On September 24, Old Bridge Township called off Old Bridge Day because of the weather forecast. Both the September 26 date and the September 27 rain date were canceled. The same township notice asked residents to come to three upcoming fall events: the Cultural Arts Harvest Festival on October 10, the Halloween Spooktacular on October 17, and a Howl-O-Ween Party for Dogs on October 24.
Two of those three are at the same place. Cottrell Farm Park is the former Cottrell family apple orchard where Cottrell Road meets Route 516. It is now where Old Bridge's fall happens, and that changes how you plan a Saturday there.
Three dates in nine days on one property
Cottrell Farm Park hosted most of this month's town events within about a week:
- Friday, October 9. The township's October 2026 senior center calendar listed a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk at the park.
- Saturday, October 10. Old Bridge Cultural Arts held its free Harvest Festival there from noon to 5 p.m., with games, crafts, music, vendors and food.
- Saturday, October 17. The township's Halloween Spooktacular runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with "fun, games, music" on the flyer.
The most useful line on the Spooktacular flyer is about parking. The Parks & Recreation page says overflow parking will be in the Municipal Parking Lot, with a shuttle bus running to the park. The township expects more cars than the park's own lot can hold. If you plan to arrive close to 11 a.m., the municipal lot may turn out to be your starting point.
The 2026 flyer is short. It doesn't list a fee, registration or rain date. Last year's Spooktacular, held October 18, 2025, at the same park and the same hours, was listed as free for all ages, with a DJ, face painting and games. That's a reasonable guide to the format, but it describes 2025. If the weather looks shaky the night before, the recreation page is the place to check.
Why a farm park can carry a whole season
These events work at Cottrell because of what the property used to be. MyCentralJersey reported in 2020 that the 21.5-acre park at 3910 Old Bridge Matawan Road was once the Cottrell apple orchard. The family also grew fruit and vegetables there, made cider and ran a distillery. The same report says the township and county bought the land for about $9.6 million in 2010. Quo Vadis gives the joint purchase date as March 31, 2011, with Middlesex County holding the title.
The farmhouse is still there, and even its age depends on who you ask. Quo Vadis carried a Madison-Old Bridge Township Historical Society account that dates the current house to 1831. In that account, it replaced a house that burned in 1820. Another report from the same period dates it to 1840.
The farm's layout is what makes it suit a festival. The redeveloped park has an amphitheater, a picnic pavilion, a multi-purpose plaza, a playground, a splash pad, a community garden, a memorial garden, a comfort station and trails connecting them, all next to the farmhouse and outbuildings. Coverage also names a Great Lawn, the Pool Cottage, a barn and a stone garage. It doesn't list any dedicated athletic field. The park was built for gatherings, with no league schedule competing for the space.
The township has wanted this for a while. A 2018 park proposal listed summer concerts, Shakespeare in the Park, the annual Old Bridge Day vendor event and seasonal gatherings among the uses it had in mind. October 2026 is the clearest example yet of seasonal gatherings landing there.
The rest of Halloween is spread around town
Cottrell has the big township events. Everything else this month happens in smaller rooms across Old Bridge, from the municipal complex to Route 9 to Laurence Harbor. Several of these line up well with the Spooktacular if you plan the week around it.
Friday, October 16, 4 to 8 p.m. Halloween Costume Swap, Old Bridge Public Library Central Branch, One Old Bridge Plaza. It's free with no booking. Donated costumes are out to browse, and the listing doesn't require you to bring one in order to take one. It's the night before the Spooktacular, so a costume picked up Friday can be worn at Cottrell on Saturday.
Saturday, October 24. Howl-O-Ween Party for Dogs, Old Bridge Township. The township's September 24 notice confirmed the date but gave no location, start time or schedule. Check the recreation page for updates before you get your dog into costume.
Saturday, October 24, 1 to 3 p.m. Trunk-or-Treat, Primrose School of Old Bridge, 3647 Route 9 North. The school's post welcomes family and friends, and everyone who attends needs to RSVP. The rain date is October 25.
Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Laurence Harbor Halloween Party, Laurence Harbor library branch, 302 Laurence Parkway. It's free and open to all ages.
Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Harvest Festival and Trunk or Treat, Calvary Chapel Old Bridge. The event is free, with food and games. The event page doesn't list a street address, so check with the church before you go.
The calendar goes past Halloween. On Saturday, November 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the library holds a free Diwali Celebration at the Central Branch.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the Laurence Harbor party and the Calvary Chapel event share a late-morning window. On October 24, the dog party and the Route 9 trunk-or-treat share the same date. The Laurence Parkway branch is nearby on October 31 for people on the bay side of town. The Central Branch at One Old Bridge Plaza handles the October 16 swap and the Diwali afternoon.
A free trail for the weekend between events
On the Saturdays when Cottrell is busy, Cheesequake State Park costs nothing to visit. The NJ DEP park page charges vehicle fees only from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, so entry is free from Labor Day to Memorial Day weekend. The gate is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Nature Center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hours depend on staffing, and the park suggests calling ahead. The page was updated October 6, 2026, and it showed no trail closure notice.
DEP's 2026 trail brochure lists five loops:
| Trail | Length | Use | What you pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | 1.1 mi loop | Hiking only | Salt marsh, Hooks Creek Lake, spur to the day-use area |
| Red | 1.3 mi loop | Hiking only | A scenic wetland section |
| White | 1.7 mi loop | Hikers and bicyclists | Wetlands, forest, field, butterfly garden |
| Blue | 2.9 mi loop | Hiking only | Boardwalks, freshwater wetland |
| Green | 3.2 mi loop | Hiking only | Stepped boardwalk, the park's largest Atlantic white cedar swamp, hardwood forest, floodplain viewing platform |
The Yellow loop fits a short morning before a 1 p.m. trunk-or-treat. The Green loop takes up most of an afternoon. The brochure warns that trail conditions may have changed since the trails were assessed in summer 2025. The park's own summary page gives trail lengths of 1.5 to 3.5 miles, which doesn't match the brochure's per-loop figures. The brochure is the newer and more detailed of the two.
The next change at Cottrell is out front
For now, the Spooktacular plans for overflow parking and a shuttle to get people to the park. The township is designing a way to walk or bike in instead. In June 2026, Old Bridge held a public information meeting on a grant from the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program. The grant will pay for pedestrian safety improvements along the park's frontage. According to the township's project update, the plan adds a shared path for pedestrians and bicyclists, street trees, curbs, decorative street lighting and stormwater basins. The project was in preliminary engineering at the time, and written comments closed July 6, 2026. The update doesn't give a construction date.
This year, the flyer still sends overflow parking to the Municipal Parking Lot, with a shuttle bus to the Spooktacular on October 17.
If you're thinking about how close you'd like to live to Cottrell Farm Park or to the Laurence Harbor end of town, I'm glad to talk it through with you, even if you're nowhere near ready to move. Michelle Wasko keeps up with what changes in each part of Old Bridge, from new park paths to new events. Let's Connect.
