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Halloween Weekend in San Francisco Bay Area 2022: 25 Awesome Things To Do with Kids

Open the door to Everfall and enter The Land of Treats. Photo courtesy of Great America
Open the door to Everfall and enter The Land of Treats. Photo courtesy of Great America
10/26/22 - By Sandra Lee

Looking for the best things to do in San Francisco and the Bay Area this Halloween weekend? The city is positively bursting with Halloween parades, costume contests, and more family-friendly events to add to your list for this weekend.

Calling all goblins, ghosts, and ghouls: Halloween is here! There are so many spooky things to do in San Francisco from now until Monday. Get scared at a haunted house in San Jose, trick-or-treat with the animals at the zoo, go on a train ride in Felton, and have a glow party in Sausalito. These are just our best-of-the-best picks, too—there are also a ton of free events throughout the communities, and plenty of not-so-scary events for little ones in every neighborhood from San Jose to Oakland and beyond. You'll find all our Halloween activities on our San Francisco Bay Family Event Calendar. Happy Halloween!

Keep the celebration going with the top Halloween events in San Francisco, the best pumpkin patches, and more festive fun in our Halloween Events and Activities Guide for San Francisco Kids.

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Boo at the Zoo has treats for animals and humans alike! Photo courtesy of the Oakland Zoo
Boo at the Zoo has treats for animals and humans alike! Photo courtesy of the Oakland Zoo

Best Things To Do Halloween Weekend in San Francisco Bay Area

Supernatural at the Academy of Arts & Science

San Francisco - Friday, October 28
This beloved event is back at the California Academy of Arts & Sciences! The family-friendly event has all sorts of activities for kids of all ages: a silent disco, trick-or-treating, magic shows, live animal demonstrations, photo booths, crafts, face painting, mad scientist meet 'n' greets, and more.  READ MORE

Japantown Children's Halloween Carnival

San Francisco - Friday, October 28
After a two-year break, Japantown Halloween Carnival at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center is back! Activities for little ghosts and goblins include Halloween crafts, spooky storytelling, performances, a haunted hallway, a bounce house, a parade, and a costume contest for the kids.  READ MORE

The Haunted Trail of Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill - Friday, October 28
Free
Take a Halloween-themed stroll at Pleasant Hill Park with the whole family for a fun nighttime adventure.  Starting behind the Teen Center, families can stroll the not-so-scary trail to see Halloween displays and themed activities. Each participant gets a goody bag at the end of the trail.  READ MORE

Family Halloween Day at Randall Museum

San Francisco - Saturday, October 29
Free
Randall Museum’s annual Family Halloween Day is back! The museum is transformed - inside and out - and filled with spooky, but not scary, delights for the Halloween season.  READ MORE

Community Day: Dia De Los Muertos

San Jose - Saturday, October 29
Free
Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos at the San Jose Museum of Art with live entertainment, artmaking, and cultural demonstrations. Families can see a stunning ofrenda by artist Lissa Jones, engage in sugar skull decorating, decorate mariposa bookmarks, and make your own flor de Muerto.   READ MORE

Trunk or Treat Kids Fest – Car Show

Antioch - Saturday, October 29
Free
Trunk-or-treat with over 30 street vendors for a fun, safe, and free way to celebrate Halloween. Activities include a car show, costume parade and contest, pet costume contest, and pin-up contest.  READ MORE

Ghirardelli Spooky Square

San Francisco - Saturday, October 29
Free
Halloween at Ghirardelli Square is filled with fun activities for the whole family: A spooky magic show, a costume parade for kids, a Halloween dog costume, and more. READ MORE

Bats, Bats, and More Bats!

Palo Alto - Saturday, October 29
Halloween is here and Gamble Garden is celebrating with a morning of spooky fun. Activities include trick-or-treating, crafts, and even live bats!  READ MORE

Laser Spooktacular Halloween

Cupertino - Through Saturday, October 29
Celebrate Halloween with a display of laser-drawn images and music under the Planetarium sky at DeAnza College. The show features songs from Ghostbusters, Monster Mash, The Time Warp, and more.  READ MORE

Monster Bash

Mountain View - Saturday, October 29
Free
Rengstorff Park in Mountain View is transformed into a Halloween wonderland filled with treats like a twisty maze, spooky games, live performances, stilt walkers, inflatables, ooey gooey zone, Dia de los Muertos celebrations, and much more.  READ MORE

Blossom Birth and Family's Halloween Party

Palo Alto - Saturday, October 29
Free
Blossom Birth is hosting a Halloween party for families on October 29th at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto. READ MORE

Halloween Spooktacular

Martinez - Saturday, October 29
Free
Put on your Halloween costume and join local businesses for some fun and safe trick-or-treating in downtown Martinez.  Kid's crafts, games, and trunk-or-treating are also part of the fun while families stroll the streets with creatively themed and decorated car trunks and shops.  READ MORE

Halloween Hoopla

San Francisco - Saturday, October 29
Free
Celebrate Halloween a bit early at Yerba Buena Gardens at the 22nd Annual Halloween Hoopla. Enjoy performances, activities, and a costume parade to end the day! READ MORE

FUNtazmagoria 2022

Santa Rosa - Saturday & Sunday, October 29 & 30
The Children's Museum of Sonoma County transforms into a family-friendly art studio to celebrate Halloween. The Mad Scientist lab has potions, creepy critters, and tons of cool things to explore. The Art Studio is Glow in the Dark-themed with spider webs, ghostly shapes, and even slime. It's a not-so-scary Halloween event for the whole family.  READ MORE

Boo at the Zoo San Francisco

San Francisco - Saturday & Sunday, October 29 & 30
Boo at the Zoo returns to the SF Zoo with a costume parade and contest, a giant hay maze, animal feedings, candy treat bags for kids, and tons of trick-or-treating.  READ MORE

History Park's Halloween Haunt Light Show

San Jose - Through Sunday, October 30
Join the community in front of the Pacific Hotel in San Jose to view a special Halloween-themed light show. Then spend the rest of the evening strolling through History Park eating local food, listening to Halloween music, and making a craft or two.  READ MORE

Goblin Jamboree

Sausalito - Through Sunday, October 30
The Goblin Jamboree is back at the BADM. Wear your favorite costume and enjoy activities like a hay maze, a glow party, a slime banquet, web weaving, interactive spooky science, and pumpkin hollow. READ MORE

Tricks and Treats at Great America

Santa Clara - Through Sunday, October 30
Great America is introducing Tricks and Treats this year, a new Halloween event that is all fun with none of the scary stuff. Guests can choose the path of Tricks, which includes Icky Ville and Spooky Spires, or the path of Treats, with Sweet Tooth Acres and Everfall.  READ MORE

Halloween Dia de los Muertos

Oakland - Sunday, October 30 Free
Head over to Jack London Square for a free, family-friendly event celebrating Dia de los Muertos. Activities include chalk artists, DJs, face painting, crafts, pumpkins, costume contests, mariachi, Mexican Folklorico dancers, and goody bags with treats (while supplies last).  READ MORE

Halloween at the Boardwalk

Santa Cruz - Sunday, October 30
Free
Head to the beach for Halloween fun at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Kids can enter a costume contest, go trick-or-treating, enjoy arcade games, and enjoy the beach. Older thrill-seeking kiddos can go through the Fright Walk, but don't say we didn't warn you!  READ MORE

Halloween Jam at Children's Fairyland

Oakland- Through Sunday, October 30
This six-day event is filled with spooky (but not scary) creepy, crawly Halloween fun. Special activities include a scavenger hunt, arts and crafts, and a ghost town kids can walk through. Each child also gets a goodie bag full of Halloween goodies. READ MORE

Thomas and Percy’s Halloween Party

Felton - Through Sunday, October 30
Roaring Camp Railroads is hosting the opportunity to take a ride with Percy and Thomas all decked out for Halloween. Other activities include storytelling, video viewing, temporary tattoos, a pumpkin patch, and an Imagination Station with arts and crafts. Sir Topham Hatt will be there for meet n' greets.  READ MORE

Boo at the Zoo

Oakland - Through Monday, October 31
Boo at the Zoo is back at the Oakland Zoo every day from October 22-31. This family-friendly event is super popular and this year has an animal-themed spooky scavenger hunt that includes a limited-release trading card and candy bar prize! READ MORE

Unhinged: Nightshade's Curse

San Jose - Through Monday, October 31
Winchester Mystery House is at it again with a scary haunted house show. This immersive indoor/outdoor experience has dark walks, special effects, and professional actors to scare you. The show is not suitable for kids under 13 years old, or older kids that are sensitive to scary elements. But if you have big kids who like jump scares, this is a unique-to-San Francisco Halloween event! READ MORE

Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs: de Young Museum

San Francisco - October 25 - February 12
Check out the state-of-the-art immersive exhibition, Ramses The Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs at the de Young museum. Not only will guests get to see all the artifacts, many of which have never left Egypt, but also try a new virtual reality experience. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California