California’s big Halloween scares

California turns the spooky season up a notch with over-the-top haunted attractions and theme park events. From high-intensity thrills to family-friendly Halloween programming, these destinations showcase some of the Golden State’s biggest ways to celebrate.

North Coast

 

Ghost hunting after dark in Crescent City

 

Crescent City leans into its haunted reputation with walking ghost tours through downtown, where visitors use paranormal investigation tools while hearing stories tied to some of the city's spookiest locations. Continue the night at The Bank Tavern in nearby Smith River, a historic bar where apparitions are reportedly known to play pool.

 

Ukiah kicks off fall with Pumpkinfest

 

The 33rd annual Ukiah Country Pumpkinfest celebrates the city's 150th anniversary with a giant pumpkin weigh-off on Oct. 16 followed by a downtown street fair Oct. 17-18. The weekend also includes the Pumpkinfest Parade on Saturday morning and the Scarecrow City competition throughout Ukiah's historic district.

 

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse puts a coastal spin on Halloween

 

California's historic lighthouses carry plenty of spooky lore, including Point Cabrillo Lighthouse between Mendocino and Fort Bragg. The 117-year-old landmark is the state's last operational lighthouse with a rotating Fresnel lens and takes on an especially eerie atmosphere at dusk.

San Francisco Bay Area

 

Get lost in Petaluma's giant corn maze

 

Opening Sept. 25, Petaluma Pumpkin Patch & Amazing Corn Maze returns for its 34th year with a sprawling maze that visitors can navigate with or without a map. Two elevated platforms offer views over the maze while the pumpkin patch adds farm animals, pony rides and seasonal treats. On Friday and Saturday nights, visitors can tackle the maze after dark with flashlights.

 

Napa celebrates Howl-O-Ween with four-legged friends

 

Howl-O-Ween at the Meritage Resort & Spa brings pups and their people together for a Halloween costume contest, dog-safe pumpkin treats and a festive patio gathering. Guests can order from the Yappy Hour menu or choose the Wine & Wag special with two glasses of bubbles, an appetizer and a canine treat.

 

Mountain View mixes costumes, canines & crime

 

The Ameswell Hotel begins its Halloween lineup Oct. 25 with Barks & Boos, featuring a dog costume contest, vendor market and pet adoption event with Pets in Need. On Oct. 30, Midnight at the Masquerade turns the ballroom into a murder mystery paired with a three-course dinner for $99 per person. On Halloween, costumed diners at ROGER receive 30% off their bill.

 

Santa Rosa brings Peanuts into spooky season

 

The Charles M. Schulz Museum hosts Great Pumpkin-themed crafts and treats for families on Oct. 14 plus a separate adult happy hour with crafts, sweets and wines made by the late Jean Schulz. The Children's Museum of Sonoma County follows with Family FUNtaz Night (Oct. 22-23), featuring costumes, crafts, science experiments and music.

 

Santa Clara packs Halloween with family fun

 

Santa Clara's Halloween lineup ranges from pumpkin painting, trick-or-treating and a children's costume parade at Spooktaclara (Oct. 24) to the Diwali Dandiya & Halloween Festival (Oct. 31). Visitors can learn about the history and reported paranormal activity of the former Agnews State Hospital or dress up for Mission College's Monster Dash 5K on Oct. 10. The race concludes with a Monster Bash featuring music and games.

 

San Francisco gets scientific at SuperNatural

 

The California Academy of Sciences hosts SuperNatural on Oct. 24 from 6:30 P.M-9:00 P.M., with VIP entry beginning at 5:00 P.M. The all-ages Halloween party combines live animals and unusual scientific specimens with trick-or-treating, an aquarium silent disco, face painting and crafts.

 

Nightfall casts a spell over Filoli

 

Nightfall transforms Filoli's 654-acre Woodside estate into an immersive Halloween world spanning the historic House, Meadow and Redwood Natural Lands. Encounter more than 200 scarecrows, 1,000 glowing jack-o'-lanterns, giant banana slugs, live characters, tarot readings and seasonal treats. New additions include a Witches' Village and miniature train village with more than 1,000 feet of track.

 

Sonoma Valley pours on the Halloween spirit

 

Sonoma Valley's October lineup includes trick-or-treating around the historic Plaza on Oct. 31 and Spooky Skies stargazing at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Adults can choose from a Haunted Victorian Halloween, masquerade ball and candlelit concert of Halloween classics. Larson Family Winery even gets dogs involved with a canine costume contest paired with wine and prizes.

Gold Country

 

Preston Castle opens its haunted halls in Ione

 

The Haunt at Preston Castle takes visitors inside Ione's historic former Preston School of Industry, an imposing 1890s reform school associated with decades of ghost stories. The walkthrough haunted attraction returns Oct. 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24.

 

Columbia doubles the Halloween fun

 

Columbia State Historic Park hosts Boo Boulevard on Oct. 24 with trick-or-treating, face painting, crafts, games, a Gargoyle Quest, Zombie Dance, costume contest and jack-o'-lantern competition. At 6:00 P.M., the Spooky Street Dance Party takes over Columbia with live music, street food and a beer and wine garden. Costumes and dancing are encouraged.

 

Madera County rolls into spooky season

 

Madera County's Halloween lineup includes the Halloween Limited Train (Oct. 24-26) at Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, combining trick-or-treating, dinner, a forest train ride and campfire stories. Other events include Haunted Night at the Museum at the Fossil Discovery Center, Coarsegold's Tarantula Awareness Festival (Oct. 30) and Bass Lake's Halloween Carnival (Oct. 24). Families can also find Trunk-or-Treat (Oct. 30) at Tesoro Viejo Farmers Market and Halloween Treat Trail (Oct. 24) in Chowchilla.

High Sierra

 

Truckee digs into its haunted past

 

Truckee's Gold Rush-era buildings, Old Jail, railroad history and ties to the Donner Party have inspired generations of local ghost stories. The annual Historical Haunted Tour (Oct 15-16) brings that past to life at seven downtown locations while self-guided tours and ghost-hunting kits from the Truckee Library offer another way to investigate. Lighter seasonal traditions include the Donner Lake Witches Paddle on Oct. 10 and community Halloween festivities.

Central Valley

 

Fairfield rolls out pumpkins & candy

 

The Western Railway Museum's Pumpkin Patch Festival runs weekends Oct. 10-25, taking families aboard a historic electric train to Gum Grove Station for pumpkins, tractor rides, a hay fortress, pumpkin chucking and a petting zoo. Jelly Belly Candy Palooza (Sept. 26-27) adds live entertainment, vendors, pony rides, candy sampling and food. Adults 21+ can also join a Wine and Chocolate Experience.

 

Butte County mixes frights, film & drag

 

Downtown Oroville hosts the Show & Stroll Spooktacular and Haunted Alley on Oct. 16 followed by the Frights and Light Parade on Oct. 17. The historic Oroville State Theatre screens the 2004 “Phantom of the Opera” on Oct. 24 then presents the 1925 silent version with Wurlitzer pipe organ and live vocals Oct. 25. That same day in Chico, performers from across Northern California take the stage for “Creatures of the Night: A Halloween Drag Cabaret.”

 

Modesto harvests plenty of Halloween fun

 

SONS Farm Fresh combines a large pumpkin patch and fall activities with a haunted maze while Dutch Hollow Farms offers a corn maze, pumpkins and farm animals. Rodin Farms adds unusual pumpkin varieties, seasonal produce and local snacks. Downtown, The State Theatre gets into the spirit with a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Central Coast

 

Gilroy Gardens keeps Halloween playful

 

The Great Big BOO! transforms Gilroy Gardens into a not-too-spooky Halloween celebration on select dates Sept. 25-Nov. 1. Families can follow the story of Vinnie the Vampire, Wolfgang Werewolf and Wendella the Witch through live musical shows, themed rides and character encounters. The event also features trick-or-treating along the BOO Trail, seasonal food and drinks, light displays and the illuminated BOO Alley Light Tunnel.

Costumed paddlers take over Morro Bay

 

The Morro Bay Witches and Warlocks Paddle returns Oct. 24, bringing hundreds of costumed kayakers and paddlers onto the water. The procession launches from Coleman Park and travels along the Embarcadero with Morro Rock as its backdrop.

 

Swank Farms goes from fall festival to fright night

 

Swank Farms combines a nine-acre corn maze, rides, farm animals and pumpkin slingshots with adult drinks and seasonal nighttime attractions. Hoptoberfest on Oct. 3 features more than 20 local breweries while the Trail of Lights provides an illuminated evening experience. Visitors looking for bigger scares can enter Terror in the Corn, where actors hide throughout the cornfield.

 

Pismo Beach brings pumpkins to the coast

 

Pumpkins in the Park brings Halloween to Pismo Beach's cliffside Dinosaur Caves Park with free pumpkins for children and family-friendly seasonal activities. Afterward, families can head downtown for trick-or-treating at participating local businesses.

 

Monterey Bay pours its ghost stories into cocktails

 

The Sanctuary Beach Resort brings Monterey Bay folklore to Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette with Killer Cocktails, available Oct. 1-Nov. 1. Each limited-time drink draws on local ghost stories and legends, pairing themed flavors with tales from the region's haunted history.

 

Paso Robles blends wine with Halloween traditions

 

Graveyard Vineyards overlooks historic Pleasant Valley Cemetery while Chesebrough Farms offers October pumpkin picking and Jack Creek Farms adds a corn maze, produce and Pumpkin Palooza craft kits. Sensorio rounds out the lineup with its Halloween-themed Halloweek celebration.

 

Solvang turns its Danish village into Halloween town

 

The Solvang Haunted House takes over the Festival Theater Oct. 23-24 with the 2026 theme "Nightmares…And Beyond." On Oct. 10, the theater also hosts a one-night paranormal investigation led by The Haunt Ghost Tours.

 

Thousand Oaks unleashes Reign of Terror

 

"Reign of Terror" Haunted House fills 32,000 sq. ft. at Janss Marketplace with 12 interconnected attractions and more than 140 rooms. Cinematic sets, live and mechanical characters, lighting, sound and special effects turn the entire attraction into one continuous haunted journey. The long-running haunt returns select nights from late Sept. through Nov. 1 and is intended for mature audiences.

Los Angeles County

 

Catalina Island takes trick-or-treating into the garden

 

Treats on the Trail returns to Catalina Island's Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden on Oct. 29. The free family event sends costumed visitors along garden paths for treats, hands-on activities and nature-inspired Halloween surprises.

 

West Hollywood turns Halloween into a citywide spectacle

 

West Hollywood's Halloween Carnival transforms Santa Monica Blvd into a massive celebration of elaborate costumes, live entertainment, dancing and people-watching. Visitors can turn the event into a weekend getaway with nearby hotels, restaurants, rooftop bars and nightlife all within easy reach of the festivities.

Los Angeles serves Halloween at every scare level

 

Los Angeles offers everything from high-intensity haunts at Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights and the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park. Families and cultural travelers can also mark Día de los Muertos at Olvera Street with altars, music, dancing and community gatherings honoring loved ones. 

 

Valencia pairs roller coasters with Fright Fest

 

Six Flags Magic Mountain's Fright Fest combines haunted mazes, scare zones and live entertainment with the park's roller coasters after dark. New for 2026 are “Final Destination: Death's Playground” and “Wolves' Blood,” joining returning attractions inspired by “The Conjuring Universe” and “Trick 'r Treat.”

 

Long Beach offers scares aboard the Queen Mary & pumpkins ashore

 

Dark Harbor transforms the Queen Mary into a haunted festival Sept. 18-Nov. 1 with mazes, carnival rides, speakeasies, séances, food and bars. The ship also offers overnight packages with 20% off Dark Harbor VIP tickets. For younger visitors, El Dorado Frontier hosts a weekend pumpkin patch with train rides, seasonal attractions and opening-weekend activities including a Monster Mash Dance Party and spooky storytelling.

Orange County

 

Huntington Beach gives its Spookeasy a coastal twist

 

Pete's Spookeasy returns to Pete's Sunset Grille at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa from Sept. 27-Nov. 2. The pop-up combines the restaurant's coastal setting with Halloween décor, themed cocktails, a seasonal menu and other spooky surprises for hotel guests and locals.

 

Irvine keeps Halloween outdoors & kid-friendly

 

Tanaka Farms opens its Irvine Pumpkin Patch on Sept. 12 with wagon rides, a family-friendly corn maze, U-pick vegetables, barnyard animals, games and pumpkins. Irvine Regional Park Railroad launches its own pumpkin patch the same day with seasonal activities and train rides. 

 

Buena Park goes big on Halloween

 

Buena Park spans extreme scares and kid-friendly Halloween fun with Knott's Scary Farm, waiver-required horror attraction The 17th Door and daytime Knott's Spooky Farm. Vampirates at Pirates Dinner Adventure adds sword fights and stunts while The Cauldron Spirits & Brews brings a witch-themed restaurant and bar into the mix. The city's fall calendar also includes the three-day Silverado Days festival.

Inland Empire

 

Big Bear Lake stretches Halloween across October

 

Big Bear Lake celebrates throughout October with a Fall Scarecrow & Día de los Muertos Decorating Contest featuring scarecrows, colorful calacas and ofrendas across the mountain community. Fall foliage adds gold, crimson and orange to the surrounding forest while Big Bear Hiking Adventures offers Halloween night hikes. On Halloween, families head to The Village for downtown trick-or-treating.

 

Temecula brings the Headless Horseman to wine country

 

Temecula Carriage Company offers lantern-lit wagon rides through wine country every weekend in October. Draft horses pull guests past glowing pumpkins, candlelit barns, harvest lights, scarecrows and jack-o'-lanterns during the 20-minute journey. The all-ages ride ends with an appearance by the Headless Horseman.

Deserts

 

Greater Palm Springs celebrates Halloween desert-style

 

Greater Palm Springs marks a spooky season with two nights of Howl-O-Ween festivities Oct. 25-26 followed by the Halloween Chili Cook-Off and Car Show on Oct. 31. The latter pairs vintage and custom vehicles with competitive chili tasting from local vendors and home cooks.

San Diego County

 

Little Italy turns India Street into a Halloween promenade

 

San Diego's Little Italy hosts Trick-or-Treat on India Street on Oct. 25 from 3:30-7:30 p.m., with participating businesses handing out treats along streets closed to vehicle traffic. Piazza della Famiglia gets a “Nightmare Before Christmas” makeover with a 13-foot Jack Skellington, pumpkin displays and photo opportunities. Families can also enjoy local vendors, live music, a kids' coloring zone and the Shake Shack Little Italy Costume Contest.

 

Oceanside celebrates Halloween two ways

 

Oceanside offers Halloween events for both families and adults, starting with Frontwave Arena's free Treats in the Suites on Oct. 21, featuring trick-or-treating, games, activities and special appearances. On Oct. 24, Oceanside Museum of Art hosts the 21+ “ART AFTER DARK: Anatomy of the Surreal,” blending art, fashion, performances and drinks with a costume competition inspired by David Adey's “Sacrificial Bodies” exhibition.

 

La Jolla dives into Halloween after dark

 

Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography combines marine science with Halloween across three nights. Adults 21+ can attend Oceans at Night: Halloween on Oct. 22 while the family-friendly Halloween Aglow follows Oct. 23-24. Both events pair unusual marine life with seasonal programming and illuminated aquarium spaces.

 

San Diego puts audiences inside a ghost story

 

The Rosin Box Project brings “Ghost Light Masquerade” back to San Diego's Arts District Liberty Station, blending contemporary dance, theater and interactive storytelling. Masked guests move through the legend of the Nocturne Theatre at The Soap Factory as dancers and spirits become part of the unfolding story.

 

Carlsbad gets creative for Halloween

 

Carlsbad's Halloween lineup ranges from hands-on workshops to haunted attractions and theme park festivities. Visitors can make pottery jack-o'-lanterns at Handled Pottery Studio or glass pumpkins at Barrio Glassworks then head to LEGOLAND California for Brick-or-Treat. Bigger scares come from the Carlsbad Strawberry Company's Haunted Corn Maze while Carlsbad Food Tours adds local ghost stories to its seasonal Haunted Food Tours.