Utah has a wide range of outdoor, COVID-19-aware Halloween attractions to choose from — think haunted forests and corn mazes — but Evermore Park is the only one we can think of where you can wear your Robin Hood or Daenerys Targaryen costume and fit right in.
Of course, one of those bird-beaked plague doctor outfits might be more in line with the state of the world. You could also opt for something scary, or just go as yourself.
Evermore Park during the Halloween (Lore) season is like a mix between A Knight’s Tale, Game of Thrones and the Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
While there, you can join in archery or axe throwing (which had the longest lines on our visit), or fight your kids in the arena with foam shields, swords and spears. This season, you can also enjoy the park’s haunted adventure, bird and reptiles shows, train ride, vendors, musical performances, fire dancers, fortune tellers and character actors.
“We help our actors through a unique style of method acting and prepare them with tools to be able to exist as a different person for up to 40 hours a week,” said Chance Le Prey, Project Director at Evermore Park. “Evermore is a strange space where, depending on the season, our actors may have to exist as someone else longer than they live as themselves. We keep a focus on long-form training styles of improv, method acting transitional tools and focus on customer service interactions and performing to large crowds.”
Long story short, the actors are well-trained and committed to their craft.
When you purchase your Evermore Park pass, you can bundle it with a ticket for the Haunted Adventure. With the theme “Facing the fear we manifest,” the haunt tells the story of a diabolical circus that has come to spread fear. You’ll make your way through buildings and outdoor areas that cover much of the park. With jump scares and a lot of creepy stuff, the haunt is recommended for those 13 and older. It does have clowns.
As you enter the park, grab a a trifold map. Along with being able to see where everything you want to do in the park is located, you can follow the map’s guide for first-timers to get to know the different areas, as well as Evermore’s guilds.
The guilds are the clubs that characters are part of. You can join a guild, or multiple guilds, by proving your worthiness by accomplishing a handful of tasks. Actors will tell you the benefits of joining their guilds and membership requirements, which may include learning something, participating in park activities or performing good deeds.
The park has six guilds: Black Heart Hunters, The Coven, Roaming Bards, Pirates, Knights and Rangers. From what we saw, the Pirates have the most fun.
Before starting your journey, however, it’s recommended to grab a bite to eat.
On our trip, we ordered the churro donut topped with ice cream, candied pecans and whipped cream, along with a Virgil’s root beer (though the atmosphere had us craving a dark English ale).To warm up as you stroll the grounds, head over to the food stand near the exit to the haunted attraction for a hot pumpkin-spice horchata.
If you’re worried about visiting due to the aforementioned plague, Chandler Jensen, public relations team lead, hopes to ease your mind. “We are complying with all local and federal regulations, including the requirement of masks for all guests and employees,” he said. “We have hand sanitizer stations throughout the park and high-touch areas are being disinfected between each use. We have reworked how the park works, so, until further notice, we are not using our previous gold ‘currency’ for quest rewards, and we are not allowing any trading to happen between guests or employees.”
Keep in mind that some salty guests may try to break the rules. Consider your health and use your best judgement before setting forth on your adventure.
Find info on tickets, attractions and COVID-19 safety at evermore.com.
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