Best Family-Friendly Halloween Events in the Bay Area (2026 Guide)

Not every kid is ready for a haunted maze, and honestly, not every parent wants to find one either. Here's where to take the whole family this October , with the dates, prices, and honest read on each one so you can pick what fits your kid.

1. 🕯️ Nightfall at Filoli

Filoli's gardens after dark, lit up and turned into a a candlelit walk through the historic house, glowing banana slugs in the woods, and a pumpkin-filled meadow. It's the one Halloween event I felt was enjoyable for parents AND the kids! It is dark out during Nightfall but nothing scary or gory. The spookies things will be inside in the mansion. There are a few new things expected at this year's Nightfall so once I check it out I'll come back and update you.

📍 Filoli Historic House & Garden, 86 Cañada Rd, Woodside, CA 94062 📅 September 26 – November 1, 2026 (closed October 8) 🕐 Nightly 5:30–10:00 PM 💵 From $45/adult · members save · free parking 🔗 Get tickets

2. 🎃 The Great Big BOO! at Gilroy Gardens

If your kid is too little for anything with the word "haunt" in it, this is your Halloween. Sweet, silly, and deliberately not-too-spooky. There is a trick-or-treat BOO Trail through the park, an animated light tunnel, character meet-and-greets, and live shows.

📍 Gilroy Gardens, 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy, CA 95020 📅 Select dates, September 25 – November 2, 2026 🕐 Check the park calendar 💵 Included with park admission or Premium Membership 🔗 Check dates

3. 🎢 Tricks and Treats at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

The daytime, no-scares alternative to Fright Fest, this one's built for toddlers, preschoolers, and kids who want the candy without the jump-scares. Trick-or-treat trail, a hay maze, a Skelebration dance party, and a handful of family rides all running before the sun goes down. No separate event ticket. It's included with regular park admission.

📍 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, 1001 Fairgrounds Dr, Vallejo, CA 94589 📅 Weekends, September 19 – November 1, 2026 🕐 11:00 AM–6:00 or 8:00 PM (check the day) 💵 Included with park admission · parking from $39 🔗 Plan your visit

4. 👻 Goblin Jamboree at Bay Area Discovery Museum

The longest-running Halloween festival in Marin, and it skips the sugar rush entirely. Plan for slime, magic brew, a hay maze, and hands-on crafts instead of trick-or-treating. Costumes strongly encouraged (no weapons of any kind). Best suited for kids 6 months to about 10 years.

📍 Bay Area Discovery Museum, 557 McReynolds Rd, Sausalito, CA 94965 📅 Weekend 1: Oct 18–19 · Weekend 2: Oct 24–26, 2026 🕐 Check daily hours by date 💵 $30 general public · $5 Family Access/EBT · $25 members 🔗 Get tickets

5. 🚂 Thomas and Percy's Halloween Party at Roaring Camp

A genuinely low-stress option for train-obsessed little kids: a 25-minute ride with Thomas and Percy, a meet-and-greet with Sir Topham Hatt, a small pick-a-pumpkin patch, bounce houses, and live music. No costumes required, but most kids show up dressed anyway because it's fun and why not!

📍 Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Rd, Felton, CA 95018 📅 Weekends: October 10–11, 17–18, 24–25, 2026 🕐 Rides depart hourly, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM 💵 $25–27 per person (ages 1+) · book ahead, weekends sell out 🔗 Get tickets

6. 🎉 Fillmore After Dark

If you're already in the city on Halloween itself, this is the free option. San Francisco's Fillmore District turns into a Halloween night market — a Kids Scream Zone with bounce houses and trunk-or-treating, a costume contest, live entertainment, classic cars, and food vendors.

📍 Fillmore St, San Francisco (1500 Fillmore St) 📅 Saturday, October 31, 2026 🕐 4:00–9:00 PM 💵 Free 🔗 Event details

7. ⚔️ Halloween Fantasy Weekend at NorCal Renaissance Faire

The Faire's own closing-weekend Halloween theme, with costume contests and trick-or-treating through the village, alongside the usual jousting, falconry, and artisan marketplace. Kids 12 and under are free every weekend, and this is the last one before the season wraps.

📍 Casa de Fruta, 10031 Pacheco Pass Hwy, Hollister, CA 95023 📅 October 24–25, 2026 🕐 10:00 AM–6:00 PM 💵 Kids 12 & under FREE · $42 adults · parking $12 🔗 Get tickets

8. 🦁 Boo at the Zoo: San Francisco Zoo

One of the Bay Area's most popular family Halloween events, landing right on Halloween Day this year. It's a a genuinely daytime, kid-friendly event, not an after-dark haunt. Highlights include a costume parade and contest, a trick-or-treat station, crafts and activities, and special pumpkin treats given to the animals. One rule worth knowing ahead of time: no full-face masks, since they can startle the animals.

📍 SF Zoo & Gardens, Sloat Blvd at the Great Highway, San Francisco 📅 Saturday, October 31, 2026 🕐 11:00 AM–3:00 PM 💵 Free with paid daytime admission or Zoo membership 🔗 Get tickets

9. 🐘 Boo at the Zoo: Oakland Zoo

A self-guided scavenger hunt through the zoo rather than door-to-door trick-or-treating: find the hidden animal trading cards, finish the hunt for a limited-release card and a candy bar. Runs daily through the back half of October with themed costume days. Included with regular zoo admission. Reserve timed tickets in advance; it sells out.

📍 Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Rd, Oakland, CA 94605 📅 Daily, mid-to-late October through Halloween — confirm exact start date at oaklandzoo.org 💵 Regular zoo admission ($20–24) · free for members and kids under 2 🔗 Reserve tickets

10. 🎃 Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival

The 54th annual, and the Bay Area's biggest pumpkin event by far. Two days of 250+ art and craft booths on historic Main Street, live music on multiple stages, pie-eating and costume contests, and the Great Pumpkin Parade at noon Saturday. Not a haunted event at all but this is a daytime street fair, genuinely good for all ages including toddlers, though it draws a serious crowd.

📍 Historic Main Street, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 📅 October 17–18, 2026 🕐 9:00 AM–5:00 PM both days 💵 Free admission 🔗 Event details

11. 🔬 SuperNatural at California Academy of Sciences

The Academy's after-hours Halloween fundraiser with trick-or-treating around the aquarium, planetarium, and museum floor, a silent disco, live animal encounters, and an under-21 teen lounge. This is an evening ticketed event (not included with regular admission) and skews toward slightly older kids given the after-dark format and price point. 2026 date hadn't posted as of publication; it's landed on a Friday or Saturday in late October in past years.

📍 California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118 📅 Date TBA (late October, evening) — confirm at calacademy.org 💵 Around $45–60/adult, discounted for members and kids — confirm current pricing 🔗 Check dates & tickets

 12. 🎃 Oogubi Wonderland: Haunted Shipwreck at Anchor's Landing

Oogubi's most popular event, in Halloween form: a haunted-shipwreck-themed indoor glow experience at Fisherman's Wharf, with a mermaid and pirate meet-and-greet, live DJ, balloon house, messy play, and sensory toys. Skews toward a younger, more sensory-friendly crowd and families who don't want anything scary! Private party rooms are also available if you want to book it out.

📍 Anchor's Landing at Fisherman's Wharf, 333 Jefferson St, San Francisco, CA 94133 📅 Saturday, October 31, 2026 🕐 10:30 AM–1:30 PM 🔗 Get tickets

*Anchor's Landing is sponsoring a limited number of tickets. Enter code 'SHIPWRECK40' at checkout and receive 40% off.

13. 🎉 Halloween Hoopla at Yerba Buena Gardens

A free costume parade and kids' festival in the middle of downtown SF — good if you're already headed that way on Halloween itself and want something free and daytime before trick-or-treating.

📍 Yerba Buena Gardens (Esplanade), 773 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103 📅 Saturday, October 31, 2026 💵 Free 🔗 Event details

14. 🐐 Spooky Times at Deer Hollow Farm

The working-farm version of Halloween: haunted barns (gentle, not gory), live goats/sheep/pigs/chickens in their pens, and Halloween-themed crafts, with the farm's real animals as the main draw. It's a mile, flat and paved walk in from the Rancho San Antonio parking lot so bring the stroller.

📍 Deer Hollow Farm, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Cupertino/Los Altos, CA 📅 Saturday, October 17 from 10am - 3pm💵 ~$10/person, $7 in costume, free under 1 🔗 Check dates

🎃 Don't forget the pumpkin patch

A pumpkin patch trip doubles as a Halloween outing on its own — costumes optional, corn mazes and hayrides included. We keep a free map and guide to every patch across the Bay Area if you haven't picked yours yet.

🔗 See our free pumpkin patch map & guide

Know a family-friendly Halloween event we should add? DM us @bayareakidsgo — this list grows as we hear about more.

Dates, hours, and pricing are accurate as of publication but always subject to change — verify directly with each venue before you go.