Halloween 2026 Falls on a Saturday, Then Clocks Fall Back: Sunset and Dark Times for Trick-or-Treating by City

Halloween 2026 falls on Saturday, Oct. 31, the first Saturday Halloween since 2020, and the clocks fall back a few hours later. Trick-or-treaters will head out under a moonless sky: the Moon does not rise until about 11 p.m. in most U.S. cities. Then, at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, daylight saving time ends and the clocks go back to 1 a.m., handing most of the country an extra hour after the parties.

Sunset and dark on Halloween 2026

“Dark” here is the end of civil twilight, when the sky is too dim to read outdoors without light. Times are local daylight time from the U.S. Naval Observatory; Phoenix stays on standard time all year.

City	Sunset	Dark	Moonrise
New York, NY	5:53 p.m.	6:22 p.m.	10:59 p.m.
Boston, MA	5:39 p.m.	6:08 p.m.	10:41 p.m.
Philadelphia, PA	5:59 p.m.	6:27 p.m.	11:06 p.m.
Washington, DC	6:09 p.m.	6:36 p.m.	11:17 p.m.
Atlanta, GA	6:46 p.m.	7:12 p.m.	after midnight
Miami, FL	6:40 p.m.	7:04 p.m.	after midnight
Detroit, MI	6:27 p.m.	6:56 p.m.	11:32 p.m.
Chicago, IL	5:46 p.m.	6:15 p.m.	10:52 p.m.
Minneapolis, MN	6:02 p.m.	6:33 p.m.	11:05 p.m.
Dallas, TX	6:37 p.m.	7:02 p.m.	11:57 p.m.
Houston, TX	6:35 p.m.	7:00 p.m.	11:59 p.m.
Denver, CO	5:59 p.m.	6:27 p.m.	11:12 p.m.
Phoenix, AZ	5:37 p.m.	6:03 p.m.	11:00 p.m.
Seattle, WA	5:53 p.m.	6:25 p.m.	10:57 p.m.
San Francisco, CA	6:12 p.m.	6:39 p.m.	11:31 p.m.
Los Angeles, CA	6:01 p.m.	6:27 p.m.	11:24 p.m.

In the East and Midwest it is fully dark by about 6:30 p.m., so younger children who trick-or-treat at dusk have barely half an hour of daylight left after sunset. In Atlanta, Miami and Texas it stays light until nearly 7 p.m.

A Saturday Halloween, and when the next one is

Weekday Halloweens squeeze trick-or-treating between school, work and bedtime. A Saturday frees up the afternoon and the next morning. The last Saturday Halloween was in 2020; after this year the next is in 2037, because the calendar’s weekday pattern skips Saturday for a decade.

Trick-or-treat hours are set locally. Many cities and towns post official times on their websites or social media in the week before Halloween; check yours. Some communities hold trunk-or-treat events in parking lots, often in the afternoon or early evening.

The extra hour comes after Halloween

Nothing changes on the clock during trick-or-treating. The switch happens at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks go back to 1 a.m. and standard time returns, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. For anyone still up, the 1 a.m. hour happens twice, and Sunday is 25 hours long.

Most phones change on their own; oven and car clocks may not. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Our daylight saving time report covers the switch, and the when does daylight saving time end page lists future dates.

The Moon on Halloween

The Hunter’s Moon is full on Oct. 26, five days earlier, so on Halloween night the Moon is a waning gibbous, about 63% lit. It rises late, around 11 p.m. in most cities, which makes the trick-or-treat hours unusually dark. Reflective tape, glow sticks or a small flashlight help drivers see children.

What follows Halloween

Halloween weekend runs straight into Día de los Muertos on Nov. 1 and 2; our Day of the Dead 2026 guide has the dates and traditions. Election Day follows on Tuesday, Nov. 3. For the date of Halloween in other years, see when is Halloween, and plan the week on an October 2026 calendar. The free printable below lists sunset, dark and moonrise for all 16 cities with room to plan your route.