Had a little snow sighting this past weekend on my hike at Devils Head. I snapped a photo of it, but I liked this one better…
Halloween in Castle Rock: the game plan
Last year I spent Halloween week trying to track down Pat, the full-size candy bar guy, on Nextdoor. He never wrote back (I’m over it…mostly). This year there’s an easier way to find the good houses, plus everything else going on between now and the 31st.
Find the good houses — there are still plenty of others flexing full-size candy bars
Nextdoor Treat Map (you'll need to sign in to Nextdoor) — live now through Oct 31. Neighbors pin their house with what they’re handing out, whether it’s decorated and when they’ll be handing out candy, and you can browse it and plan a route without pinning your own. It only shows your block, not your address. Pat, if you’re reading this, this is your moment, big dog.
Home haunts — Frightmaps lists a few yard haunts around here this year: Clements Haunted Hollow (they’re raising money for St. Jude), Rattling Bones in Castle Pines, and more.
Trick-or-treat and trunk-or-treat
Castle Pines Fall Festival, Trick-or-Treat Street and Pumpkin Race — Sat Oct 24, 10am to 2pm at Village Square in Castle Pines. Free.
Boo Bash at the Outlets — Sat Oct 24, 11am to 2pm in the East Courtyard. Free: candy, costumes and activities.
Beastly Bash — Sat Oct 24, 11am to 2pm at Larkspur Community Park, with a haunted area from Larkspur Fire. $5 a person, $15 for a family 4-pack, free for 3 and under.
Dads of Castle Rock Trunk or Treat — Sat Oct 24, 5 to 8pm at Douglas County High School. Free. Decorated trunks, candy, food trucks and bounce houses.
Fangtastic Festival — Fri Oct 30, 11am to 2pm at Festival Park. Free. A daytime trick-or-treat for the little ones not in school yet and homeschool families.
Worth the drive: the HRCA Haunted Forest in Lone Tree, Fri Oct 23 (6:30 to 9:30pm) and Sat Oct 24 (7 to 10pm), $17.42 to $28.06, recommended for ages 10 and up. Younger kids? Fright Lite is Sat 5 to 7pm ($12.09): same trail, lights and music, but the scarers don’t act.
Spooky, for the grown-ups
Ghostly Stories and Tragic Tales — walking tours of downtown from the Castle Rock Museum. 7pm on Oct 21, 22, 28 and 29, plus 1pm on Halloween. Free, but reservations are required: 303-814-3164.
Haunted Histories: Ghosts of Colorado — Thu Oct 29, 6 to 7:30pm at the Castle Pines library. Free.
Halloween parties
Fri Oct 30: 105 West’s Halloween Party and Cereal Killer Competition: their homebrew club taps four beers made with Lucky Charms, Apple Jacks, Golden Grahams and Cinnamon Toast Crunch at 4pm, and the first keg to kick wins. Costume contest at 8pm (loudest crowd wins), and live music from 6:30 to 9:30pm.
Sat Oct 31: The Whiskey Lodge from 7pm to close (free: karaoke, a costume contest and drink and food specials, 21+ after 9pm), Sinners & Saints with DJ Max and DJ Marvin at 8pm (free, and yes, it’s back on), and That Eighties Band at Wide Open Saloon from 7 to 10:30pm ($17.85 to $33.85).
Pumpkins (last call)
Barnside Pumpkins in Sedalia — final weekend, Sat Oct 24 and Sun Oct 25, 10am to 5pm. Free admission.
Lone Creek Farms in Franktown — through Nov 1, with Harvest Glow Lights on Friday and Saturday nights.
Good to know: we’re falling back that night, so it’s a great time to stay out late…
Had a great showing last week for our Castle Pines/Castle Rock dinner. Here’s a shot of the after-party at Border Burger Sports Bar on their third floor.
Next one: Wednesday, October 28. Parker.
Dinner Club is the one where you show up at 6:30pm and sit down with five neighbors you've never met. We do the matching and book the restaurant, and it gets revealed the morning of. You order off the menu and pay for your own food and drinks. After dinner, every table heads to the after-party.
Grab a seat here and use code PARKER5 for $5 off.
Pet Adoptions
I get the vibe that Brewer is a big-time track star who has a hard time sitting still. Looks like he’s licking his chops in anticipation of a walk.
Sports
Broncos — We beat Seattle (17-14) in overtime Thursday night. We led 14-3 at the half, then the Seahawks rallied to force overtime before a late field goal won it. Oh, and Wil Lutz shushed his own fans…? We're 4-2, 2nd in the AFC West behind the Chiefs (5-0). Coach Sean Payton called the defense "magnificent" and said this week he's not considering benching Bo Nix despite an offense that's currently ranked 26th in scoring. We head @ Arizona Sun, Oct 25 at 2:05pm.
Nuggets — We split our last two preseason games, losing to the Clippers (122-110) and beating the Lakers (121-106), to finish the preseason 3-2. The regular season opens @ Oklahoma City Thu, Oct 22, then we host New Orleans Sat, Oct 24 and Golden State Mon, Oct 26.
Julian Strawther will miss the start of the season. He's out at least six weeks after spraining his left knee in the Clippers game.
Avalanche — We're 5-3-1 (11 pts), 3rd in the Central. We went 2-2 this week, beating Dallas on the road (3-2), losing the rematch at home to Dallas in a shootout (3-2), beating Pittsburgh at home (5-2) and losing at Philadelphia Monday night (3-2). We head @ New Jersey Tue, Oct 20, host Tampa Bay Fri, Oct 23, and head @ Nashville Sun, Oct 25.
Cale Makar missed the trip to Dallas for the birth of his and wife Tracy's twins, then was back on the ice for the rematch two nights later.
Rockies — Offseason mode. We finished 58-104, 5th in the NL West. The Rockies parted ways with pitching coach Alon Leichman after one season. TJ Rumfield was named a Gold Glove finalist at first base.
MLB Playoffs — It's Rays vs. Brewers in the World Series. The Brewers swept the Dodgers (4-0) for the NL pennant, and the Rays beat the Guardians (7-3) at home Monday night to take the ALCS (4-2). Game 1 is Friday, Oct 23 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Rapids — We're 9th in the West at 11-13-6 (39 points) through 30 matches. We drew Minnesota at home (2-2) and Portland on the road (0-0) this week. We host Vancouver Sat, Oct 24 at 6:30pm.
Summit FC — We're 10th in the NWSL at 10-10-8 (38 points) through 28 matches. We blew a two-goal lead at home and lost to Angel City (3-2) at Centennial Stadium, a result that leaves our playoff hopes on the brink. We host Racing Louisville Sat, Oct 24 at 4:30pm for our final home match of the season.
Sabercats Football — The Sabercats lost at Regis Jesuit (33-7) and are 3-5. They host Heritage Fri, Oct 23 at 6:30pm. Check out their schedule.
Huskies Football — The Huskies blew out Overland on the road (49-0) and are 7-1. They host Vista PEAK Prep Thu, Oct 22 at 6pm. Check out their schedule.
Want your business in front of 6,300 locals? Reach out if you're interested in sponsoring the newsletter.
Noteworthy
A new restaurant corner next to King Soopers
Council votes tonight on annexing 10.54 acres right next door to the King Soopers on North Ridge Road, to zone it for business, commercial and restaurant uses under the name RidgeView Town Center. The rules require at least one full-service restaurant of 6,000 square feet or more, and there's no housing planned. Right now it’s a single house on well water and septic. Planning Commission already gave it a thumbs up, 5-0.
Also on tonight's agenda: final votes on the 2027 budget and the water/wastewater rate increase (both passed 7-0 on first reading) and the new fireworks and fire-restriction rules (6-1 on first reading). Water rates · Fire pit rules
That wildlife overpass by Larkspur is actually working
Remember North America's largest wildlife overpass, the one that went in on I-25 between Larkspur and Monument? Ten months in, only two animals have been hit crossing there, down 91% from about one a day before it opened. A pronghorn even made it across safely in June, the first one in 20 to 30 years. Travel delays on that stretch are down too, about 9%, since there are fewer crashes to clean up. Elk, coyotes, bears and even bunnies and frogs have all been caught on the trail cameras using it. Full story.
Castle Rock Jobs
Looking for more? Every open job we track across the county lives at dougcosocial.com/jobs.
Best of Douglas County
Don't forget to get your vote in. You can always change it or add more as you try new places.
Tons of categories. Best burger, best green chile, best cinnamon roll, etc. Takes a minute or two. No wrong answers.
Events
Ad
Featured Event: All American Reptile & Plant Expo
Adventure Awaits in Castle Rock
Castle Rock, get ready for a weekend of reptiles, plants, insects, amphibians, face painting, tattoos, food trucks and snake discovery! Opens Friday, Oct 23, at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
Top Events This Week
Thu 10/22 - An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe at Cherokee Ranch, Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 6:30pm–9pm - $65.95
Thu 10/22 - Dueling Pianos Road Show at The Whiskey Lodge, The Whiskey Lodge - 7:30pm–9:30pm - $27.50–$160
Sat 10/24 - Whiskey Tasting: Islay Single Malt Scotch at Cherokee Ranch, Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 6pm–9pm - $86.95
Sat 10/24 - Live Music: Wirewood Station at 105 West, 105 West Brewing Company - 6:30pm–9:30pm - Free
Tuesday, 10/20:
Douglas County Libraries - Philip S. Miller Library - Slick Science: Catapults - 5pm–6pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - Make & Mingle at Sinners & Saints - 5pm–7pm - Free
Pines Bar and Grill - Trivia Night at Pines Bar and Grill - 6pm–8pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Tuesday Trivia at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm - Free
Honnibrook Craft Meadery - Trivia Night: Classic Slasher Films at Honnibrook Craft Meadery - 7pm–9pm - Free
Wednesday, 10/21:
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Arts Afield 2026 at Cherokee Ranch - 8:30am–12:30pm - $39
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21–$24
Louviers - DLC Watercolor Class: Moon & Trees - 10am–12pm - Free
Douglas County Libraries - Philip S. Miller Library - Bark for Books - 3:30pm–5pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - PTO Spirit Night: Renaissance at 105 West - 4pm–9pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Trails N’ Ales Mountain Bike Ride at 105 West - 6pm–7pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Music Bingo at 105 West - 6pm–8pm - Free
Alidade Brewing - Music Bingo at Alidade - 6pm–8pm - Free
Cantril School Building - TAP Talk: A Creative Journey Exhibition Opening - 6pm–7:30pm - Free
Pines Bar and Grill - Karaoke Night at Pines Bar and Grill - 6pm–9pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - EXTREME BINGO: The Haunted Party Edition at Sinners & Saints - 6:30pm–9:30pm - $30
Thursday, 10/22:
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21–$24
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Afternoon Tea at the Castle - 1pm–3pm - $74.95
Douglas County Libraries - Philip S. Miller Library - Junior Page Turners - Book Club - 4:30pm–5:30pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - Thursday Line Dancing at Wide Open Saloon - 6pm–10pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Trivia Night at 105 West Brewing - 6pm–8:30pm - Free
Crowfoot Valley Coffee & Crowbar - Trivia Night - 6pm–8pm - Free
Friday, 10/23:
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21–$24
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Afternoon Tea at the Castle - 1pm–3pm - $74.95
Cantril School Building - Author Showcase and Book Fair - 4:30pm–7:30pm - Free
Douglas County Fairgrounds and Event Center - Amazing Art Expo - Fri 10/23–Sun 10/25, 6pm - Free (VIP $18.24–$34.43)
RNK Running and Walking - Ladies Night at RNK Running & Walking Castle Rock - 6pm–8pm - Free
Village Square Shopping Area - Bonfire, BBQ, and Brews - 6pm–9pm - $42 adults, $30 under 21
The Stagecoach Saloon - Raven-Wolf Band at The Stagecoach Saloon - 6:30pm–10:30pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Friday Karaoke at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - Wendy Woo — Live at the Altar - 8pm–10pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - ReCline at Wide Open Saloon - Free
Saturday, 10/24:
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21–$24
Village Square Shopping Area - Chili Cook Off at Castle Pines Fall Festival - 10am–12pm - Free (spectators); $20 chili contest entry
Alidade Brewing - Beats & Brunch at Alidade Brewing - 11am–2pm - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Afternoon Tea at the Castle - 1pm–3pm - $74.95
The Stagecoach Saloon - Wags and the Boys at The Stagecoach Saloon - 6:30pm–10:30pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Saturday Live Music at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - Dueling Pianos at Wide Open Saloon - 7pm–10:30pm - $12.51–$33.85
Alidade Brewing - Free Comedy Night with Rotating Tap Comedy at Alidade Brewing - 7pm–10pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - Live DJ in the Lounge with ‘DJ Marvin’ - 9pm–12am - Free
Sunday, 10/25:
lululemon - Yoga Flow with Big Jack at lululemon Castle Rock - 9am–11am - Free
The Old North End Restaurant & Deli - Live Music with Dave Miller - 5:30pm–7:30pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Sunday Karaoke at The Whiskey Lodge - 6pm - Free
Monday, 10/26:
Douglas County Libraries - Philip S. Miller Library - Page Twisters - Book Club - 4:30pm–5:30pm - Free
Alidade Brewing - Mah Jongg Monday at Alidade Brewing - 5pm–8pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Trails N' Ales Run Club at 105 West - 6pm–7pm - Free
Looking for more? Every Douglas County event we track lives on our events calendar: dougcosocial.com/events.
Heads up on events that are further out:
Provision - Bruichladdich Vault Experience at Provision - Tue 10/27, 6pm–8pm - $120
The Old North End Restaurant & Deli - Byron Miller Live! - Thu 10/29, 6pm–8pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - Winchester Road at Wide Open Saloon - Fri 10/30 - Free
AdventHealth Castle Rock - Mommy and Me Market - Fri 10/30 - Free
Sinners & Saints - Hot Boots Duo — Live at the Altar - Fri 10/30, 8pm–10pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Live Music: Last Call at 105 West - Sat 10/31, 6:30pm–9:30pm - Free
The Stagecoach Saloon - The Band These Guys at The Stagecoach Saloon - Sat 10/31, 6:30pm–10:30pm - Free
Worth the drive: other Douglas County events can be found in our sister newsletter, DougCo Drop — subscribe below.
⚠️ Please verify event details and availability with the respective venues or organizers, as schedules may change.
Let us know of any events, locations, establishments, or businesses that you would like us to highlight in coming editions. [email protected]
If someone forwarded this to you, join the crew and subscribe here! And/or subscribe to our sister newsletter at the county level.
Local partners and occasional affiliate links help support Castle Rock Crew and keep it free for readers.
