The Clydesdale Outpost just north of Whitefish has transformed this fall into a spooky, Halloween experience for the community to enjoy.

Halloweentime at Clydesdale Outpost features haunted hayrides, a Clydesdale photobooth, ghost stories around the bonfire, a SPOOKeasy bar, fun food and treats and on certain nights live music. Owners Matt Arnold-Ladensack and Benjamin Arnold have a passion for gathering the community together while giving back to those in need. Halloweentime has proven to be the perfect event to do both.

“Just bringing families together and having a good time and sharing what we're doing is really amazing,” Arnold-Ladensack said.

And this weekend the fun is set to continue with a special trick-or-treat event for families and a unique Zombie Walk. These events are in addition to the normal Halloweentime activities hosted at the farm. The trick or treat is free for families and offers a safe way for kids to participate in holiday traditions.The Zombie Walk will feature everyone dressing up as zombies and walking up over a foggy hill. A drone will capture the scene and the hope is it grows bigger every year. To participate, everyone will bring a nonperishable food item that will be donated to the North Valley Food Bank’s “Trick Or Treat So Kids Can Eat” food drive. The Outpost has been accepting donations for NVFB all month as well.

“We’re going to have a big horde of people coming up a hill and get a drone shot of all the zombies in the fog,” Arnold-Ladensack said. “So then we hope that every year it’ll get bigger and become something fun and of course give back to the community as well.”

As far as the most popular activity at Halloweentime at Clydesdale Outpost — it's the haunted hayrides.

“It features a talking scarecrow, singing pumpkins, some ghosts, a jumping spider and a bog zombie, and then some live actors that actually chase you. After 7 p.m. it becomes a little spookier and as it gets darker it gets a little more fun,” Arnold-Ladensack explained.

He, along with his family and staff at the Outpost, got to design the 15-minute ride through the forest. The open field naturally turns into a forested area where they created the hayride track. The hayrides take people through spooky scenes by using fog machines, talking halloween decorations and live actors that emerge from behind trees to stir a fright.

It’s also family friendly and not overly bloody or gory. Halloweentime at the Outpost has a “vintage Halloween” theme for its inaugural year and that is featured in the hayrides through scarecrows, witches and other old-school characters.

“Decorating has always been super fun for me so getting a chance to pick out and curate the haunted hayride was really a fun experience,” Arnold-Ladensack said.

The owners of the Outpost decided on hosting this event because they wanted to bring the community together and offer the Outpost’s stunning 90 acres as the location.

Additionally, 100% of the proceeds from the SPOOKeasy bar will be donated to the Flathead Warming Center — a mission close to Arnold and Arnold-Ladensack’s heart.

“We chose the Flathead Warming Center because we thought this is the perfect time of year to start thinking about those in need. Especially those homeless,” Arnold-Ladensack said. “It’s starting to get cold outside and so we really wanted to put that on the map. I think that will become an annual tradition, we really want to work very closely with them.”

Organizers are beginning to think about hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas events as well.

The final weekend of Halloweentime will be Oct. 28-30 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Outpost, 100 Outpost Drive, Whitefish.

For more information visit https://www.clydesdaleoutpost.com or follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/clydesdale_outpost/