Hillsboro: Trick-or-Treat 2026 Runs 5 to 7 p.m. Downtown, with Sunset at 6 p.m.

Hillsboro’s organized trick-or-treating on Saturday, Oct. 31, happens downtown, where participating businesses hand out candy from 5 to 7 p.m. The sun sets at 6 p.m. that evening, which puts the second hour in dusk and then darkness.

On Oct. 24, the city’s events calendars, the library calendar and the police and fire department pages listed no other trick-or-treat or trunk-or-treat event in Hillsboro that day. The table below brings together the Oct. 31 options that official and organizer pages did list, as of Oct. 24. Plans can change before Saturday; check the linked page before you go. For the whole week, see our full Halloween and Día de Muertos events guide.

Two hours on Main Street and the avenues

The city’s Celebrate Spooky Season release lists Trick-or-Treat on Main Street as free for all ages, with no registration. Families walk downtown in costume and stop at participating businesses, which will display a Trick-or-Treat flyer. The release says “the streets will remain open to traffic.”

The Hillsboro Downtown Partnership, which sponsors the event, says on its Halloween page that there are no road closures this year. It describes the area as Main Street and surrounding blocks, and the page includes a map of participating businesses. The partnership traces the tradition to downtown business owners who started a safe trick-or-treat night called “Safe N’ Sane.”

Neighbors can help stock the candy bowls. The partnership and HART Theatre are running a candy drive and will give all donations to participating businesses on Halloween. Donations go to the Downtown Hive, 233 SE Washington St., between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. By our count, that leaves Oct. 28, 29 and 30 for drop-offs.

Families who need a costume can try the partnership’s Free Costume Closet at the same address. The city lists it through Oct. 31, but the partnership’s page gives weekday hours only. Anyone planning a Saturday visit can call 503-640-6145 first.

Sunset comes halfway through

Light is the next thing to plan around. The U.S. Naval Observatory’s sun and moon data for Hillsboro on Oct. 31 puts sunset at 6 p.m. and the end of civil twilight at 6:31 p.m., both Pacific Daylight Time. Daylight saving time is still in effect that night.

Civil twilight is the glow after sunset. The observatory’s definitions page says that after it ends, “artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities.” By our calculation, the last 29 minutes of the downtown event, from 6:31 to 7 p.m., fall after that point. The Killin Time maze runs in the dark from then until 9 p.m.

That is where a flashlight earns its place. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management’s Oct. 19 Halloween safety tips suggest flashlights or glow sticks “to help everyone see and be seen.” They also suggest bright colors or reflective tape on costumes.

What state agencies advise

With traffic still moving downtown, the agency’s street advice applies there too. It asks children to use sidewalks and crosswalks, look left, right and left again, and avoid cutting between parked cars. Young children should go with a trusted adult. Older children going without one should stay in a group, follow an agreed route and have a set time to be home.

The agency also asks drivers to slow down and watch at intersections and driveways for children who may step into the road. For costumes, it suggests a good fit that does not cause trips, and face paint instead of masks that block vision. Since Oregon evenings can be chilly, it suggests warm layers underneath.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Halloween fire safety page adds fire risks to that list. It advises flame-retardant costumes without long, trailing fabric, and battery-operated candles instead of real ones. It also says to keep decorations away from open flames and heat sources, such as light bulbs and heaters, and to keep exits clear.

Households handing out candy get their own checklist from the emergency management agency. It asks them to clear trip hazards, light walkways and keep pets away from the front door. Back home, it advises throwing out any treat that is open, damaged or unusual, and checking labels for children with food allergies.

One last tip costs nothing. The agency suggests every child carry a parent’s or caregiver’s phone number. For young children who have not memorized it, it suggests writing it on a card and putting it somewhere secure.

Top image: Illustrative image, 2023: carved jack-o’-lanterns on a porch in Seattle. Photo: Lianguanlun, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).