Every October, hundreds of people in pointy hats and flowing black capes paddle out onto America's lakes, rivers and harbours. Not on broomsticks — on stand-up paddleboards, kayaks and even dragon boats. These gatherings, known as witch paddles, have quietly become one of the most charming things about spooky season in the United States, and 2026's calendar offers plenty of chances to watch or join in.
The whole thing started innocently enough. In October 2013, Annette Ausseresses and her friends in Morro Bay, California, turned their Halloween-adjacent birthday tradition — usually a witch-costume hike — into a paddle instead. A local news story went global on the AP wire, and in 2017 a Portland woman named Ginny Kauffman brought the idea to the Willamette River. Given that Portland's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird," it took off fast: by 2019 the event drew 200 participants, and copycat paddles started popping up nationwide. After COVID, the appetite for gloriously silly group activities only grew, and witch paddles spread further still.
The original Morro Bay paddle remains the heart of it all, with around 500 people expected on 24 October 2026. Ausseresses is quick to point out that you don't need a SUP — canoes, kayaks, outriggers and even a local dragon boat team all take part. She once rented an electric boat so her 93-year-old mother could join.
Other standout events this October: Lake Havasu City, Arizona, draws more than 600 costumed paddlers and onlookers to the Bridgewater Channel near the London Bridge on 25 October. Littleton, Colorado's Chatfield Reservoir paddle grew so wildly popular after a Facebook post that 14,000 interested people forced a relocation — this year's 17 October event is sold out with 500 participants, though spectators watch free. Sleepy Hollow, New York, the town of the famous ghost story, hosts Hudson River SUP Witchfest at Kingsland Point Park on 10 October; it has swelled from 16 paddlers in 2020 to a full festival with over 100 paddlers, 50 vendors and 1,200 spectators, drawing witches from Ohio, Maryland and beyond. Macon, Georgia's Ocmulgee River float on 5 October began as a fundraiser fighting period poverty and still collects menstrual products. Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Florida — home of the mermaid shows — runs a Halloween-morning paddle down its famously clear river with breakfast, a costume contest and a medal for every paddler ($40 with your own craft, $60 with rental). And in Seattle, Maari Falsetto's Witches, Warlocks and Wizards Paddle on Puget Sound keeps it small and BYOB — bring your own board — on 31 October.
Why care? Because this is exactly the kind of low-stakes, high-delight local tradition that makes a trip memorable. If you're travelling in the US in October, timing a stop around one of these paddles — or just watching from the shore — beats any manufactured Halloween event. Most welcome spectators free, and many let you join by kayak or canoe if you don't own a board.
Story via Outside Online.
