Pumpkins, Live Animals and a Candy Buffet: Trek or Treat Returns to Gulf State Park Oct. 24

GULF SHORES, Ala. — Families looking for a daytime Halloween outing can head into the woods at Gulf State Park on Saturday, Oct. 24, when Trek or Treat returns to the park’s Learning Campus and Woodside Restaurant from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event is free and open to the whole family. The schedule mixes classic Halloween activities with the hands-on nature education the Learning Campus is known for, including live animals, scavenger hunts and lessons about bats and rip currents.

Trek or Treat at a glance

• What: Trek or Treat, a free family Halloween event
• When: Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Where: The Learning Campus and Woodside Restaurant at Gulf State Park, 20249A State Park Road, Gulf Shores
• Cost: Free
• Highlights: Arts and crafts, games, pumpkin carving, live animals, scavenger hunts, a candy buffet and live music
• Information: Learning Campus, 251-923-3101, learningcampusgsp.com

A long list of activities

Organizers have lined up a full slate of stations across the campus. Children can try arts and crafts, games and pumpkin carving, meet live animals and set off on scavenger hunts. Other stations include mad science demonstrations, photo creations, scarecrow building and a “mystery sensations” activity, along with a “bats and bones” station that fits the season while teaching a little natural history.

One station, riptide readiness, carries a serious message for a beach community. Rip currents are the leading surf hazard along the Alabama coast, and learning to recognize them, and to swim parallel to shore to escape one, is a lesson that can save lives long after Halloween.

At Woodside Restaurant, families can stop by a candy buffet and listen to live music.

A park tradition

Trek or Treat has become a recurring fall event at Gulf State Park. When the park held it in 2022, the day started with a family costumed bike ride from the Learning Campus, followed by crafts, games, pumpkin carving and scarecrow making, with a candy buffet and live music at Woodside Restaurant. This year’s event focuses on a three-hour block of activities on the campus.

About the Learning Campus

The Learning Campus at Gulf State Park offers day and overnight environmental education programs throughout the year. Its programs are led by trained field naturalists and include a school-year outdoor education camp, summer arts and ecology camps, summer day camps, family camps and retreats, and field studies and service-learning programs. The campus has two sleeping cabins with 32 bunks each, allowing school groups to stay overnight.

The campus is part of Gulf State Park, one of the crown jewels of the Alabama State Parks system, which is overseen by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The park stretches across more than 6,000 acres between the Gulf and the inland lakes of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, with miles of beachfront, freshwater lakes, a pier, a campground and the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail system for hiking and biking.

Planning your visit

• Use the 20249A State Park Road address for navigation; the Learning Campus sits within the park off State Park Road in Gulf Shores.
• Wear comfortable shoes. Many activities are outdoors, and costumes that allow easy walking work best.
• Bring water and sun protection. Mid-day sun can still be strong on the coast in late October.
• Bring a bag for crafts and treats, and a camera for the photo creations station.

A busy Halloween season on the coast

Trek or Treat is one of several family Halloween events across south Baldwin County this month. Gulf Shores’ Haunted Hustle 5K and costume parade takes place Oct. 17 at Gulf Place Town Green, The Wharf in Orange Beach hosts a free trunk-or-treat Oct. 28, and Foley’s Hometown Halloween fills downtown Foley on Oct. 29.

For questions about Trek or Treat, contact the Learning Campus at Gulf State Park at 251-923-3101.