If your family's October around Ashland usually ends with costumes at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, where do you go in 2026? Nebraska Game and Parks has posted a notice on the park's page saying Mahoney "will not be hosting organized Halloween activities in 2026." Campers are encouraged to decorate their campsites and trick-or-treat around the campground on their own instead.
That changes how the month is laid out. Mahoney still has a busy first ten days. After that, Halloween moves two ways off the park. One is Silver Street in downtown Ashland. The other is the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, a short drive away at 28210 W. Park Hwy. Mahoney sits at 28500 W. Park Highway. Those two addresses still matter, just in a different order than last year.
Mahoney's October Is Packed Into the First Ten Days
The park's calendar is heaviest at the very start of the month. The Fall Platte River Art Show fills two floors of Peter Kiewit Lodge October 2 through 4, with more than 20 regional and national artists from Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. It opens Friday, October 2, at 6 p.m. with a wine and cheese reception and live music. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The "Soul Food on the Go" food truck parks outside the lodge on both weekend days. Admission to the show is free.
The next day, October 3, the park's Activity Center reopens after its roof replacement. That includes the indoor playground and the Venture Climb rock wall. Game and Parks says there will be designated parking and entrances when it reopens. Current posted hours are Monday, Thursday and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The park lists the Family Aquatic Center as now closed for the 2026 season. Also on October 3, about the same drive away, Carol Joy Holling Camp at 27416 Ranch Rd. holds its Fall Festival from 3 to 7 p.m. It includes zip-line time, come-and-go activities, dinner and campfire worship.
Two free programs at the James Family Conservatory and Nature Center round out the park's month:
- Tuesday, October 6, 10 to 11:30 a.m.: Wise & Wild, with Dutch-oven desserts as the topic.
- Saturday, October 10, 1 to 4 p.m.: Outdoor Osteology Halloween Happenings, an open house with owl pellets, skull sketching, snake and bat skeletons, and s'mores.
Mahoney's events calendar lists only those two programs for October. That makes the October 10 open house the closest thing the park has to a Halloween event this year, three weeks before the holiday. Every visit above needs a park vehicle permit. Daily permits are $7 with Nebraska plates and $14 with out-of-state plates, and annual permits are $35 and $70. If you plan to come back for the art show and both nature center programs, the annual permit pays for itself by the fifth daily permit you'd otherwise buy.
The Weekend That Takes Over: October 24 and 25
Late October now belongs to Ashland itself. The Ashland Chamber's 2026 events lineup lists Freaky Frolics, Trick or Treat on Silver Street, for October 24 from 2 to 7 p.m. on "Silver St. and beyond," with Halloween activities for children and parents. That's a Saturday. The next afternoon, the SAC Museum runs Flight of Fright, where candy is dropped from 13 historic aircraft. Staff and volunteers dress in costume, from superheroes to World War II re-enactors.
| Freaky Frolics | Flight of Fright | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Oct. 24 | Sunday, Oct. 25 |
| Time | 2 to 7 p.m. | Museum opens 11 a.m.; candy drops noon to 2 p.m., while supplies last |
| Where | Silver Street and beyond, downtown Ashland | SAC & Aerospace Museum, 28210 W. Park Hwy. |
| Cost | No price listed by the Chamber | General admission: $18 adults, $14 seniors and military, $10 ages 4 to 12, free for ages 3 and under and for members, before tax |
The museum's page tells families to bring a bag and to buy general admission tickets for October 25 to take part. For a family of two adults and two children ages 4 to 12, that's $56 before tax. A museum membership makes the day free and also gets you into the members-only movie night on Wednesday, October 14. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and October Sky starts at 5:30, with concessions, a raffle and limited seating.
Saturday on Silver Street is also a good day to see the downtown galleries. The Chamber directory lists Turtle Creek Gallery at 1412 Silver St., Willow Point Gallery at 1431 Silver St., and Cooper Studio, Gallery at 1526 Silver St. Call ahead about hours that day, since the directory doesn't list them.
One Night at the Museum for Adults Only
The SAC Museum has its own Halloween event for adults one week earlier. Haunted Hangars: Night of Flights and Spirits runs Saturday, October 17, from 7 to 11 p.m. It's strictly 21 and older, with paranormal demonstrations, a costume contest, a DJ and dancing, movies, food trucks and breweries. VIP entry adds early admission at 6 p.m., a tour inside the EC-135 and two drink tickets. Ticket prices aren't readable on the event page, so check the museum's booking page before you plan around a budget.
That gives the museum three October events, each for a different crowd: members on the 14th, adults on the 17th and families on the 25th. The museum's October calendar lists exactly those three.
On regular days, the museum switched to winter hours on September 8, 2026. It's now closed Tuesdays and open Monday and Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. These hours run through June 1, 2027. So the Wise & Wild program at Mahoney on Tuesday, October 6, falls on the one day the museum is closed. Pairing a park morning with an afternoon in the hangars works any other day of the week.
Where to Eat Now That the Lodge Kitchen Has Closed
The shift into town is about more than Halloween. Carl's at Mahoney, run by Carl and Diane Kucera of Litchfield inside Peter Kiewit Lodge since March 2024, ended food and beverage service on August 7. For now, the lodge offers coffee and grab-and-go food, and there are concessions at the marina and the Activity Center. Game and Parks said a long-term plan would come later for the 2027 season. Park superintendent Maverick Helgoth pointed guests to "many great local dining options near the park."
One of those is Ashland Brewing Company at 810 S. 9th Ave., at Highways 6 and 66. Its fall and winter bar hours, mid-September to mid-March, are Wednesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The kitchen runs Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the brewery is closed Monday and Tuesday. The homepage announces a fall menu starting October 14 and says the full patio service and full menu are back. The brewery hasn't posted the new dishes yet. October 14 is a Wednesday, the same night as the SAC members' screening of October Sky.
Check Before You Drive
A wet September has already moved one fall staple around. Martin's Hillside Orchard, just outside Ceresco at 2024 Ashland Rd., closed September 28 through October 2 because of wet weather. It says it hopes to reopen on the weekend and to "stay tuned for updates." The orchard lists weekend hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and $6 admission, with apples and pumpkins sold by the pound. Its season runs through the end of October, so a missed first weekend still leaves time.
If you'd still like a Halloween event closer to the holiday itself, the Wahoo Chamber lists Boo in Wahoo for Friday, October 30, from 3:30 to 6 p.m. The current listing doesn't give a location.
Here's the October calendar for the Ashland area in order:
- Oct. 2 to 4: Fall Platte River Art Show, Peter Kiewit Lodge
- Oct. 3: Activity Center reopens; Carol Joy Holling Fall Festival
- Oct. 6: Wise & Wild at Mahoney; SAC Museum closed, as it is every Tuesday
- Oct. 10: Outdoor Osteology Halloween Happenings at Mahoney
- Oct. 14: Ashland Brewing Company fall menu; SAC members' movie night
- Oct. 17: Haunted Hangars, 21 and older
- Oct. 24: Freaky Frolics on Silver Street
- Oct. 25: Flight of Fright at the SAC Museum
- Oct. 30: Boo in Wahoo
Mahoney's last scheduled event of the month is October 10, which leaves Silver Street and the SAC Museum to cover the final three weeks of Halloween.
If you're planning family weekends along the Highway 6 and I-80 stretch, or thinking about how life in Ashland compares with the rest of Saunders County, Lisa Pringle (FKA Lisa Pringle) knows these towns from Silver Street to Ceresco and is glad to talk about them. Let's Connect.