"As far as we know, it's the only haunted house in the foothills," Kathy Dekker, events and marketing coordinator for the Evergreen Park & Recreation District, told the Canyon Courier this fall.
That haunted house sits in a building next to Buchanan Fields, the district park nearest to Soda Creek and M&B. This Friday, Oct. 30, it runs the same evening as the district's Trick-or-Treat Trail and the last free movie of the summer series. That puts three different Halloween nights on one 42-acre property, each built for a different age group, while crews keep working on a skatepark, a pavilion and an indoor pool a short walk from the ball fields.
The Canyon Courier put it as the district's "evolving efforts to provide up-the-hill Halloween options for the community." Friday is when all of those options run at once.
Friday, Oct. 30, on one property
Buchanan Park sits at Evergreen Parkway and Ellingwood Trail. The recreation center's address is 32003 Ellingwood Trail. Here is how the evening lines up:
| Event | Where | Time | Cost | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trick-or-Treat Trail | Buchanan Park Ball Fields | 4 to 8 p.m. | $5 per trick-or-treater, plus fee | Younger kids |
| Movie in the Park: E.T. | Buchanan Park Ballfields | Starts at sunset, once the screen is visible | Free | Everyone |
| Nightmare at 1520 | Building next to Buchanan Fields | 7 to 9:30 p.m. | $20 or $30, plus fees | Teens and adults |
The trail runs until 8 p.m. and the haunt opens at 7, so for one hour the trick-or-treat booths and the haunted maze run side by side. A household with a 6-year-old and a 15-year-old can bring both to the same park on the same night, and each can pick the event that fits.
The house next to the fields
Nightmare at 1520 isn't in a temporary tent. The Canyon Courier describes the building as a former home that later became business space before the district bought it. Paid and volunteer actors work haunted scenes along a maze that goes in and out of the house.
The district is upfront about who it's for. "It is a true haunted house and not recommended for young children," Dekker said in the same Canyon Courier article, crediting the district's park operations team with building it.
The season ends this week. Of the dates on the district's Nightmare at 1520 page, three are left.
- Remaining nights: Thursday, Oct. 29; Friday, Oct. 30; Saturday, Oct. 31
- Hours: 7 to 9:30 p.m.
- Rating: PG17. The district calls it the scariest haunted house in the foothills and requires kids to be supervised.
- Softer option: "Anti-scare sticks" are available to cut down on jump scares.
- Soundtrack: DJ Continental plays every night.
- Getting there: Map to 1521 Bergen Parkway, then follow the signs to the haunt.
Tickets are sold through Humanitix. General admission is $20 for one trip through, and $30 buys unlimited trips. Online fees are $2.07 and $2.46. The district says prices go up at the door. The $30 pass is worth a look for anyone who plans to go through more than once or bring friends back later in the evening, since it costs $10 more than a single trip.
The trail and the movie
For kids too young for the house, the Trick-or-Treat Trail takes over the ball fields from 4 to 8 p.m. with candy booths to walk through, inflatables and food trucks.
Every trick-or-treater needs a ticket, which is $5 plus a $1.49 fee on Humanitix. Everything else on the ball fields is free, including the movie. Parents, older siblings and neighbors who just come for the film don't need a ticket.
E.T. starts at sunset, once it's dark enough to see the screen. According to the Canyon Courier, Movie in the Park has run on the last Friday of every month since June, and this screening is the series finale. Friday is the last outdoor screening of the year at Buchanan.
Anyone who wants to help can sign up through the volunteer link on the event page. Groups that want to host a candy booth can email Kathy at [email protected].
What the fences are building
Friday's events will use the park as it is now: ball fields, a former house, and a screen set up for the night. The construction around them is meant to add the permanent gathering spaces the park doesn't have yet.
The district's Buchanan Park improvements page lists the planned features. They include a community pavilion with a stage, a park plaza and gathering spaces with a water feature, an all-abilities adventure playground, an all-wheels park, an aquatics expansion and an outdoor game area. The Jefferson County Planning & Zoning Commission approved the master plan unanimously in October 2025. The district credits property tax revenue and voters' approval of ballot measure 6C in 2023 for making the project possible.
The district's project updates page traces the 2026 groundbreakings: the aquatics expansion on April 2, the all-wheels skatepark on May 26 and the pavilion on June 10. Between January and August, crews also began site prep for the pavilion footers and drainage for the skatepark. The district's September 2026 update adds a new RAD shed at Buchanan Park, built with Jeffco Open Space, for future bike and track-chair programs.
The Canyon Courier's construction report adds some detail:
- The three projects are being built at the same time to save money on grading, road construction and other shared work, according to district executive director Cory Vander Veen.
- The total program at Buchanan Park comes to $22 million, based on a strategic plan the district started in 2023.
- The skatepark was designed by Jaxon Statzell, an Evergreen High School graduate who works for California Skateparks.
- The natatorium is an 11,000-square-foot pool addition due next spring.
- The timeline runs long, with parts of the park under construction until 2028.
The community helped pay for some of these pieces directly. In August 2025, Friends of Buchanan Park raised more than $80,000, split among the inclusive playground, the performance pavilion and the skatepark.
The district's schedule calls for the all-wheels park and the pavilion to be finished in fall 2026. The aquatics expansion is due in spring 2027, and phase 1 of the adventure playground is set for fall or winter 2026. The district calls this schedule preliminary and subject to change. The Courier expected the skatepark and pavilion to be done in October. If that schedule holds, this could be the last Halloween at Buchanan without a permanent stage nearby.
After Saturday
The haunt closes after Oct. 31, but the park stays busy into November. On Friday, Nov. 6, the recreation center hosts Kids' Night Out: Talent Takeover from 6 to 9 p.m. for ages 4 to 12. The next big date on the district's schedule is spring 2027, when the 11,000-square-foot natatorium is due to open at the recreation center.
A $22 million rebuild of the closest district park changes everyday life in Soda Creek and M&B: where kids skate, where neighbors swim, and where events like Friday's will be held in future years. Julia Purrington-Paluck tracks projects like this across the Evergreen foothills, and her engineering background helps her read a construction schedule as well as a listing. If you'd like to talk about what the Buchanan Park build-out could mean for your home or your plans, Colorado Foothills Living is glad to help. Schedule a Foothills Consultation.
