Updated August 2026 · by Mount Pleasant Scoop
Fall in Mount Pleasant runs on 4 things: the Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch (September 25 – November 1, Fridays–Sundays), the town's free Children's Day Festival at Park West (Sunday, October 18), oyster season opening October 1, and a Halloween stretch that includes ghost tours on the USS Yorktown. Here's the local's guide to all of it — dates, what's worth your time, and what's changed this year.
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Boone Hall Fright Nights is gone for good. After roughly 22 years, Boone Hall announced in May that the haunted attraction won't return — rising costs and a shift toward family programming. If Fright Nights was your October tradition, the Yorktown's after-dark ghost tours are the closest thing left in town.
The Pumpkin Patch got bigger instead. Boone Hall expanded it to 6 weekends, now running late September through November 1.
The Charleston Scottish Games are canceled for 2026 — they'd already moved out of Boone Hall after 2024, and this year's edition isn't happening anywhere.
One of the largest fall festivals in the state, and in its 30th year. The Starling Chevrolet corn maze, tractor-pulled hay rides with themed scenes, pig races, a petting zoo, mini-golf, and live circus acts, with pumpkins by the field-full. At 2434 N. Highway 17. 2026 admission hadn't been announced as of this update (last year was $15 ages 3+, under 2 free) — check boonehallplantation.com for tickets. Go early on Fridays if you want the patch without the crowds.
The 38th annual, at the Park West Recreation Complex — and everything is free: carnival rides, inflatable slides, pony rides, games, and live music on the main stage. Food is the only thing you'll pay for. Free parking with shuttles runs from Cairo Middle School and Charles Pinckney/Laurel Hill. This is the town's best free family day of the year — locals plan around it.
South Carolina's recreational shellfish season opens the first of October, and that's the real start of fall here — backyard roasts, restaurant specials, and cluster buckets on Shem Creek follow within weeks. Roasts pop up all season at spots along the creek and around town; we flag them in the Monday newsletter as they're announced.
Patriots Point leans into October: after-hours ghost tours aboard the USS Yorktown (run by Bulldog Tours — night access to parts of the ship that are closed by day, including the flight deck after dark) plus a family Trick or Treat on the Yorktown event and a costume contest — 2026 dates should be released soon. Tours book out around Halloween — reserve ahead.
Farmers Market final Tuesdays — the market runs Tuesdays 3:30–7 PM through the end of September, then it's done until spring. Get your last tomatoes and shrimp rolls in.
Dancing on the Cooper — Friday, Sept 11, 7–10 PM on the Mount Pleasant Pier, with the Cooper River Band. Shag dancing under the Ravenel Bridge; tickets through Charleston County Parks.
Charleston Battery home games — Sept 2, Sept 19, and Sept 26 at Patriots Point. Fall soccer with a harbor view.
Pumpkin Patch opens Sept 25.
Oyster season opens Oct 1.
Pumpkin Patch every Fri–Sun.
Battery vs. Louisville City — Sat, Oct 10, 4 PM, the regular-season home finale.
Children's Day Festival — Sun, Oct 18.
Halloween week: watch for the town's Trunk or Treat at Carolina Park (petting zoo, photo booth, food trucks), the Towne Centre Fall Festival (typically the last Saturday of October — the 2026 date wasn't officially announced as of this update; expect the pet costume contest, live music, and trick-or-treating at the shops), Yorktown ghost tours, and neighborhood trick-or-treating — the Old Village is famously the town's big Halloween-night destination.
Pumpkin Patch's final weekend runs through Nov 1.
Roast season proper — November is when the oyster roast calendar fills up.
The best walking weather of the year — this is the month for the Ravenel Bridge, the Pitt Street Bridge at sunset, and Laurel Hill's maritime-forest trails. Golden hour on Shem Creek moves to happy-hour time, which is not a coincidence worth wasting.
Cooler patios and oyster specials are what fall dining here is about — start with our Best Restaurants and Best Happy Hours guides, or make an afternoon of the Shem Creek boardwalk.
The Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch (late September–November 1), the free Children's Day Festival at Park West in mid-October, oyster roasts once the season opens October 1, ghost tours on the USS Yorktown, and Halloween events across town.
September 25 through November 1, open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
No — Boone Hall permanently ended Fright Nights in 2026 after about 22 years. The Pumpkin Patch was expanded to 6 weekends instead, and the USS Yorktown's ghost tours are the closest remaining after-dark option in town.
Recreational shellfish season opens October 1. Oyster roasts around Mount Pleasant ramp up from mid-October through the winter.
Yes — admission, rides, and all activities are free at the 38th annual festival on Sunday, October 18, 2026, 12–5 PM at Park West. Only food costs money.
Fall calendars change weekly — we track it all so you don't have to. Get the free Monday Scoop →