The Bay Area is a candy wonderland for young ghouls and ghosts, with many events for kids to trick or treat in San Francisco during Halloween. The city gets festively freakish all month long, and there are literally dozens of activities to choose from. So, be prepared to enjoy full-on spookiness and fun for your little ones as we dig deeper into every corner to find the best spot for collecting terrifying amounts of candy while experiencing the chills and thrills of the spooky season.
Are you ready to set out for a scary-good trick-or-treating experience with your little goblins? Let the candy hauls begin with our top 15 best places in San Francisco for some trick or treat Halloween activities with kids! Go ahead and mark your calendars and add them to your list to keep the spooky spirit alive.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
1001 Fairgrounds Dr., Vallejo, CA 94589
Phone Number: (707) 644-4000
September 21 – November 3, 2024
Friday | 6:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Saturday | 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Sunday | 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Enjoy this new family-friendly adventure of Trick-or-Treat Street in the San Francisco Bay Area and get candy from your favorite characters from the park. Enjoy all this season has to offer—with a few special animal shows with twists of their own. Be sure to check out The Wildlife Halloween Experience, Drench! Halloween, and Ghoul School. For older kids, check out Fright Fest.
By day, enjoy family-friendly rides, shows, and trick-or-treating. By night, scream your lungs out with scare zones and night coasters. Face your darkest fears inside the premium haunted houses, available only with the Haunted Attractions Pass.
Gilroy Gardens
3050 Hecker Pass Hwy., Gilroy, CA 95020
Phone Number: (408) 840-7100
September 27 – October 27, 2024
Friday | 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday | 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Put on your costumes and come experience the Bay Area’s beloved Halloween tradition: The Great Big BOO! During this fully immersive experience, Gilroy Gardens is transformed into the wacky world of BOO Alley. You’ll meet some funny new friends who need your help to save Halloween!
Come in costume and follow the BOO Trail trick-or-treating stations throughout the park. This is a FREE, safe, & family-friendly experience for all ages to collect candy throughout Boo Alley. Enjoy a live musical show as you “Do the Boo” with a charming cast of Halloween characters at Gilroy Gardens’ Lakeside Amphitheater.
Bay Area Discovery Museum
557 McReynolds Rd., Sausalito, CA 94965
Phone Number: (415) 339-3900
October 19-20 & 25-27, 2024
Friday – Sunday | 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Calling all little goblins and their families! Join other kids for a spooktacular time at the Goblin Jamboree, where the museum transforms into a wickedly fun Halloween wonderland. Prepare for ghoulishly great activities like building Goblin Gliders, stirring up Magic Brew, and attending a Glow Slime Banquet. It’s a hauntingly good time for the whole family.
From crafting creepy creatures at Build-a-Beast to diving into the glowing Slime Swamp, this family favorite is packed with spooky fun. With every Halloween event and activity, you’re not just having a blast — your kiddos are learning and helping bring joyful learning to kids across the San Francisco Bay Area. So gather your goblins, put on your costumes, and celebrate!
Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA 94114
Phone Number: (415) 554-9600
October 19, 2024
Saturday | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Come in costume and join in the fun at the Randall Museum’s annual Family Halloween Day. The museum will be transformed inside and out, featuring Goofy Ghoul Games, Crafty Crafts, Trick-or-Treats, Costume Awards, Deep Sea Adventure, Giant Bat Cave, Day-Glow Dance Party, and more!
This family-friendly Halloween event in San Francisco also features live entertainment from Luke Schwartz Trio and Brian Scott Magic.
Children’s Fairyland
699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland, CA 94610
Phone Number: (510) 452-2259
October 19 – 20, 2024
Saturday – Sunday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
October 25 – 27, 2024
Saturday – Sunday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Halloween Jam is Fairyland’s most famous, most festive, most fantastic fall celebration. This year, they’re brewing up a lineup of fun that includes special performances, decked-out storybook sets, arts and crafts, puppet shows, bouncy houses, treat stations, games and prizes, a photo booth, and new surprises!
It’s only getting bigger, better, and more bewitching. Catch these daily shows: performers at Emerald City Stage, the “Tricks & Treats” puppet show, special events during Halloween Jam, Oakland’s Magic Kitchen with Chef Michele McQueen of Town Fare restaurant, and a book celebration with Nikki Shannon Smith.
Oakland Zoo
9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland, CA 94605
Phone Number: (510) 632-9525
October 25-27, 2024
Friday – Sunday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Calling all ghosts, goblins, and witches – join other kids for Boo at the Zoo! Grab a program as you enter the Zoo and follow the clues on our self-guided scavenger hunt to trick-or-treat for special edition animal Trading Cards throughout the Zoo. Upon completing your scavenger hunt, collect a bonus Trading Card and a fair trade organic chocolate from their presenting sponsor, TCHO Chocolate*.
Remember to dress in costume (no inflatable costumes – they can scare the Zoo animals) when you visit. Win great prizes at their in-person costume contest held each day of Boo at the Zoo at noon in the Wildlife Theater located in the Wayne & Gladys Valley Children’s Zoo, or tag #OaklandZoo on social media to enter our virtual costume contest. Come and celebrate Halloween at Oakland Zoo this year!
The Center
1840 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone Number: (415) 567-5505
October 25, 2024
Friday | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Japantown is opening its doors again to all you little ghosts and goblins for its annual Japantown Halloween Carnival with JCYC! Come out for a great night of Halloween fun, including Halloween crafts activities, cultural and Community Performances, a bounce house, a costume parade, and a contest for kids. There will be special prizes for the cutest, scariest, most creative, best overall, and most spirited group/family!
Come out and enjoy the festivities. Enter the costume contest to win Halloween treats and prizes from the Center and JCYC. There will also be a scary snack sale to support JCYC’s youth programs.
Livermore Downtown
2155 Third St., Livermore, CA 94551
Phone Number: (925) 583-5242
October 26, 2024
Saturday | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Halloween Fun is back in Downtown Livermore. Livermore’s favorite family tradition is for families with children in 5th grade and under. The day includes the Costume Contest, Music, Trick or Treating at participating downtown businesses, fun kids’ games and activities, and even more trick or treating at Stockmen’s Park with local businesses.
This year, trick-or-treat bags are back! Thanks to Marcel Orthodontics, trick-or-treat bags are FREE to little trick-or-treaters while supplies last. Treat bags are available to the first 1,500 children in attendance. Trick-or-treat bag pickup locations are coming soon, so stay tuned!
San Francisco Zoo
Sloat Blvd. at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 94132
Phone Number: (415) 753-7080
October 26 – 27, 2024
Saturday – Sunday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Everyone’s favorite Halloween event is back! Boo at the Zoo will take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 26 & 27, with the highlight, as always, a chance to dress up in costume for the 12-noon Costume Parade and Contest as families, groups, and individuals come as their favorite superhero, animal species or the latest kids’ craze. New this year is the Franken-stomp Dance Party, which will take place after the costume party in the playground area.
Not to miss is the return of the Haunted Nature Trail, decorated especially for the occasion with ghosts, goblins, and more. The Insect Zoo will be decked out with some naturally creepy crawlers, like giant cockroaches, flesh-eating beetles, and giant tarantulas. Classic bug horror movies will be played on the video monitor inside the exhibit.
The West End Village
W 4th St., San Rafael, CA 94901
Phone Number: (415) 849-1874
October 26, 2024
Saturday | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Enjoy a family-friendly way to celebrate Halloween. Fourth Street merchants will be welcoming kids and families on Saturday, October 26th. Dress up, bring a bag, and get ready for some treats (or tricks). Look for the “Participating Businesses” sign in the window for some treats. Don’t miss the Pet Costume Contest sponsored by Woodlands Pet Food & Treats in the Plaza from 1:30p-3p.
There will also be a Trunk or Treat activity sponsored by the San Rafael Police Department with a festive SR Police Car passing out candy in Plaza. Check out the Prize Wheel in the Plaza by Foster Our Future.
Golden Gate Park
55 Music Concourse Dr., San Francisco, CA 94118
Phone Number: (415) 379-8000
October 26, 2024
Friday | 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
SuperNatural is back for the BIGGEST Halloween yet. Join everyone for a heart-thumping and brain-tingling good time as you explore the Academy at night—including the newest exhibition, The World’s Largest Dinosaurs. Start planning your costumes for an evening of larger-than-life, family-friendly Halloween fun with bones, boos, science, and a sweet trick or treat event in San Francisco Bay Area’s Halloween celebration.
Shake your bones at a silent disco in Steinhart Aquarium. Satisfy your sweet tooth at trick-or-treat stations. Marvel at mystical magic shows. See what slithers and scuttles at live animal demonstrations. Meet mad scientists and ogle at unusual specimens. Create crafts to “DIY” for. Transform into living (or undead) art with face painting. Immortalize your spirit at a photo booth.
Jack London Square
Broadway/Embarcadero, West Oakland, CA 94607
Phone Number: (510) 645-9292
October 27, 2024
Sunday | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Join Jack London Square for a FREE Halloween Dia De Los Muertos family fun fest at the plaza near Plank. This event will include a DJ, chalk artists, face painting, crafts, pumpkins, a costume contest, mariachis, Mexican Folklorico dancers, and goody bags filled with treats (while supplies last). This event is free and open to the public.
The Great Highway Park
704 Great Hwy., San Francisco, CA 94121
October 27, 2024
Sunday | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
You are invited to the Trick or Treat family-friendly event at the Beach in San Francisco! Enjoy a safe, car-free Halloween experience at The Great Highway Park. The Great Highway’s massive Halloween block party, affectionately called the Great HauntWay, is gearing up for the ultimate trick-or-treating experience for kids and families. Take the kids or sign up to run a trick-or-treating booth.
An entire 10-block stretch of the Great Highway between Judah and Taraval Streets will be blocked off during the afternoon for a safe and car-free spooky festival. Kids can enjoy trick-or-treating at countless candy booths, arts and crafts, pumpkin decorating, and big bubbles. Anyone can host their trick-or-treat station and deck it out with their best Halloween decorations.
Fourth Street Shops
Fourth St., Berkeley, CA, 94710
Phone Number: (510) 644-3002
October 31, 2024
Thursday | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Bring the family and join the annual Halloween celebrations on Fourth Street! Fourth Street Berkeley will decorate the street and welcome all costumed kids to trick or treat at 80 merchant shops on Fourth Street between University and Virginia. All free activities and services, located on Delaware at Fourth Street. Not-so-scary activities also include a Bubble Show, the Scary Hair professionals of Keter Salon, plastic spiders, and more!
You will find an art activity booth, face painting (3 professional painters), and family-friendly tunes by PJay Smik Smak and the Cliffnottes. Kids will have a meet-and-greet with an array of costumed characters and actors, such as the Cat in the Hat, a donkey, the Snow Queen on stilts, Daniel Tiger, Elsa, a talking compost pile, a Tudor Lion, and a wizard!
Children’s Garden, Yerba Buena Gardens
799 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone Number: (415) 543-1718
November 2, 2024
Saturday | 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The 24th annual Halloween Hoopla event is back in San Francisco with family-friendly frights and delights for kids under 10 and their adults. This year’s festivities will amaze with awe-inspiring performers from Circus Bella, plus live music from the Circus Bella All-Star Trio. The Hoopla grand finale is the popular Halloween Costume Parade – all kids are welcome to join in their best Halloween looks.
More fa-BOO-lous fun includes Juggling, Rola Bola, Strongman & Foot Juggling, live music from the Circus Bella All-Star Trio, Madam Z palm reading, and craft and activity tables from Children’s Creativity Museum, Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy & the Mexican Museum. Halloween Hoopla is the place for all the little ghouls and their families!
It’s a no-brainer that trick or treat events on Halloween in San Francisco are one of the much-awaited events for kids and adults. And while walking down the street where you live is always an easy option, some popular hotspots are famed for wildly decorated venues with a festive atmosphere. Your tots and older kids are starting to get excited about the sweet fest that’s coming right around the corner while being dressed up in their favorite character. So, get your little ghosts and goblins all geared up and visit the best places to trick or treat in San Francisco with kids!
San Francisco offers so many opportunities for kids to enjoy and have fun all year round! Check out our list of resources, or browse through our things to do in San Francisco with kids. Still looking for more activities for kids in San Francisco? No problem! Check out our comprehensive listing of places to go in the region and our highly recommended seasonal blog posts.
Top 10 Places for Kids to Trick or Treat in the Sacramento Area
Our Top 10 Trick or Treat Activities in San Jose
25 Best Pumpkin Patches in San Francisco Bay Area
20 Fun Things to Do in San Francisco with Kids
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