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Two In Tow & On The Go | Cool trick-or-treating neighborhoods

Wyatt (with Clara partially hidden behind him) at a Harbor Hill house in 2024.

This Halloween, we’re taking a little stroll down memory lane, plastic pumpkin buckets in hand, for a mash-up of the best places we’ve trick-or-treated in and around Gig Harbor. Think of it as part photo recap, part “where-should-we-go-tonight?” inspo. And make sure to check out this Trick-or-Treating Google Map of the four neighborhoods we’re recommending, marked by little orange house icons you click/tap for location and tips on where to park.

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Since moving here in 2021, my family has sampled a fair number of Gig Harbor neighborhoods in the name of optimal candy yield and the deep mom-level relief of finding neighborhoods with actual sidewalks. So before you wrangle your costumed crew today, here’s our tried-and-true list of local spots that strike an almost-perfect balance of spooky, safe, and candy-crazed. And don’t miss Gig Harbor Now reporter Charlee Glock-Jackson’s Harbor Happenings this week for all the official Halloween events happening around town.

Harbor Hill

If there were an Olympic medal for family-friendly trick-or-treating, Harbor Hill would take gold for the K – 5 crowd. Sidewalks galore, lots of lighting, and rows of blue-gray craftsmans all in close proximity make Halloween there truly magical. You’ll find house after house lit up with cobwebs, bats, at least three 12-foot animatronic skeletons. The best part? Nearly every house is part of the action at Harbor Hill. Kids dart through puddles (because, yes, it’s probably raining) and parents walk in chatty clusters and there’s just a friendly, almost block-party vibe to it all.

Harbor Hill is a master-planned neighborhood in Gig Harbor North, with housing developments on the north and south sides of Borgen Boulevard. For our candy quests, we usually stick to the southside neighborhood located off Peacock Hill Avenue before it crosses Borgen. If you’re not sure where that is, just search “Whale Fin Park” in Google Maps and you’ll find it. (The “park” is a little greenbelt inside the neighborhood. It has whale fin sculptures “swimming” through the grass and is a fun landmark for planning your route).

Harbor Hill located in Gig Harbor North

We find parking inside Harbor Hill along Athena Avenue where there’s a long stretch of curb and sidewalk without houses so we can ditch our car without blocking residents in. Then we wander the neighborhood from there. I’m pretty sure most of the neighborhood’s roads are interconnecting. Notable are Sentinel Drive, Brothers Court, Pershing Place, Echo Rock Place, Apollo Way and Sawtooth Court. Basically, any of the houses near Whale Fin Park are golden.

We trick-or-treated in Harbor Hill in 2024 and 2022.

When I asked Clara, age 11, what she thought about the neighborhood, she said: “I like the decorations, they were pretty. And most of the houses actually had them on, where other places only have like, half the houses decorated.”

Same, girl. Same.

Whitley Hills

Whitley Hills in Artondale. Source: Google Maps

If you’re after spooky ambiance and old-school Halloween vibes, head to Whitley Hills in Artondale where the rain doesn’t stand a chance against this neighborhood’s notoriety for being the locals’ favorite place to go.

Located outside city limits off 40th St. NW, the neighborhood has two main “entrances” that aren’t gated and are marked with entry monuments at 75th St. NW and 77th St. NW. With its larger lots and a long-established reputation for going big, this neighborhood of cul de sacs and interconnecting roads juuust might make it one of the locals’ top trick-or-treating spots around here. Especially for the big-kid and teen crowds. No sidewalks, though. And it can get dark and crowded pretty fast. I’d recommend bringing a flashlight (for the parents to hold … because don’t even get me started on kids and flashlights. Blindness, anyone?).

Clara’s awesome friend, Langley Wade, age 11, lives in Whitley Hills and has grown up trick-or-treating there as a Halloween tradition. Her family even sets up cozy a fire pit in their driveway for the festivities. Langley gives her neighborhood two enthusiastic thumbs up. “Whitley Hills has a lot of people that give out candy, and it’s fun to see the different decorations that people display,” she said.

When we went in 2023, Clara and Wyatt had a blast. When I asked Wyatt, age 9, what he enjoyed there, he said: “There was this one house that had a candy chute where they’d send candy down from the roof in this, like, recycled gutter thing. There was someone on the roof and it was two story building! They’d ask you want you want and you’d say, like, ‘a Milky Way!’ and then it would rain down into your bowl!”

Then, thinking for a minute, he concluded: “That’s what I want to be when I grow up.”

Me: “A candy chute operator?”

Wyatt: “Yeah. I know all the candies.”

… Plus, it’s an epic resume entry: ‘Certified Candy Specialist. Expert in Milky Ways.’” Safe to say, I think there’s enough variety to keep everyone interested and motivated to walk from house to house to see what’s next. And perhaps even inspire future careers! Lol. By the way, nobody asked me what my favorite thing there was, but since I’m the writer here I get to tell you anyway. One house, in particular, goes all out with intricately carved pumpkins that look more like art installations than gourds. Here were some of their creations from Halloween 2023:

Bridlewood

Bridlewood feels like a fun middle ground option — a little more spaced out than Harbor Hill, but not as “teenager-y” as Whitley Hills. Think: friendly and festive. It’s the only gated community on the list, but don’t let that scare you off. There’s a small pedestrian walkway right next to the main vehicle entrance off Ford Drive at 31st St. Ct. NW. We park on Ford Drive and just head into the neighborhood on foot. Bonus: from that same parking spot, you can pop across the street and explore the picture-perfect Cromwell Woods neighborhood if your trick-or-treat stamina holds up.

Bridlewood is off 32nd St. NW and Ford Drive NW where Artondale meets Cromwell in Gig Harbor. It’s located west of Cromwell Woods across the street. Source: Google Maps.

The houses in Bridlewood seem to have a lot of kid-families, and each one does something special and spooky as the lights twinkle between the towering firs. Clara’s awesome friend Molly Flynn, age 11, lives in Bridlewood and every year a huge group of kiddo friends dress up to go trick-or-treating together, and even the parents dress up too! “I love trick-or-treating in our neighborhood,” Molly said. “Because all our friends come and we start at the top of the hill and race our way through! Oh, and the candy is good too!”

Cromwell Woods

If you’re into sidewalks (meee!), stately homes with manicured lawns, and the sort of “grown-up Halloween” energy where everyone has tasteful yard lights and probably a Costco-size candy stash, Cromwell Woods is your jam. It’s on the smaller side in terms of overall house count, but there’s plenty for a spooky stroll. It’s also well-lit, and feels like the residents there are excited to see your littles’ cool costumes and maybe chat a bit. We also like driving through this neighborhood at Christmas time for its snazzy light displays. Like I mentioned above, Cromwell Woods is across the street from the Bridlewood entry gate so you can remain parked on Ford Drive and walk over.

Cromwell Woods is a neighborhood at 32nd St. NW and Ford Drive NW where Artondale meets Cromwell in Gig Harbor. Source: Google Maps

Bonus stops

Our October adventures usually include a few extra detours, too — like having a spider-themed trunk game at Artondale Elementary School’s Trunk-or-Treat or swinging by Harbor Farms’ newest pumpkin patch location in Rosedale before it closed for the season. Artondale Farms is also a fave. It always has the best spooky lights up in October, and an outdoor farm stand full of pumpkins and produce. I saw last night that they also carved a bazillion pumpkins and have them lined up outside for all to see. So cool!

Overall, we love to see how the different Gig Harbor neighborhoods lean into the Halloween spirit. Our particular neighborhood in Artondale isn’t popular with trick-or-treaters, which is kind of sad. But we’re not home anyway — so there! Lol. But wherever you end up tonight, keep your flashlight handy, wave to your neighbors (or the nice folks who live in the neighborhoods you visit), and make sure to sneak that Reese’s from the kids’ stash when no one’s looking.

Our Super Mario World family costume in 2023, with Wyatt as Luigi but from Luigi’s Mansion 3 complete with his Poltergust.

IF YOU GO

Neighborhoods to try: Harbor Hill, Whitley Hills, Bridlewood, Cromwell Woods

Location: Gig Harbor Peninsula (see our map)

Parking: Street parking; please be respectful of driveways and posted signs.

Pro tips: Bring a flashlight, glow sticks or light-up accessories for darker areas; stick to sidewalks when possible; stay with your group; be mindful that drivers probably can’t see you.

More Halloween fun: Check out Harbor Happenings on Gig Harbor Now for the full local events lineup.

See ya out there!

Oh, and check out these throwbacks:

Wyatt & Clara: 2024 vs 2016

Tonya Strickland is a Gig Harbor mom-of-two and longtime journalist. Now in the travel and family niche, her blog, Two in Tow & On the Go, was named among the 10 Seattle-Area Instagram Accounts to Follow by ParentMap magazine. Tonya and her husband Bowen moved to Gig Harbor from California with their two kids, Clara (11) and Wyatt (9) in 2021. Find them on Facebook for all the kid-friendly places in and around town.