Family-Friendly Things to Do for Halloween in San Francisco
Halloween in San Francisco can mean a toddler going to a pumpkin patch, decorating the house, picking out a costume, etc. There are plenty of ways to celebrate without building the whole month around candy or choosing something too scary. My son will finally be old enough this year to understand what is actually going on during Halloween, so I am really excited to let him choose a costume and go trick or treating for the first time. However, the great thing about Halloween is that is opens up all kinds of seasonal activities starting in late September. There are so many fun things to do as a family in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The best approach is to plan around your children’s interests and energy levels. Pick one bigger outing, leave time for neighborhood decorations and save an afternoon for making costumes or painting pumpkins together. If you can fit more in, then do it, but make sure to leave some time to just enjoy the Halloween season rather than running all over the place.
Halloween falls on on a Saturday in 2026, so you can expect a lot of events and activities to be packed for the whole weekend. Being on a Saturday makes a daytime celebration followed by a short evening of trick-or-treating an especially easy plan. If you are looking for other Halloween events and activities to do as a family, we created a list of the best options.
Family-Friendly Halloween Events and Activities
Halloween Hoopla at Yerba Buena Gardens
For families with young children, Halloween Hoopla is one of the best choices in the city. This free outdoor celebration is designed for children under 10, so you won’t need to worry as much about safety. The 2026 program includes Circus Bella performers, live music from the Circus Bella All-Star Trio and a costume parade that gives children their own moment in the spotlight.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
Time: Noon to 3PM
Location:
Children’s Garden
Yerba Buena Gardens
799 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Cost: Free, with an RSVP option on the event page
Best for: Children under 10
SuperNatural at the California Academy of Sciences
SuperNatural turns the Academy into a family Halloween party on October 24. They wil have trick-or-treat stations, animal demonstrations, face painting, a photo booth and a silent disco in the aquarium. There is also a teen lounge with games and snacks. This is an all ages event and kids under age 2 get in for free. This is kind of the same thing as Nightlife at California Academy of Sciences, but instead of just drinks and DJs, they set up special areas for kids. This is a really fun event and the staff there does a pretty amazing job at putting these events together. It is also a great place to take small children with endless amounts of energy because there is a lot of room to move around. There is a good chance that they will be so tired out that they will fall asleep in the car before you even get home.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
Time: 6:30PM to 9PM, with early-entry VIP tickets starting at 5PM
Location
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr
San Francisco, CA 94118
Cost:
General admission: Adults $60 and ages 3–17 $45
General Admission (Member): Adults $55 and ages 3–17 $40
Early Admission: $750 (4 pack of tickets) or $200 per person
VIP Options:
Werewolf Den: $3750 (Admission for 12)
Werewolf Family: $3000 (Admission for 10)
Vampire Family: $1500 (Admission for 6)
VIP ticket Add On: $250
Note: Prices may seem a little steep for a kids event, but you actually get a lot for your money. GA includes complimentary Beer & Wine and the early admission ticket adds free food until 6:30PM and early admission at 5PM. The VIP Packages include early entry at 5PM, free food, an open bar and access to the VIP Garden. The expensive tickets are more geared toward groups of adults who are planning on having a lot of drinks through the evening.
Children 2 and under: Free
Note: Adult ticket purchasers must attend with a child. This is not a place to drop your kid off and pick them up afterwards.
Pick Pumpkins at Clancy’s
A visit to a pumpkin patch can be the perfect amount of Halloween for a young child. Let everyone choose a pumpkin, take a few family photos and bring the pumpkins home for decorating. It’s hard to throw a tantrum about that, right?
There are actually quite a few awesome pumpkin patches in the San Francisco Bay Area, however is you want to stay local and still have a great time, head to Clancy’s. It is also a place where you can grab a Christmas Tree starting on November 22 and the peope there are great. We usually grab our tree at the Guardsmen lot because we live so close, but we usually make a stop by Clancy’s each year as well during Halloween and Christmas.
Note: We usually went to the location on Sloat Blvd, but it looks like they are going with only one location (7th Ave.) this year.
Visit Details
Open: October 2–31, 2026
Hours: 9AM to 9PM daily
Location
Clancy’s Pumpkins & Christmas Trees
1620 7th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94122
Looking for other Pumpkin Patches? Check out our guide to the best pumpkin patches in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Find a Costume at the Library Swap
Getting ready for Halloween can become its own family activity. The San Francisco Public Library’s costume swap lets children look for a new Halloween outfit and gives outgrown costumes another use. I have a terrible habit of adding my old costumes to an overflowing bin marked “Halloween Costume – Old” in my garage. I am pretty sure that I am not going to ever have a costume emeergency, so this year I am finally going to donate them. I am pretty sure I have my Top Gun costume that I wore to a nightclub that doesn’t even exist anymore back in 2006.
If you do have some old costumes that are still in good condition and clean, bring them along and check out the selection gently used costumes for trade. Since San Francisco lacks any real Halloween Costume Store (we don’t even have a Spirit Halloween anymore), this may actually be a pretty good option. If you don’t have an old costume and need one, you are also welcome as there are a lot of people who donate extras.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026
Time: 4PM to 5:30PM
Location
Children’s Creative Center
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Cost: Free
Boo at the Zoo
Boo at the Zoo is an fun San Francisco Halloween event that combines seasonal fun with a day of animal watching. The 2026 dates are not confirmed yet, but it usually takes place the week before Halloween.
Location
San Francisco Zoo
Sloat Blvd &, Upper Great Hwy,
San Francisco, CA 94132
Scaregrove at Stern Grove
Scaregrove is another annual family event worth checking out. Last year it had carnival rides, a hay maze, crafts, entertainment and a haunted house. Plus, the admission is free. It took place on October 24 last year, so it will most likely be around the same time of the month in 2026.
Location
Sigmund Stern Grove
19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94132
Go Trick-or-Treating
Some of San Francisco’s most memorable Halloween experiences take place on residential streets. There are several great “Halloween Streets” that are known for being great for trick or treating. Typically, the people that live on the streets have amazing decorations and the streets are shut down so you don’t have to worry about the kids running into traffic.
Avila Street: Home to the famous “Ghostbusters” house and a lot of other homes that go all out.
Belvedere Street in Cole Valley: The stretch between Parnassus Avenue and 17th Street is known for elaborate displays and big Halloween crowds.
Fair Oaks Street near Noe Valley: A longtime trick-or-treating destination with decorated homes.
Lake Street in the Richmond: A good area to consider for a neighborhood candy and decoration walk.
While these are great places to go trick or treating, keep in mind that they get very busy. There may be huge crowds, so make sure to have an easily recognizable light, flag, etc. on younger children.
Take a Daytime Halloween Decoration Walk
Children do not have to stay out late to enjoy decorated houses.
Belvedere, Avila Street, Fair Oaks and Lake Street are good places to start, but there are usually a lot of great decorations all over the city. This may be a better thing to do closer to Halloween as some people might not get their decorations up until the week before. I am certainly guilty of this.
Plan a Halloween Craft Afternoon
An afternoon at home gives children time to enjoy Halloween at their own pace. Let them help set up a small decorating station and choose a project like painting pumpkins, making monsters out of paper plates or building a costume with excess cardboard, tape and markers.
I found a random, cheap indoor kids tent that I bought on Amazon and never used. Since my toddler is getting really excited about Halloween, we set it up and are slowly adding “spooky” decorations to it. It kind of just happened, but it is actually an amazing activity for a 2 to 3 year old.
