Markoff's Haunted Forest

Very fun seasonal experience. My group went on the last night, so on Halloween for the discounted price and it was a lot of fun. I followed others' advice on the site and arrived on the earlier side ~7PM, and then didn't have to wait in any super long lines to get in, and we were able to enter the trail whenever we wanted. Since it's so late in the season, it was already dark out so the earlier hour didn't affect the trail's "spooky" factor at all.
The trail was super fun. I loved all the different themes along it, as well as the scares and how the actors will interact with the group. The main area was really fun too-- the food was good, and the atmosphere was really fun and interactive. The bonfires were lovely too.
My one criticism is one that many seem to have--spacing. I know it's a popular event and there's a lot of people, but there really needs to be more spacing between groups. We're told to just pass a group if they're too slow or stopped in front of us, but there was definitely a hold up even with that advice. We did pass a few groups, but ended up behind a group that wasn't so close to pass but too close to reveal all the jump scars which did take away some of the fun of it.
Overall really great experience though! Would definitely recommend if you're looking for a Halloween season event.

If this your first time visiting Markoff's Haunted Forest, be prepared to be blinded folded during one of experiences, asked to hold a rope to guide you while the staff grabs your ankles, wraps their arms around your chest, grabs your shoulder, and then snatches the blind fold off your face without communicating that the experience is over. Markoff's staff should not touch their patrons during experiences especially when the patrons are blindfolded.

Please note there is an older woman who unexpectedly snatches the blindfolds off your face and spends her energy finding ways to destroy any sense of enjoyment by hollering at the patrons and accusing them of one thing or the other.

In other experiences you will be chased down stairs in dimly lit areas nearly rolling your ankles.

What should have been a great memory for my child and diverse set of friends turned into a drive home with my child sharing the traumatic experience with tears streaming down. My child and kind-natured friends were chaperoned by a parent who stayed with them throughout the visit.

Markoffs gets better and better every year. The crew puts in so much effort and it shows. It's creepy without being terrifying (to me, at least). We did the town and haunted forest on a Sunday night. The town was good but I'm not sure if it was really worth the extra $$. We got through it in about 20 minutes. The town could've used a story line of some sort. The haunted forest, their bread and butter, was the highlight. It was so well done on all accounts. We also enjoyed hanging out around the bonfires before entering. My only complaint is that we bought our tickets for 9:30pm but weren't called in until 11pm, on a Sunday. We didn't realize we'd be waiting a full 1.5 hours past our ticket time to get in. Now I know!

Best haunted forest I've ever been to! So much to do and had a great time with friends and family.

This was such a fun time! I would recommend the trail and the town! I would start with the town because it's not as scary, but it's still awesome to see and beautifully done. They also have zip lining and a death roll. I didn't do the zip line due to time constraints, but the death roll is something you should look into. It was only $24 and not a long wait at all. The hot cider was delicious if you're 21, and the fire pits really add to the ambiance!

I know I'm late but writing this review based on my first time experience last year (Oct 2022). I only have three complaints.

1. More signs and lights on the road leading up to the haunt. Additionally, at the front entrance. Almost got lost and went towards the right instead of left. We were coming from Waldorf MD far far away so didnt know our way even with GPS. Plus, GPS was spotty at times so signs wouldve helped.

2. The lines was extremely long even after purchasing tickets. You still had to wait like hoursssss passed the time you purchased the tickets for. Please fix this!!!!!Maybe cut down on the availability of tickets, extend the haunt longer, add more stands/activities, open extra hours for the amount of tickets sold, & more staff to help with the flow of traffic/concession stands.

3. Spacing. Lots more spacing between groups please I beg of you. This is where alot of haunted attractions fail at. We found our selves catching up with the group infront of us and seen the acts before we got a chance to experience them. A waist of time, money, and fun for our group.

Maybe have a timer for each group with staff monitoring with cameras (hidden cameras) throughout the haunt or put some staff members walking the haunt discreetly or way back farther from the woods but can still communicate the flow of the haunt to other staff members to allow the next group or not.

Or better yet have a staff member go with each group to monitor things. The staff member can be in the back and follow ..sort of like a guided tour guide but in the back. Let the group know withing the explaining of the rules of the guide prensence but only there for assistance purposes only.


Have a discount night! For firsg responders, teachers, veterans, active miltary, law enforcement , health care workers...

Even for students in college maybe!

My friends and I came here on the weekend before Halloween this year. (I know, I'm writing this review a bit late...) We really enjoyed The Trail - it was filled with cool scary decorations, and the scare actors did an excellent job at setting the mood. The Trail had many different sections that you walk through, each with a different spooky theme (think haunted house, aliens, chainsaws in woods, etc). It is also entirely outdoors, so make sure to dress in warm clothing and layers!

Now for the negatives of our visit... We purchased tickets to enter The Trail at 10pm, but we did not get a chance to go in until after midnight. No matter what time your tickets were purchased for, when you arrive, they give you wristbands with a number on them, and they just pick the next number they have. So if you have tickets to 10pm but arrive very early, you would get an earlier number and potentially be able to enter The Trail earlier than 10pm. My group arrived just before 9pm, more than an entire hour before our scheduled entry time of 10pm, yet we were not allowed to enter The Trail until after midnight.

We spent over three hours waiting in the "free" Halloween Town area. This area was filled with stands selling very expensive food, drinks, or art. There were also some nice large bonfires where we could warm up. And there were a few different activities you could do for an additional cost: zipline, axe throwing, or walk across a balance beam in the air. We browsed through everything and watched other groups do some of the paid activities but didn't try any ourselves. The decor here is nice too, but it definitely got boring after waiting for over three hours.

I strongly recommend that if you visit, you arrive very early. Much earlier than whatever time your ticket states. For next year, I would hope that the organizers of this event structure it better so that people can actually enter at the time they purchased tickets for.

This has been for 5+ years now an annual tradition in my family. Each year my oldest kids (up to 3 of the 8 now) each pick 2 friends they want to bring to a scary, heart-pounding adventure.

We do love it. There is only one thing I would tweak if I had my druthers, and I'm not sure it's possible considering how many people want to take part in this really great adventure. However, it would be even more fun if somehow they could separate the groups walking down the paths by larger distances.

Without fail, every year, we are held up by the group in front of us. There are signs and people telling you to keep up the pace, and they also tell you that if you keep catching up to a group to ask nicely to pass them (like playing through in a round of golf). While this is a very reasonable strategy, the groups are often teenagers unaccompanied by an adult and having too much fun to pay attention to reasonable social expectations. This year we asked multiple times at various "scare stations" if we could please go through so we could move faster. Virtually every scare opportunity was spoiled because no matter how slow we went the group in front of us would always wait and hesitate so long that by the time they were ready to enter it was only because we were asking if we could pass them.

Perhaps they can station some spooky guides along the route to pay attention to this sort of situation and basically make a top down decision on whether one group out to let another group pass. This may take some of the difficulty and confusion out of the equation.

In any case, we love Markoff's Haunted Forest. Unlike some other local places,
It's very hands on and authentically scary. They do everything they can to make the experience fun and frightening. We love what they do and will continue to return, but it could be made to be even more exciting for all of their guests by coming up with some solutions to group crowding on the trail.

Markoff's: If you like a good scare, you've got to go there!

This was my first experience and it did not disappoint! The actors and decor are amazing with different themes along the trail. The actors are allowed to gently tap guests, but guests are NOT allowed to touch them. The actors engagement made the experience scarier. Definitely looking forward to making this a Halloween tradition.
Tip: Use the bathroom before you get on the trail. It's that's scary!

I had so much fun. Between laughing and screaming. It was really entertaining. I think the staff did a great job, and we're very committed to their roles. And I found myself screaming and giggling the entire time. It was very entertaining. Is it wrong that I think a guy in overalls, with a mask on his face, carrying a chainsaw is actually attractive! No, it's not raining at all. This place was hilarious. I had the best time.

I will say I think they concessions are quite expensive but other than that it was great .