26 October 2026
INTRODUCTION
Trail of Terror is back for 2026! Found at Colchester Zoo on Maldon Road in Colchester, Essex, it is over 1.5 miles of thrills and chills, with a train ride you won’t want to remember.
Face your fears along the 1.5 mile route, with clowns, zombies and creatures from the swamps of New Orleans waiting for you, all put together by the zoo’s in-house team, zoo team by day and scarers by night. With food and live music at the end of the trail, plus a themed photo point, there is plenty to enjoy once you have survived the route.
The event is running on selected dates, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 30th and 31st October 2026, with time slots from 6:30pm. Tickets are £28.50 per person for the remaining dates and must be pre-booked online in advance, as entry cannot be purchased on the day. Please note, the event is not recommended for anyone under 12, and under 16s must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Take a look at what the 2026 season has to offer…
KEY INFO
Location – colchester zoo
Operational Dates – selected nights from 16th oct – 31st oct
Opening Time – 6:30pm
Closing Time – 9:15pm last slot
Cost – from £28.50
Attraction Count – 1 1.5 mile long maze
Time Spent – 1 hour – 1.5 hours
Top Tip – make use of the safe zones around and enjoy the magicians before the train ride!
The overall event…
WOO – uniqueness | WOO – facilities | BOO – roaming characters
Colchester Zoo is always such a unique event. In the day, they are fully operational as a zoo but as the night starts to appear, they become a full on scare maze. We’ve attended for the last few years and this event has always surprised us, creating an event using space in the zoo, without disturbing the animals and a quick turn around time from the day to night operations. You get to explore over 1.5 miles of terrifying terrain, getting to see many different themes, characters and sets as you make your way round.
It does seem though this year that the roaming characters and entertainment have gone amiss. With no end zone with live music and no stilt walkers or other characters being used. We would love to see some of these friendly characters in the safe zones to keep the vibe going and it was a shame not to see them this year.
They have safe zones for those who may need a quick drink or a toilet stop on your way round. The facilities were good quality as they are not temporary and use the existing zoo setup. They have undercover space in the queue and the trail goes between outside and inside spaces, which is helpful during bad weather.
The Trail of Terror
WOO – Screams | WOO – enjoyment | BOO – audio
Going round the 1.5 mile trail (sounds crazy every time we say it), we had so much fun. There is some really great moments that build tension, some create laughter and silliness and others for full blown scares. We had a complete whirlwind of emotions as we went around, from the laughter of the dutches who were posing and dancing around, to the scares of the clowns and the infected who were hiding around every corner.
What we would love to see improve more is the audio. Whilst some zones had it, we definitely noticed the lack of it during the start of the zones and some parts were just very quiet. Whilst it’s not required, it adds an extra layer to the scares and experience, which in the parts they did add it, it was fantastic.
The scares were also a fantastic feature, which is what you always want from a scare maze ultimately. They had so many dark spaces to get you, with them hiding and jumping out. With twisty footpaths and so many bushes, they could hide in plain sight and get you so easily. We got so many scares where the both of us jumped massively and they did well to do this time after time.
Terrifying train ride
WOO – storytelling | WOO – Concept | BOO – lighting & SFX
Another really unique feature the trail of terror has is the terrifying train ride which is near the end of the trail. The name whilst simple, does exactly as promised as you take a terrifying train ride into the darkness as a story plays out around you. Each train has its own storyteller and using poetry and rhymes, the story keeps you interested with passion and pace, with it being funny and sinister all at the same time.
As you are on a train, the lighting and special effects are limited, with only some chainsaws and basic lighting used throughout the trail. Some sections were dark and it was hard to see the characters that come to life on the route, so we think some minor upgrades are needed here where possible just to bring this to a new level of terrifying.
The concept is incredible. Getting on a land train and going around the zoo, at night, and having a story play out around you. It’s unique, not done anywhere else that we know of and it just so clever, using something they already have in a different way for the overall experience. Each year it seems to just get better and this year, it certainly delivered as being a top attraction to experience.
Once again, Colchester Zoo has delivered on creating a fun, scary yet entertaining scare attraction. They have changed it up so much since last year, meaning returning guests will have no idea what to expect this time, which keeps it refreshing. The event is created with such passion from the whole team, with many of the staff from the zoo who get involved by becoming the scare actors to make the event come alive. There are so many of them and it wouldn’t be possible to create Trail of Terror without them.
A huge thank you to the team for inviting us once more to come around and see first hand what they have created for 2026. They did provide us with complimentary entry in return for our honest feedback and content.
Trail of Terror only has a few tickets left and will sell out, as it does every year. You have to be lucky to see if any last minute tickets come back on sale but otherwise, book early for 2027 as one thing is certain, it will sell out again!
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