do not participate in in-person Halloween festivities.
  • If you may have COVID or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID, please do not participate in trick-or-treating.
  • Avoid large trick-or-treating groups where it may be harder to socially distance, even outside.
  • If you can, provide hand sanitizer accessible for trick-or-treaters and yourself.
  • Take hand sanitizer with you when taking your own children out for trick-or-treating.
  • Greet trick-or-treaters from your porch or driveway to minimize surface contact.
  • Make sure your children wash their hands after trick-or-treating, especially before eating their candy.
  • If you cannot or don’t want to participate in traditional trick-or-treating, but still want to engage, consider scheduling a candy swap with close family and friends.

President and Founder of Identity Developments, LLC, the parent company of the McHenry Life website. My hope for McHenry Life is to create a resource and destination for the residents and businesses of McHenry County alike. A place where residents can discover new places to explore, fun events and ways to spend time, and then share those experiences with others. A place where businesses can connect with existing and potential customers, and not simply market their businesses, but share their own unique stories.

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