What’s Happening at The Lake: Elkhorn Oktoberfest, Fall Color and Halloween Events, October 12-18, 2026
The short version
Elkhorn Oktoberfest 2026 is Saturday, October 17, from 9 AM to 5 PM in downtown Elkhorn. It’s free, it runs rain or shine, and live music starts at 11 AM. The classic car show starts parking at 8.
The rest of the week is costumes and color. The Dan Patch haunted hayride runs Friday and Saturday night at its new spot behind the Emagine theater. East Troy’s Trick-or-Treat Train leaves at 5 and 6 PM Friday. And the trees around Geneva Lake are turning, though peak is probably still a week or so out.
Plan ahead: the Trick-or-Treat Train needs advance reservations. Yerkes tickets are online only. The hayride is cash only, with no reservations at all.
Monday the 12th is the tail end of Columbus Day weekend, so the lake stays busy into the afternoon. By Tuesday it’s quiet again.
Then Saturday stacks up. Brats and a car show in Elkhorn. The moon through a telescope in Williams Bay. Then a wagon full of screaming people after dark.
Week at a glance
Mon 12
Holiday Monday
Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Fall boat tours are running from the Riviera Docks, and the ghost walk goes out at 7:30 PM.
Boat tours from $43
Tue 13 to Thu 15
Quiet lake, turning trees
Weekday tables downtown and a Shore Path you’ll mostly have to yourself. Thursday is the farmers market at Horticultural Hall.
Free
Fri 16
Costume train, hayride, Tom Petty
Trick-or-Treat Train at 5 and 6 PM in East Troy. Hayride opens at 6. The Wildflowers play the Belfry at 7.
Hayride $25 cash
Sat 17 ★ Big day
Elkhorn Oktoberfest
9 AM to 5 PM downtown Elkhorn. Moon Night at Yerkes from 7 to 9. Hayride until 11.
Oktoberfest is free
Sun 18
Harvest train and farm stands
East Troy’s Harvest Fest trains run to The Elegant Farmer from 10 AM. Pearce’s Farm Stand in Walworth is open all day.
Train $19 adults
Elkhorn Oktoberfest, Saturday, October 17
Elkhorn’s Oktoberfest always lands on the third Saturday of October. That makes it the last big one in the area, a week after Lake Geneva’s.
It’s a courthouse-square festival. Food vendors line Wisconsin Street, crafters fill the park, and the All Around Town Beer/Wine Tasting sends you into downtown shops and bars to sample. Food and craft vendor spots are already full, which tells you how big it gets.
Elkhorn Oktoberfest
Best for: a day trip that mixes a car show with a beer tent. Do the cars in the morning and the North Stage in the afternoon.
Skip it if: you want water views. Elkhorn sits about 15 minutes inland from Geneva Lake. Pair it with a lake stop later in the day (the Saturday plan below does that).
Parking: the Chamber posted a parking map on its Oktoberfest page. Expect the side streets closest to the square to fill by late morning.
Want the craft beer version of the day? Duesterbeck’s Brewing is a few minutes west of town on County Road O, and its beer has poured at Elkhorn Oktoberfest before. Check their calendar for Saturday hours.
Halloween events this week
There are 3 after-dark picks this week. The train is built for little kids, the hayride gets properly scary once it’s dark, and the ghost walk sits somewhere in between. All of them are within about 30 minutes of downtown Lake Geneva.
Dan Patch Stables Haunted Hayride
The hayride moved for 2026. Grand Geneva took the old haunted woods in a different direction, so it now runs behind the Emagine movie theater. There’s no haunted barn this year.
Common mistake: buying tickets and leaving to come back later. Your number gets called by the bonfire, and if you miss it you’re waiting for whatever wagon has room. Plan to stay on the property.
All dates depend on weather. Dan Patch asks you to check its website for changes instead of calling.
East Troy Trick-or-Treat Train
Kids ride a historic electric train in costume for 25 minutes to Jim Byrnes Memorial Park. They trick-or-treat, play games and hit the playground, then ride back and each pick a pumpkin at the depot.
Lake Geneva Ghost Walks
A 90-minute walk through downtown Lake Geneva’s darker stories, with stops like the Maxwell Mansion and the Baker House. It’s history first, and the guides tell stories instead of staging scares.
Best for: adults and older kids who’d rather hear a good story than get chased. Wear real shoes. It’s a walk.
Also on the calendar this week
- The Wildflowers, a Tom Petty tribute at the Belfry Music Theatre, 3601 WI-67 in Delavan, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM. Box office 262-394-6460.
- International Observe the Moon Night at Yerkes Observatory, 373 W. Geneva Street in Williams Bay, Saturday 7 to 9 PM. Telescopes on the South Lawn, $10 adults and $5 kids, online tickets only. Parking is on site for 2026 open houses.
- Harvest Fest trains between the East Troy Depot and The Elegant Farmer, Saturday and Sunday. First train 10 AM from East Troy, last train back about 4 PM. $19 adults, $16.50 seniors and military, $13 ages 3 to 14.
- Pearce’s Farm Stand at W5740 N. Walworth Road in Walworth, with pumpkins, cider donuts and the corn maze through October 31.
- Lake Geneva Cruise Line fall tours from the Riviera Docks through October 31. The Best of the Lake tour is 1 hour for $43, and the Full Lake tour is 2 hours for $57.
Fall color around Geneva Lake this week
Mid-October is a little early here. The Wisconsin DNR puts southern Wisconsin’s peak in the latter half of October, so this week the maples run ahead and the oaks are still mostly green.
That’s fine. Partial color on a mild afternoon beats peak color in a cold rain, and the crowds will probably be lighter than the following weekend.
Where to look
- From the water. A fall boat tour is the easiest way to see the hillsides and the estate grounds at once. Take the 2-hour Full Lake tour if you want the quieter west end too.
- The Shore Path. It’s public around the whole lake. Walk a short stretch out of Williams Bay or west from the library in downtown Lake Geneva and you’ll get trees, lawns and water in every frame.
- Big Foot Beach State Park. Right on the edge of town, with wooded trails and a lagoon. Easy to fit in under an hour.
- Kettle Moraine State Forest, Southern Unit. About 35 minutes north near Eagle. The DNR lists it among its fall hikes, and it’s the biggest stretch of woods in the area.
- Yerkes grounds. The Olmsted-designed landscape in Williams Bay is open for Saturday’s Moon Night, and it’s lit with candles the following weekend.
One Saturday: Oktoberfest, the moon and the hayride
Here’s how to stack all 3 into one day without rushing.
- 10:00 AMPark in Elkhorn and walk the car show while it’s still easy to get close.
- 11:00 AMMusic starts. Sign up for stein hoisting at the North Stage if you’re competitive.
- 1:00 PMGrab lunch from the Wisconsin Street vendors and catch the Stateline Playboys set.
- 3:30 PMDrive to Williams Bay, about 20 minutes.
- 4:30 PMWalk the Shore Path or the beach, then dinner. Pier 290 sits right on the water.
- 7:00 PMMoon Night at Yerkes. You booked ahead, right?
- 9:15 PMHead to the hayride on Highway 120, about 15 minutes. Scary rides are running by now and the line is shorter than it was at 7.
Compare this week’s events
| Event | When | Cost | Book ahead? | Best for | Rain plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhorn Oktoberfest | Sat 9 AM to 5 PM | Free entry | No | Day trip, car show, beer tasting | Rain or shine |
| Haunted hayride | Fri and Sat 6 to 11 PM | $25 / $10, cash | Can’t | Teens and adults; kid wagons 6 to 7 | Weather pending |
| Trick-or-Treat Train | Fri 5 and 6 PM | $12 to $32.50 | Required | Kids in costume | Delays for thunderstorms |
| Ghost walk | Nightly 7:30 PM | About $34 | Recommended | Local history fans | Check with organizer |
| Moon Night at Yerkes | Sat 7 to 9 PM | $5 / $10 | Required, online | Curious kids and adults | Rain or shine |
| Tom Petty tribute | Fri and Sat 7 PM | See Belfry | Yes | Date night | Indoors |
Day by day, October 12 to 18
Monday, October 12
Holiday traffic heads south by mid-afternoon. Fall boat tours run from the Riviera Docks. Ghost walk at 7:30 PM.
Tuesday, October 13 and Wednesday, October 14
The quiet days. Walk the Shore Path, take a weekday cruise, or drive the back roads toward Walworth and Pearce’s Farm Stand.
Thursday, October 15
Lake Geneva’s farmers market at Horticultural Hall, 330 Broad Street, in the morning. Ghost walk at 7:30 PM.
Friday, October 16
Trick-or-Treat Train in East Troy at 5 and 6 PM. Haunted hayride from 6 to 11 PM. The Wildflowers at the Belfry at 7 PM.
Saturday, October 17
Car show parking at 8 AM and Elkhorn Oktoberfest from 9 to 5. Harvest Fest trains in East Troy. Moon Night at Yerkes from 7 to 9 PM. Hayride and the Belfry again at night.
Sunday, October 18
Harvest Fest trains from 10 AM. Pearce’s Farm Stand and a last boat tour before the drive home.
Save the date: next week
- October 23 and 24: the Yerkes Candlelight Walk, 7 to 9:30 PM, through 2,000 candles on the Olmsted grounds. $15 adults, $10 ages 18 and under. Park at Williams Bay High School, 500 W. Geneva Street, and ride the free shuttle.
- October 23 and 24: Stairway to Zeppelin, a Led Zeppelin tribute, at the Belfry, 7 PM.
- October 23, 24, 30 and 31: the haunted hayride’s last 4 nights.
- October 23 and 30: the last 2 Trick-or-Treat Train Fridays.
- October 25: last weekend for East Troy’s Harvest Fest trains.
For everything else, see What’s Happening at The Lake, the Lake Geneva events calendar and last week’s Oktoberfest and Pumpkin Fest roundup.
Elkhorn, Williams Bay or right on the lake?
This week covers 3 very different towns. Elkhorn is the county seat, with a courthouse square and a festival calendar that runs from spring food trucks to the Christmas Card Town parade. Williams Bay has Yerkes, a public beach and Pier 290. Downtown Lake Geneva has the Riviera and the Shore Path at its front door.
Kim and Joel Reyenga of eXp Realty are based in Williams Bay and work all of them. Call (262) 325-9867 and they’ll walk you through what’s for sale near the places you already like.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Kim and Joel Reyenga, eXp Realty, Williams Bay, Wisconsin.
Frequently asked questions
When is Elkhorn Oktoberfest 2026?
Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 9 AM to 5 PM in downtown Elkhorn, centered at 100 W. Walworth Street. Admission is free and it runs rain or shine. The classic car show starts parking at 8 AM.
Who is playing at Elkhorn Oktoberfest 2026?
D'Lite Duo plays the Main Stage from 11 AM to 1 PM. The Stateline Playboys featuring The Zweifel Brothers play the North Stage from 1 to 4 PM. The D'Lite Duo Band closes the Main Stage from 2 to 5 PM.
Is the Dan Patch haunted hayride open October 16 and 17, 2026?
Yes. It runs Friday and Saturday from 6 to 11 PM at its new location behind the Emagine theater, 2567 Highway 120 in Lake Geneva. Tickets go on sale at 5:45 PM, cash only, $25 for adults and $10 for ages 4 to 10. There are no reservations and no haunted barn this year.
Do I need reservations for the East Troy Trick-or-Treat Train?
Yes, advance reservations are required. Trains leave the East Troy Depot at 2002 Church Street at 5 and 6 PM on Friday, October 16. Tickets are $32.50 for ages 15 and up, $29 for ages 3 to 14, and $12 for ages 0 to 2.
When do fall colors peak around Lake Geneva?
The Wisconsin DNR puts southern Wisconsin's peak in the latter half of October. During October 12 to 18 expect color that's still building, with maples ahead of the oaks. The last week of October is usually the stronger bet.
What's happening at Yerkes Observatory on October 17, 2026?
Yerkes holds an International Observe the Moon Night open house from 7 to 9 PM, with telescopes on the South Lawn and activities indoors. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids, sold online only, and parking is on site this year.
What can I do around Lake Geneva if it rains this weekend?
Elkhorn Oktoberfest and the Yerkes open house both run rain or shine. The Belfry Music Theatre in Delavan is indoors, with a Tom Petty tribute Friday and Saturday at 7 PM. The haunted hayride and the Trick-or-Treat Train can change plans for weather, so check their pages before you drive.
See you at the lake.
