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Our Top 15 Best Places to Trick or Treat in The San Francisco Bay Area with Kids
October 9, 2022

Halloween events in San Francisco to cruise for trick or treat activities with kids!

The Bay Area is a candy wonderland for young ghouls and ghosts with so many events taking place 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 corners to find the best spot for collecting terrifying amounts of candy while experiencing the chills and thrills of the spooky season.

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Looking for a place to trick or treat with your kids in San Francisco? Oh well, no need to stress yourself out because San Francisco has lined up Halloween events and activities your kids will surely enjoy. Now that Halloween is just around the corner — expect the Bay Area’s favorite neighborhoods to be wrapped in black and orange once again. You’ll find haunted houses in the garages or tombstones stuck in the front yards. Or perhaps you’ll witness the most intricate carvings and over-the-top Jack-o’-Lantern displays across the streets!

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.

Trick or Treat and Halloween Events For Kids in San Francisco Bay Area

Six Flags Kids Boo Fest
Photo by: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Kids Boo Fest

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
1001 Fairgrounds Dr., Vallejo, CA 94589
September 24 – October 31, 2022 | Thursday – Monday | 12:00 am – 5:00 pm

Enjoy this new family-friendly adventure of Trick-or-Treat Street around the park and get candy by your favorite characters. Enjoy all this season has to offer—with a few special animal shows with a 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. For more details, please click the link HERE.

A Bigger, Better Boo!
Photo by: Gilroy Gardens

A Bigger, Better Boo!

3050 Hecker Pass Hwy., Gilroy, CA 95020
October 1-30, 2022
Friday | 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday | 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Bonus Week: October 24-28, 2022
Monday – Thursday | 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Bring the whole family out to Do the BOO at Gilroy Gardens this October! On select evenings, the entire park will be transformed into the wacky world of BOO Alley — with kooky characters, and tricks and treats around every corner. Get dressed up in costumes and take the kids around the BOO Trail to trick or treat for candy. Ride the Boo Train, see the pumpkin pyramid and make your way through the hay maze.

Enjoy a live musical show as you “Do the Boo” with a charming cast of Halloween characters at Gilroy Gardens’ Lakeside Amphitheater. Meet Vinnie the Vampire, Cranium the Mad Scientist, and Wendella the Witch on a quest to save Halloween. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Trick or treat events in San Francisco - Halloween Jam
Photo by: Children’s Fairyland

Halloween Jam

699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland, CA 94610
October 21-23 & 28-31, 2022 | Friday – Sunday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

This year, Fairyland is a bit batty about Halloween Jam. This six-day event is a boo-tiful time, more kooky than spooky, and full of outdoor fall fun and festivities at Fairyland! Enjoy seasonal surprises like decked-out sets, a creepy crawly scavenger hunt, arts and crafts stations where you can make your own bat costume, and the ghost town formerly known as Old West Junction.

Children’s Fairyland is one of the best events for kids to trick or treat in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kids get a special Halloween goodie bag. Come celebrate Halloween Jam and have a bat-tastic time. For more details, please click the link HERE. 

Goblin Jamboree
Photo by: Bay Area Discovery Museum

Goblin Jamboree

557 McReynolds Rd., Sausalito, CA 94965
October 22-23, 2022 | Saturday – Sunday | 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
October 26-30, 2022 | Wednesday – Sunday | 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Spooky season is here. Experience the museum totally transformed for a fangtastic Halloween fundraiser for the whole family. Show off your costumes and enjoy special programs including Disglow Party, Hay Maze, Slime Banquet, Web Weaving, Spooky Science, Pumpkin Hollow, and more spooky programs.

Experience the wonder of the spooky and surreal at Bay Area Discovery Museum’s annual Halloween fundraiser. Enjoy early access, breakfast bites and entertainment for the whole family. Goblin Jamboree is rain or shine. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Trick or treat events in San Francisco - Boo at the Zoo - Oakland
Photo by: Oakland Zoo

Boo at the Zoo

9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland, CA 94605
October 22-31, 2022 | Monday – Sunday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Head over to one of the San Francisco East Bay Area’s annual Halloween weekend events, “Boo at the Zoo,” with lots of fun activities and trick or treat for kids. This year, the event takes place on even more days to space guests out and meet demand. Grab a program as you enter the zoo and follow the clues on its self-guided scavenger hunt to find all the trick-or-treating animals hidden throughout the zoo.

Kids will receive a pre-stuffed goodie bag and can go on a scavenger hunt through the zoo to find trick-or-treating animals hidden throughout the property. Guests can wear costumes and enter the zoo’s costume contest by posting on social media for a chance to win tickets to the holiday event at the zoo, Glowfari. For more information, please visit their website.  

Halloween events in San Francisco - SuperNatural
Photo by: California Academy of Sciences

SuperNatural

Golden Gate Park
55 Music Concourse Dr., San Francisco, CA 94118
October 28, 2022 | Friday | 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Join California Academy of Sciences for a fright at the museum. Embrace your eerie side and and haunt the halls in costume for the annual family-friendly, scientifically spine-tingling Halloween event. 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. And last but not least, teens can rest in peace at an exclusive teen lounge with arcade games, snacks, and more. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Halloween events and activities for kids in San Francisco - Kidz Town Halloween Hay Day
Photo by: Livermore Downtown

Kidz Town Halloween Hay Day

2155 Third St., Livermore, CA 94551
October 29, 2022 | Saturday | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Livermore’s favorite family tradition, for families with children 5th grade and under is back. The day includes costume contest, trick or treating at participating downtown businesses and fun kids’ games and activities and even more trick or treating at Stockmen’s Park!

They’ll share a “Trick or Treat Trail” flyer before the event where we highlight participating businesses. Don’t forget to bring your own bag for the trick or treating experience. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Trick or treat events in San Francisco - Randall Museum Family Halloween Day
Photo by: Randall Museum

Randall Museum Family Halloween Day

199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA 94114
October 29, 2022 | Saturday | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Join Randall Museum’s annual family-friendly Halloween Spooktacular! The whole museum will be filled with spooky but not scary delights for the Halloween season. Costumed revelers will find unexpected surprises throughout the museum while enjoying familiar favorites like Creepy Crafts, Ghoulish Games, Trick-or-Treating, Live Music & Entertainment, Pumpkin Decorating, and more!

Come in costume and join in the fun. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Halloween Hoopla
Photo by: Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

Halloween Hoopla

799 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103
October 29, 2022 | Saturday | 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The 22nd annual Halloween Hoopla returns featuring fun performances and activities for kids under 10 and their adults. The Hoopla grand finale is the annual Halloween Costume Parade – all kids are welcome to join in their best Halloween looks. Come out to the Halloween Hoopla and be enchanted by live performances from Chelle! & Friends, Caterpillar Puppets and Coventry & Kaluza.

Participans can also enjoy palm reading from the mystical Madam Z and the ghoulishly good craft-making at the activity tables. Halloween Hoopla is the place to be for family-friendly frights and delights. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Photo by: Downtown San Rafael

Trick or Treat on 4th Street

The West End Village
W 4th St., San Rafael, CA 94901
October 29, 2022 | Saturday | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Enjoy a family-friendly way to celebrate Halloween and join one of the best trick or treat events in the San Francisco Bay area. The Fourth Street merchants will be welcoming kids and families who are up from some spooky festivities. Dress up, bring a bag, and get ready for some treats!

For more details, please click the link HERE.

Boo at the Zoo - San Francisco
Photo by: San Francisco Zoo

Boo at the Zoo – San Francisco

Sloat Blvd. at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 94132
October 29-30, 2022 | Saturday – Sunday | 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Boo at the Zoo returns in San Francisco Zoo as part of its weekend ZootoberFest, featuring live music, Zoo brews and German-inspired fare. Enjoy the giant hay maze, Elinor Friend Playground, costume parade and contest, live music at the playfield lawn, and see animals receive Halloween pumpkin treats throughout the day. Candy treat bags await kids upon exit.

German-inspired food are offered at the Playfield Cafe and have a picnic on the grass. Costume contest categories are Best Costume, Best Family Costume, and Best Animal Costume with prizes for the Top 3 in each category. So, dress up and join with family and friends to celebrate one of the best Halloween events in San Francisco. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Tri-Valley Halloween Con 2022
Photo by: Bay Area Festivals

Tri-Valley Halloween Con 2022

San Ramon Community Center
12501 Alcosta Blvd., San Ramon, CA 94583
October 30, 2022 | Sunday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

One of the most awaited events of the year for the Halloween season in San Francisco Bay area, Tri-Valley Halloween Con features all things pop culture including toys, collectibles (new and vintage), anime, LEGO, comics, art, jewelry and much more. New items and collectibles from Disney, Transformers, Funko Pop, LEGO, Pokémon, G.I. Joe, Marvel, DC Comics, Dragon Ball Z, My Hero Academia, Hot Wheels and much more will be available by the variety of exhibitors at the show.

The free, family-friendly Cosplay Costume Contest for attendees will feature cash prizes ($100 for 1st place) for creative costumes in different age groups. Featured Guests are Robert Mukes (Rufus Firefly Jr. in House of 1000 Corpses) and Mary Gibbs the voice of beloved Boo in Monsters, Inc. For more details, please click the link HERE.

The Haunted Garden
Photo by: Camron-Stanford House

The Haunted Garden

1418 Lakeside Dr., Oakland, CA 94612
October 30, 2022 | Sunday | 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

The annual Halloween party is back for another year in San Francisco Bay Area! Join Camron-Stanford House in their haunted garden for plenty of family-friendly spooky fun including lawn games, Halloween crafts, and music. Explore the Haunted Museum Rooms and see the Museum Exhibit: Ghoulish and Ghastly: Victorian Monsters in Popular Culture.

Light Refreshments and snacks available for purchase in the garden at the Food Truck: Mestizo. It is a Mexican food inspired by Yucatán, Mexico Cuisine using locally source ingredients. Tables are available for your use during this event. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Halloween Dia De Los Muertos
Photo by: Jack London Square

Halloween Dia De Los Muertos

Broadway/Embarcadero, West Oakland, CA 94607
October 30, 2022 | 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, costume contest, mariachis, Mexican folklorico dancers and goody bags filled with treats (while supplies last).

For more details, please click the link HERE.

Trick or Treat & Halloween Fest on Fourth Street
Photo by: Fourth Street Berkeley

Trick or Treat & Halloween Fest on Fourth Street

Fourth St., Berkeley, CA, 94710
October 31, 2022 | Monday | 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 over 80 merchant shops. The festival will be on Delaware at Fourth Street with all sorts of free activities and entertainment for everyone.

Enjoy trick or treat on Fourth Street at 80 merchants shops, a pumpkin at the shop door indicates participation. Free and fun festivities on Delaware at Fourth Street, 3 Face Painters Scary Booth by Keter Salon, art booth, live music, bubble show, and costumed characters, some on stilts. For more details, please click the link HERE.

Trick or Treat in The San Francisco Bay Area with Kids

It’s a no-brainer that trick or treat activities on Halloween in San Francisco is one of the much-awaited events for kids and adults. And while walking down the street where you live is always an easy option, there are some popular hotspots that 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.

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