Halloween is just around the corner, and this year it comes with a gift: October 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday. No school night. No rushing home from work to wrangle costumes. A whole golden weekend of orange-hued, pumpkin-scented mischief.
I have been chasing Halloween around the San Francisco Bay Area with my kids for years now, from foggy coastal pumpkin patches to the creaking hallways of a mansion built to confuse ghosts. Every October I am reminded that this region does autumn quietly but generously.
So instead of handing you another endless list, I have organized this guide the way we actually plan our own weekends: by who you are bringing and what kind of night you want.
Little ones who scare easily. Older kids who want a real thrill. Teenagers who want to be genuinely terrified. Free things. Train rides. And a region-by-region index at the end so you can find what is closest to home.
From pumpkin patches to haunted houses, here are the best things to do for Halloween in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2026, with current dates, prices and the tips I wish someone had told me.
Craving more Bay Area Halloween vibes? Check out these spook-tacular articles!
- 20 Best Pumpkin Patches In The San Francisco Bay Area
- The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch in Palo Alto 2026
- Bay Area Apple Picking: 12 Best Orchards for a Perfect Fall Day
- A Spooky Halloween Adventure in Gilroy Gardens
- Top 13 Haunted Places in the Bay Area
Halloween is an opportunity to be really creative.
Judy Gold
Halloween 2026 in the Bay Area at a Glance
If you only remember five dates this season, make it these.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 18 – Nov 1 | Festival Fright Nights, Winchester Mystery House | San Jose | From $60.99 |
| Sept 25 – Nov 1 | The Great Big BOO!, Gilroy Gardens | Gilroy | Park admission |
| Oct 10 | Pumpkins in the Park | San Jose | Free |
| Oct 12 | World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off | Half Moon Bay | Free |
| Oct 17 & 18 | Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival | Half Moon Bay | Free |
| Oct 25 | History Park Children’s Halloween Haunt | San Jose | Low cost |
| Oct 31 | Halloween Hoopla + Costume Parade | San Francisco | Free |
| Oct 31 | Ocean Beach Bonfire Night | San Francisco | Free |
A Brief History of Halloween
Before I list all the events, let me tell you a brief history of Halloween.
The world transforms from summer’s bright sunshine to winter’s chilly darkness over the course of the autumn harvest, with the land transforming from fertile to barren.
The ancient Celts believed this metamorphosis gave supernatural forces an opportunity to break through into our realm and unleash their malevolence.
They came to celebrate the end of the autumn harvest, which marked the start of winter as Samhain (meaning “summer’s end”).
This festival is believed by many to be the origin of Halloween. The Celts thought that on Samhain night, the souls of individuals who had died in the previous year would stroll among the living.
Villagers offered food and sweets to placate these spirits, which may have been a practice that preceded trick-or-treating.
The name “Halloween” is derived from the Christian holiday “All Hallows Eve,” or the night before All Saints’ Day (1 November).
Over time the harsher edges of the festival softened into the joyful traditions we know now — but Halloween’s associations with the frightening and the strange remain strong, which is exactly why children love it so much.
Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve.
Ray Bradbury
Halloween for Little Kids (Ages 2–7) – Spooky, But Never Scary
This is the age when Halloween is pure delight and one badly-timed jump scare can end the evening in tears. Everything in this section is gentle: costumes, crafts, candy trails, and grown-ups who understand that a three-year-old in a witch dress needs to feel powerful, not frightened.
1. Goblin Jamboree, Bay Area Discovery Museum – A whole month of gentle magic!
The Bay Area Discovery Museum sits right under the Golden Gate Bridge in Fort Baker, and every October it turns into a spooky wonderland built entirely at toddler scale.
Kids wander through a hay maze, weave giant webs, dig into a slime banquet, and show off costumes without a single fright in sight. Spooky Science and the Disglow Party are the highlights for the four-and-up crowd.
Big change for 2026: it is no longer squeezed into one weekend. Goblin Jamboree now runs every weekend in October, which makes it far easier to dodge the crowds.
Dates – October 3–4, 10–11, 17–18, 24–25, and October 31. There is also a Sunset Spooktacular family fundraiser on Friday, October 16, 4–7 pm.
Address – 557 McReynolds Rd, Sausalito, CA 94965
Travel Tip: Book the earliest slot of the day. The fog usually burns off by late morning, and the bridge view from the parking lot alone is worth the drive.
2. Halloween Jam at Children’s Fairyland – The Monster Mash Parade!
Children’s Fairyland in Oakland is already a storybook come to life, and at Halloween it goes gloriously over the top — decked-out sets and rides, costumed characters around every corner, bouncy houses, and treat stations that hand out both goodies and little interactive tasks.
The heart of it is the Monster Mash Parade, where the little ones wind through the park in their costumes and finish on a red carpet surrounded by bubbles. It is unapologetically sweet and exactly right for this age.
Dates – Friday, October 30 and Sunday, November 1, 2026, 10 am to 4 pm. Included with general admission.
Address – 699 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland
Tip: Fairyland caps attendance, so buy online in advance. Halloween Jam sells out most years.
3. Halloween Hoopla at Yerba Buena Gardens – Free, joyful, and right downtown!
Now in its 26th year, Halloween Hoopla is one of the warmest free events in San Francisco. Kids under 10 and their grown-ups fill the Children’s Garden for an afternoon of performances, games and craft tables.
This year the lineup is anchored by Circus Bella with live music from the Circus Bella All-Star Trio — genuinely good performers, not filler. It ends with the Halloween Costume Parade, which every child is welcome to join.
Date – Saturday, October 31, 2026, 12:00–3:00 pm. Cost – Free.
Address – Children’s Garden, Yerba Buena Gardens, 799 Howard St, San Francisco, CA
Tip: Take BART or Muni to Powell. Parking downtown on Halloween Saturday will test anyone’s patience.
4. Jack O’Lantern Jamboree in Palo Alto – A costume dance party for the very small!
The Palo Alto Children’s Library throws a Halloween dance party for babies, toddlers and preschoolers — costumes encouraged, crafts on the tables, light refreshments, no registration needed.
It is small, free and completely unfussy, which at this age is often exactly what you want. An hour of music and wobbly dancing, then home before the meltdown.
Suitable for – Babies under 2, toddlers, preschoolers and kids up to about 11.
Address – Children’s Library, 1276 Harriet Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Note for 2026: The library had not posted this year’s date at the time of writing. Check the Palo Alto Library events calendar in early October — it has landed in the third or fourth week of the month in past years.
5. Lemos Farm, Half Moon Bay – A fall wonderland by the sea!
If your kids love theme parks, Lemos Farm in October is their happy place. Pony rides, train rides, a petting zoo, hay rides, barn slides — and a haunted house with two separate scare zones, one deliberately mild for young children.
That split is the reason I keep recommending it for this age group. Your five-year-old gets to say they went in the haunted house, without any of the consequences.
Dates – September 5 to November 15, 2026.
Price – Adult pass $17.99. Gold pass for kids up to 70 lbs (includes pony ride) $34.99. Silver pass for 100 lbs+ $29.99. Kids under 14 months free.
Address – 12320 San Mateo Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
6. Trick or Treat on the Farm, San Ramon – Costumes among the animals!
Fun On The Farm in San Ramon invites little ones in costume to move between stations around the farm, collecting treats and trying small activities along the way.
It is unhurried and outdoors, and the animals are the real draw. A good choice if crowded indoor events overwhelm your child.
Address – 7000 Bollinger Canyon Rd, San Ramon, CA 94583
Note for 2026: Confirm the date with San Ramon Parks & Community Services before you go — it typically runs a Saturday in late October, 11 am to 2 pm.
Halloween for Older Kids and Tweens – Ready for a Real Thrill
Somewhere around eight, children stop wanting to be protected from the spooky and start wanting to be tested by it. These events sit in that lovely middle ground: atmospheric, a little eerie, but never traumatic.
From pumpkin patches to haunted houses, here is the list of the best things to do for Halloween in the San Francisco Bay Area.#SanFrancisco #BayArea #Halloween Share on X7. The Great Big BOO! at Gilroy Gardens – Where Halloween takes over a whole park!
Gilroy Gardens is where we have had some of our happiest Halloween afternoons. Each October the park becomes BOO Alley, home to the wonderfully daft characters of The Great Big BOO!
Kids follow the BOO Trail through trick-or-treat stations, meet Vinnie the Vampire and Frankie the Lounge Singer, and watch the Do the BOO live musical show. The candy trail is free with admission and open to all ages.
The park’s famous Circus Trees and gentle rides are all still running, so there is plenty to do between the Halloween bits.
Dates – September 25 to November 1, 2026, on select dates. A single-day admission ticket or Premium Membership is required.
Address – 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy, CA 95020
READ MORE: A Spooky Halloween Adventure in Gilroy Gardens
8. History Park Children’s Halloween Haunt, San Jose – Trick-or-treating through history!
History San José transforms History Park into a Halloween village for an afternoon, and it is one of the best-value family events in the South Bay. Now in its fifth year.
Children trick-or-treat at the historic houses, try cultural crafts, free carnival games, face painting, a mini pumpkin patch and hayrides. There is Dia de los Muertos sugar skull decorating for a small extra fee, and spooky science experiments from Lobos School of Innovation.
The afternoon closes with a single showing of the traditional Halloween Light Show at 6:00 pm, which casts an eerie glow over the whole park. It is a lovely way to end the day just as dusk settles.
Date – Saturday, October 25, 2026, 2:00–6:30 pm.
Address – 635 Phelan Avenue, San Jose
Tip: Food trucks handle dinner, and O’Brien’s Ice Cream and Candy Shop inside the park handles dessert. Stay for the light show — do not leave at 5.
9. Boo at the Zoo, Oakland – Costumes, creatures and a scavenger hunt!
The Oakland Zoo runs a spooky animal-themed scavenger hunt across October weekends, with trading cards to collect around the grounds.
Meet the creepy-crawly residents at the House of Bugs on Saturdays at 1 pm, or visit the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Room on Sundays at 1 pm. In-person costume contests run at noon on Saturdays October 17, 24 and 31 at the Wildlife Theater.
Dates – Weekends, October 17 to November 1, 2026.
Address – 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland, CA 94605
Important: Costumes are encouraged, but inflatable costumes are not allowed — they frighten the animals. Worth knowing before your child picks out a giant dinosaur.
10. SuperNatural at the California Academy of Sciences – Fright meets science!
How about some fright at the museum? At the California Academy of Sciences, SuperNatural turns the building into a scientifically spine-tingling Halloween party.
There is a silent disco in the Steinhart Aquarium, trick-or-treat stations, magic shows and live animal demonstrations. Teenagers get their own lounge with arcade games and snacks, which is a thoughtful touch at an age when nobody wants to be seen with their parents.
Date – Reported for October 24, 2026, 6:30–9:00 pm, with VIP entry from 5 pm. Please confirm on the Academy website before booking.
Address – 55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118
11. Family Halloween Day at the Randall Museum – Free, creative and joyfully chaotic!
The Randall Museum fills inside and out with Halloween delights and monster mischief — and it is completely free.
Costumed visitors travel the Trick-or-Treat Trail, explore the Haunted Live Animal Room, and work through Creepy Crafts, Ghoulish Games, pumpkin carving, corn husk dolls, plant potions and wooden mask making. Live music and costume awards round it out.
Date – Reported for October 18, 2026, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Confirm on randallmuseum.org.
Ages – Infant to 12 and their families. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Cost – Free.
Address – 199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Travel Tip: The museum warns that parking is extremely limited. Take Muni or plan to walk up from the Castro — the view over the city from Corona Heights is a reward in itself.
Actually Scary – For Teens, Brave Tweens and Grown-Ups
Now for the other end of the spectrum. These are the real haunts: professional scare actors, walk-through mazes and stories that linger. Not for small children, and honestly not for every adult either.
12. Festival Fright Nights at the Winchester Mystery House – Completely reinvented for 2026!
The Winchester Mystery House hardly needs Halloween to feel unsettling. Sarah Winchester spent 38 years building staircases that climb into ceilings and doors that open onto nothing, and the house has never quite stopped feeling watched.
2026 is a genuine reinvention. Festival Fright Nights has dropped last year’s one-way haunted-house route in favour of an open festival format — four zones, 13 attractions and experiences, explored in any order you like.
The headline new house is The House of Spirits, which follows Sarah Winchester’s loyal butler after her death as he tries to keep the estate together while something strange spreads through the halls.
Dates – Select nights, September 18 to November 1, 2026. Price – From $60.99 on select nights, with discounted presale tickets online.
Address – 525 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128
Fun fact: The mansion has around 160 rooms, and Sarah Winchester left no master blueprint. The confusion you feel inside is, by most accounts, entirely intentional.
13. Pirates of Emerson, Pleasanton – The Bay Area’s biggest haunt!
Now in its 36th season, Pirates of Emerson at the Alameda County Fairgrounds is the region’s largest professional haunt — four walk-through houses spread across six acres.
You wind through a world of suspense and terror, trapped with a host of hideous characters lurking in the shadows. This is a proper scream-until-you-are-hoarse experience, not a family stroll.
Dates – Select nights, October 2 to November 1, 2026.
Address – Alameda County Fairgrounds, Valley Ave, Pleasanton, CA 94566
Tip: Go on a weeknight if you can. The queues on the final two Saturdays before Halloween are genuinely brutal.
14. San Francisco Ghost Tours – History, tragedy and mayhem after dark!
San Francisco is known for its cable cars and hilly streets, but it also has a long and genuinely grim back catalogue of haunted locations.
If you are brave at heart, one of the San Francisco ghost tours is the most atmospheric way to spend a foggy October evening. It is a tour of history, tragedy, mayhem — and, if you believe the guides, a few lingering residents.
READ MORE: Best Ghost Tours in San Francisco – A Complete Guide
Uniquely Bay Area Halloween Experiences
Every city has pumpkin patches and haunted houses. These are the ones you can only have here — the events I would send a visiting friend to, because they say something about this particular stretch of coast.
15. Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival – The World Pumpkin Capital!
In the Bay Area we are fortunate enough to have access to some of the best pumpkin patches around, and the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival is my favourite Halloween event of the whole season.
This world-famous festival takes over Main Street in Half Moon Bay, one of the loveliest coastal towns a short drive from the Bay Area. Now in its 54th year.
There is a costume parade and contest, a pie-eating contest, pumpkin carving and endless activities for children. Parents can browse the art and craft booths, sip Halloween-themed cocktails, and pick up a beautiful souvenir from a festival that has been running longer than most of us have been alive.
Dates – October 17 & 18, 2026, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is free.
Address – Historic Main Street, Half Moon Bay
Travel Tip: Highway 1 backs up badly on festival weekend. Arrive before 10 am or come over Highway 92 later in the afternoon, and be ready to park a good walk away from Main Street.
16. Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off – Half-tonne pumpkins, seriously!
This is the one most guides bury inside the festival listing, and it deserves its own entry. Five days before the festival, growers from across the country haul in pumpkins the size of small cars and compete for the world title.
Watching a forklift lower a 2,000-pound gourd onto a scale while a crowd holds its breath is one of the more delightfully absurd mornings you can have in California. Children find it hilarious.
Date – Monday, October 12, 2026, on the IDES Grounds, Half Moon Bay. Free to watch.
Fun fact: The winning pumpkin is trucked straight to Main Street and put on display for the festival, so you can visit the champion twice in one week.
17. The World’s Biggest Pumpkin Sculpture – A 10,000-pound roadside wonder!
What could be more Halloween-spirited than the world’s largest pumpkin sculpture, sitting in the Pumpkin Capital itself? It is on permanent display in the parking lot at Cameron’s Pub.
Made of steel, cement and ceramic tile, it stands 11 feet high, 12 feet long and weighs 10,000 pounds. It costs nothing to see and takes five minutes, and it will absolutely get you into the spirit.
Address – 1410 South Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay, California 94019
18. The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, Palo Alto – Where autumn is made of glass!
Not every pumpkin has to grow. Each autumn, thousands of hand-blown glass pumpkins are laid out on the lawn in Palo Alto, catching the low October sun in every colour you can imagine. It is one of the most beautiful fall traditions in the Bay Area and completely free to walk through.
It is a different kind of Halloween outing — quieter, more contemplative, and unexpectedly moving when the light hits right.
READ MORE: The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch in Palo Alto 2026 – Dates, Tips & A Bay Area Fall Tradition
19. Ocean Beach Halloween Bonfire Night – Halloween by firelight and surf!
This is about as San Francisco as Halloween gets. On Halloween night, bonfires are lit in the permitted pits along Ocean Beach and the whole stretch of sand fills with costumes, music and woodsmoke.
The Pacific roars in the dark just beyond the firelight. It is free, it is unpolished, and it is nothing like a ticketed event — which is exactly the point.
Date – Saturday, October 31, 2026, roughly 3:00–9:30 pm. Free.
Travel Tip: Fires are only allowed in the designated pits and must be out by 9:30 pm. Dress far warmer than you think you need to — Ocean Beach after dark in October is genuinely cold.
20. Dia de los Muertos Family Fun Fest, Jack London Square – Colour, marigolds and mariachi!
Jack London Square in Oakland hosts a free Dia de los Muertos family celebration that is one of the warmest gatherings of the season — and a beautiful counterweight to all the ghouls and gore.
Chalk artists work on the pavement, mariachi music drifts across the plaza, and Mexican Folklorico dancers perform in extraordinary skirts. There are crafts for children and a costume contest.
Dia de los Muertos is not Halloween, and it is worth telling your children that. It is a celebration of the people we have lost — less about fear, more about remembering with joy.
Address – 472 Water Street, Oakland, CA. Cost – Free.
Note for 2026: Confirm this year’s date with Jack London Square — it has traditionally fallen on the last Sunday of October.
21. Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade, San Ramon – Because the dog needs a costume too!
At City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, Alexander Square fills with dogs in costume strutting for an audience. It is free, it is completely ridiculous, and children adore it.
If your family has been campaigning to dress the dog as a hot dog, this is your moment.
Date – Sunday, October 25, 2026, 2:00 pm. Free.
Address – Alexander Square, City Center Bishop Ranch, San Ramon
All Aboard – Halloween Train Rides in the Bay Area
There is something about a steam whistle in the autumn air. If you have a train-obsessed child, this section will do more for your Halloween than any haunted house.
22. Thomas and Percy’s Halloween Party at Roaring Camp – Steam through the redwoods!
Dress up and join Thomas and Percy’s Halloween Party at Roaring Camp in Felton for a 25-minute steam train ride through the redwoods, plus a full afternoon of activities.
There is Thomas & Friends storytelling, temporary tattoos, arts and crafts, a costume contest, a pumpkin patch and the chance to meet Sir Topham Hatt. The redwoods in October, seen from an open railcar, are worth the ticket on their own.
Dates – October 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 and 25, 2026.
Important: The first weekend is Thomas only — Percy joins for the second, third and fourth weekends. If your child has strong feelings about Percy, book accordingly.
Price – $25 off-peak (before 11 am and after 2 pm), $27 peak (11 am–2 pm).
Address – 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton, CA 95018
READ MORE: Beautiful Steam Train Rides Near San Francisco
Also worth knowing: Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay runs its own little train through the fall season, and Sonoma TrainTown is open weekends year-round — both good backups if Roaring Camp sells out.
Pick Your Own – The Pumpkin Patches Worth the Drive
23. Rodoni Farms, Santa Cruz – Pumpkins with an ocean view!
How about waking up on a beautiful fall morning and heading down to the coast for pumpkin picking at Rodoni Farms?
The fields here look straight out over the Pacific. There are hay bales, scary cutouts, photo spots and a five-acre corn maze, and I picked two cute little pumpkins the last time we went.
Once you have chosen yours, cross the road and spend some time on the coastal bluff — one of my favourite spots on Highway 1. Soak in the scenery and breathe in the sea air. A long, wandering walk is the best way to imbibe the sights, sounds and smells around us.
Dates – September 26 to October 31, 2026, open daily 9 am to 6 pm, rain or shine.
Address – 4444 Coast Road, Hwy 1, Santa Cruz, CA
24. Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch – The South Bay classic!
Spina Farms is the South Bay institution — hay rides, a corn maze, pumpkin blasters and a pumpkin train, with dinosaur photo ops that make no sense and delight everyone anyway.
Price – Admission to the patch is free; attraction tickets are sold on-site, and a Park Pass covering everything is usually available.
Dates – 2026 dates were not yet posted at the time of writing. Spina Farms traditionally opens the last weekend of September and runs through October 31 — check their website in late September.
Address – 225 Laguna Ave, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
READ MORE: 20 Best Pumpkin Patches In The San Francisco Bay Area
25. Pumpkins in the Park, San Jose – A free harvest festival downtown!
Pumpkins in the Park is a free annual celebration of the Valley’s harvest season, and a wonderful low-stakes way to start your October.
There is a pumpkin patch, performances, food trucks, inflatable slides and an obstacle course, all with the Guadalupe River Park as a backdrop. It is the kind of morning where nobody needs a ticket and nobody is watching the clock.
Date – Saturday, October 10, 2026, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Free.
Address – Discovery Meadow, 180 Woz Way, San Jose, CA 95110
Free Halloween Events in the Bay Area
Halloween can get expensive quickly, especially with more than one child. Here is everything in this guide that costs nothing at all — and several of them are the most memorable outings of the season.
- Halloween Hoopla, Yerba Buena Gardens, SF — Sat Oct 31, 12–3 pm
- Family Halloween Day, Randall Museum, SF — reported Oct 18, 10 am–2 pm
- Ocean Beach Bonfire Night, SF — Sat Oct 31, from 3 pm
- Pumpkins in the Park, San Jose — Sat Oct 10, 10 am–4 pm
- Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival — Oct 17 & 18 (admission free)
- World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Half Moon Bay — Mon Oct 12
- Dia de los Muertos Family Fun Fest, Jack London Square, Oakland
- Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade, San Ramon — Sun Oct 25, 2 pm
- The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, Palo Alto — free to walk through
- The World’s Biggest Pumpkin Sculpture, Half Moon Bay — free, year-round
- Jack O’Lantern Jamboree, Palo Alto Children’s Library — date TBC
- Your own neighbourhood — genuinely. Some Bay Area streets go all out, and a slow evening walk costs nothing at all.
READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to San Jose’s Most Spectacular Halloween Displays
Find Halloween Events Near You – A Bay Area Region Guide
Living here, we all know the truth: the best event is often the one you can actually get to. Here is the whole guide sorted by region.
| Region | What is on |
|---|---|
| South Bay (San Jose, Santa Clara, Gilroy, Morgan Hill) | Festival Fright Nights at the Winchester Mystery House • The Great Big BOO! at Gilroy Gardens • History Park Children’s Halloween Haunt • Pumpkins in the Park • Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch |
| Peninsula (Half Moon Bay, Palo Alto, San Mateo) | Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival • World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off • World’s Biggest Pumpkin Sculpture • Lemos Farm • The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch • Jack O’Lantern Jamboree |
| San Francisco | Halloween Hoopla at Yerba Buena Gardens • SuperNatural at the California Academy of Sciences • Family Halloween Day at the Randall Museum • Ocean Beach Bonfire Night • San Francisco Ghost Tours |
| East Bay (Oakland, Pleasanton, San Ramon) | Halloween Jam at Children’s Fairyland • Boo at the Zoo • Pirates of Emerson • Dia de los Muertos Family Fun Fest • Trick or Treat on the Farm • Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade |
| North Bay (Sausalito, Marin) | Goblin Jamboree at the Bay Area Discovery Museum |
| Santa Cruz & the Coast | Rodoni Farms U-Pick Pumpkin Patch • Thomas and Percy’s Halloween Party at Roaring Camp, Felton |
Practical Tips for Halloween in the Bay Area
- Book early. Fairyland, Goblin Jamboree and Roaring Camp all sell out, and the last two weekends before Halloween go first.
- Use the Saturday. With Halloween on a Saturday in 2026, the weekend of October 24–25 is your quieter option. Everything on the 31st will be busier than usual.
- Dress for microclimates. It can be 80 degrees in Gilroy and 55 and foggy at Ocean Beach on the same afternoon. Layers, always.
- Check the scare level. Ask before you buy. Lemos Farm splits its haunted house by age; Pirates of Emerson does not.
- Plan parking. Half Moon Bay on festival weekend and the Randall Museum are the two hardest. Public transport where you can.
- Confirm dates before you drive. Small community events move around. A two-minute check saves a disappointed child.
- Do not forget your own street. Some of our best Halloween evenings have been a slow walk around the neighbourhood after dark.
Bay Area Halloween Bucket List
To make your planning easier, I have created a handy visual bucket list with the best spooky and family-friendly events across the Bay Area.
Travel Realizations
Every year I notice the same thing. The events change, the prices creep up, the themes get reinvented — and none of that is what my children remember.
What they remember is the cold air on the drive home, the smell of woodsmoke and wet leaves, the weight of a pumpkin chosen entirely for its lopsidedness. They remember being allowed to be someone else for one evening, and being told they looked marvellous.
That is really what Halloween offers us in this beautiful, foggy, golden-hilled corner of California: permission to be delighted by small things. A glowing porch. A field of orange against a grey Pacific. A steam whistle in the redwoods.
So plan your weekends, book the tickets that need booking, and then let the evening go where it wants to. You will have a great time, believe me.
And do not forget to check your own neighbourhood’s Halloween decorations too — there is magic in the night when pumpkins glow in the moonlight.
20 Best Things to Do for Halloween in the San Francisco Bay Area #Halloween #BayArea #SanFrancisco Share on XI hope you have enjoyed my guide to the best things to do for Halloween in the San Francisco Bay Area. You may also enjoy these Bay Area and California travel guides.
- The Ultimate Guide to San Jose’s Most Spectacular Halloween Displays
- Best Ghost Tours in San Francisco
- 20 Best Pumpkin Patches In The San Francisco Bay Area
- Bay Area Apple Picking: 12 Best Orchards for a Perfect Fall Day
- The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch in Palo Alto 2026
- A Spooky Halloween Adventure in Gilroy Gardens
- Top 13 Haunted Places in the Bay Area
- 41 Best places to see fall colors in California
- 21 Best Ghost Towns in California
- 54 Top Weekend Trips from San Jose, California
- 45 Best Day Trips from San Francisco, California
If you need this travel guide to Halloween in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, Pin It for later.
