Ocean Lakes Is Doing Halloweekends Without Its Pool This Year. Here's What the Calendar Looks Like Instead.

Every Halloweekend event on the 2026 Ocean Lakes schedule happens at the Recreation Center, in the beachside golf car parking lot, or along the streets in front of decorated sites. Sandy Harbor's indoor pool, outdoor pool and mini golf course closed on September 8 for demolition, and nothing on the October calendar needs any of them. Halloweekends run every Friday and Saturday this month, on October 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 and 30-31. The last weekend ends on Halloween itself.

Three Addresses Cover the Whole Month

Ocean Lakes lists programming for Thursday through Saturday, and the locations repeat. Nearly everything is at the Recreation Center on Periwinkle Drive. The exceptions are the Saturday food truck festival and golf car contest, which use the beachside golf car lot, and the trick-or-treating and site decorating, which happen at the sites themselves.

Ocean Lakes also lists mobile laser tag in Room A at $10 per person for each 15-minute game. Returning within the three-hour session costs nothing extra if space allows. A costume dance with a live DJ runs from 7 to 9 PM in the Recreation Center. Ocean Lakes' Halloweekends page has the current details for each.

The food truck schedule matters for planning. Ocean Lakes says additional trucks come Thursday through Sunday all October, and its food truck page still said the 2026 schedule was to be announced when it was last updated. Check the site or the Ocean Lakes app before you count on a particular truck.

The Saturday Clock Has Deadlines Stacked Inside It

Saturday is where the sign-up times collide, and the sequence is easy to miss. Here is how the day runs from the posted rules:

1. 9 AM to noon. Drop off a carved, painted or decorated pumpkin in Room A of the Recreation Center. It must be a real pumpkin to win.
2. By 9:30 AM. Golf car contestants sign up at the Recreation Office. They then arrive by 9:45 to set up and stay until 11.
3. 10 to 11 AM. Voting on the golf cars, cast through the Ocean Lakes app or website. Prizes go to Best Theme Execution, Most Unique and Best Overall, and winners are posted on the Recreation Center doors by 5 PM.
4. 1:30 to 3 PM. Costume contests, in the order 1 and under, 2 to 4, 5 to 7, 8 to 12, 13 and up, Duo, then Family/Group. Categories are Funniest, Cutest, Most Creative, Best DIY Costume and Best Overall.
5. By 2 PM. Anyone who wants to hand out treats, or enter a site in the decorating contest, signs up at the Recreation Office. This lands in the middle of the costume block, so the Recreation Center is busy at the exact moment the sign-up line forms.
6. 4 PM onward. Site judges pick up the "Sites & Lights" list at the Recreation Office, and the Cruise & Choose tour begins.
7. 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Trick o' Treating.
8. By 9:30 PM. All site votes must be in through the app or website, one vote per family. Site winners are posted by 9 AM Sunday.

Both voting windows run through the app or website, so a phone with signal and the app installed is part of the Saturday kit. The decorating contest has four prize categories, Most Creative, Best Theme Execution, Best Overall Decorated House and Best Overall Decorated Campsite. Houses and campsites are judged as separate groups.

What the Pool Closure Changes on the Ground

The Recreation Center sits next to Sandy Harbor Family Fun Center. Sandy Harbor is now a construction and staging area, and Ocean Lakes has said the demolished pools and mini golf footprint will hold materials, supplies and equipment during the work. Pool-area parking is limited, and overflow parking at the Jackson Residence is offered while the Water Park is open. On a Saturday with contests at the Recreation Center, extra time and a golf car are the practical answer.

The Adventure (lazy) River stands in as the pool when weather and construction conditions permit. Ocean Lakes plans to switch off the river motors so guests of all ages can use it, with lifeguard-approved vests required under its pool rules. The Splash Zone structure is planned to stay open for kids, though the slides may be closed. Ocean Lakes has also said the Game Center and food service will see temporary closings, and it warns guests in the HH Section to expect daily noise from equipment moving through the area.

Mini golf is the loose end. Ocean Lakes says it is working on relocating the course to a nearby location and has not yet named the site. Its homepage lists Sandy Harbor Mini Golf as closed. One rental management company has told its guests that nothing except the arcade will be open until Memorial Day 2027. Ocean Lakes' own pages are less absolute, so Ocean Lakes' amenities page is the source to trust for what is open on a given day.

Ocean Lakes announced the project on July 2 and targets Memorial Day Weekend 2027 for the finished facilities. The plan includes a resort-style outdoor pool of 6,114 square feet with cabanas and a 24,327 square foot indoor building. The earlier post on the pool teardown covers what is being built and why it was designed for the cooler months.

Gate Hours and Mask Rules

Two rules apply to every Halloweekend. The South Gate is open Fridays and Saturdays from 8 AM to midnight and Sundays from 8 AM to 4 PM. Full masks and face coverings cannot be worn in Ocean Lakes businesses, including Sandy Mart, the RV Center, Golf Cars, the Main Office, Ocean Lakes Properties and Sandy Harbor. The exception is Saturday trick-or-treating from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Full masks are also not allowed while driving a golf car, because security uses visual identification to spot underage drivers. Halloweekend activities are limited to guests staying at Ocean Lakes and annual leaseholders, and outside characters are not permitted.

After October, the Calendar Keeps Filling

Ocean Lakes has posted a Thanksgiving-week lineup that includes the Starfish Strut Family 5K, Thanksgiving Bingo, Pie Bingo and a gingerbread house contest. It also lists tree trimming, an ugly sweater contest and visits with Santa. The exact 2026 dates for these are not posted yet, and the Ocean Lakes calendar page is the place to watch. One date on the site refers to Santa arriving on a Saturday, November 30, which does not match this year's calendar, so wait for the updated listing.

The Polar Bear Plunge is set for December 31 at 3 PM. Online registration opens November 16, and the pre-plunge party begins at 1:30 PM on the beach by the Observation Deck. Sign-up closes at noon on December 31. The event page says nearly 800 people took part in 2024, and participants are asked to bring two canned goods for South Strand Helping Hand. Like Halloweekends, the Plunge is open only to guests and annual leaseholders. Online registrants pick up wristbands and packets at the Recreation Office starting December 29, and packets must be collected by December 31.

If Halloweekends have you wondering what your Ocean Lakes lease site is worth today, Coastal Beach Homes can put a number on it. Jan and Dan Sitter will walk you through it on the home valuation page.