Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainFamily Amusement Park with a Seasonal Haunt Event
3500 Polk Street, Riverside, CA 92505
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
General admission and Castle Dark seasonal pricing vary; check Castle Park's site for current rates.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved theme-park walkways
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1976 · Bud Hurlbut Park · Inland Empire Family Attraction
Castle Park opened in 1976 in Riverside, California, founded by Bud Hurlbut, the entertainment-park developer best known for designing the Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride at Knott's Berry Farm. The park's central feature was a castle-themed building housing a two-level arcade and the original miniature golf courses.
Over the decades Castle Park expanded to include four 18-hole mini-golf courses, roughly two dozen amusement rides, and a large arcade. The park sits on twenty-five acres along Polk Street in Riverside and continues to operate as a family-oriented destination distinct from larger Southern California theme parks.
In recent years the park has run an annual seasonal Halloween event called Castle Dark, featuring themed walk-through mazes, scare zones with theatrical performers, and an interactive dark ride called Ghost Blasters. The event is a designed-scare attraction rather than a documented haunting and runs on selected nights through September and October.
Sources
The Shadowlands entry attached to Castle Park describes swings moving at midnight without wind and the sound of children playing when no one is around. Web searches did not surface any documented investigation, news reporting, or staff-account collection supporting these claims at this park specifically.
The Halloween-season Castle Dark event has built the park's modern reputation in the dark-tourism corner of the internet, but Castle Dark is a theatrical haunt with actors and designed effects rather than a venue with a recognized paranormal history. We pass on the swing-and-children story as community lore at low confidence; the park's real-world draw is its long-running Halloween production.
Visit the 25-acre family amusement park featuring 72 holes of miniature golf across four courses, an arcade, and roughly two dozen rides. The castle-themed main building is the park's centerpiece.
During the Halloween season the park transforms into Castle Dark, with multiple themed mazes, scare zones, and the Ghost Blasters interactive dark ride. A theatrical-scare experience with intentional jump scares — bring appropriate-age guests.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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