25 Frightfully Fun Halloween Haunts In LA & Around California

by | Sep 9, 2026 | Day Trips From Los Angeles, Destinations, Family Adventures, USA, Weekend Trips, West Coast

(This article may contain affiliate links. What does that mean?)

 

Yes, I embarrass my kids by always dressing up for every Halloween activity. Even when they had parades at school, I would show up in my Día de Los Muertos bodysuit, rose and veil headpiece, and full makeup to clap and snap pictures of the kids. The parents would love it, the other kids would love it, but my kids not so much. It’s fun to dress up in costume, and Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I try to drag my kids around to as many Halloween events around Los Angeles and California as I can.

This year’s Halloween attractions around Los Angeles and the rest of California offer many fun activities at theme parks, zoos, and places that just love hosting memorable gatherings. Here are the best Halloween activities in LA and California for fun day trips, overnights, and weekend getaways.

 

NO TIME TO ENJOY THIS ARTICLE NOW? PIN IT! OR BOOKMARK FOR LATER!

Halloween Trips pin

 

Looking for a Fall getaway beyond Halloween? Check out the best places to go during Fall in California and here’s one for all of the USA!

 

Legoland Brick-or-Treat – Carlsbad

I couldn’t wait to introduce my kids to Halloween, and apparently a lot of parents feel the same way. When I took 13-year-old Knox and his 12-year-old friend Cam to Legoland’s Brick or Treat, the walkways were packed with strollers, toddlers, and the occasional tween — and most of them, somehow, in full costume.

 

family in costume at Legoland - halloween in la

Totally spirited! © Rina Nehdar

 

We stayed at the Legoland Castle Hotel, which gets you into the park an hour before opening. That’s the single best thing you can do here. We rode everything before a line existed.

 

 

The boys got the waterpark slides to themselves while Howard and I claimed a front-row lounge chair like the exhausted adults we are.

 

 

When we visited, we did the Monster Scare Trail — haunted house 101, dark, with a story about missing hikers and a found camera. Just enough to make a seven-year-old feel brave. This year the centerpiece is different: Brick or Treat Street, an all-new trick-or-treat neighborhood of six life-sized LEGO Monster homes, each with something going on behind the door. At the Wacky Witch’s Cottage, her spells have gone wrong, and kids hunt for escaped frogs among the potion spills.

 

 

This really is the best park in Southern California for little kids at Halloween. Everything is scaled down, the spook factor is dialed way back, and what’s left is color, noise and joy. No jump scares, no one following you with a chainsaw.

Best For Ages 2-12. Not-too-scary by design — no haunted mazes and no scare actors. If you have a teenager who wants to be frightened, send them to Knott’s.

🏚️ New for 2026: Brick or Treat Street, six themed LEGO Monster homes to trick-or-treat through.

🚗 Seasonal ride overlays — the Dragon Coaster becomes the Disco Dragon Coaster, and the Driving School turns into the Department of Monstrous Vehicles.

🎬 The Great Monster Chase, a 4D movie about four LEGO tweens sneaking somewhere they shouldn’t.

🍭 Treat stations throughout the park, LEGO Monster meet-and-greets, and costume contests for kids and groups.

🎟️ Included with general admission on event dates — no separate ticket. Elite Annual Passes get in free; Silver, Gold, and Platinum need a discounted add-on. Buy your tickets here!

12 select dates: September 19 and 26; October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25 and 31; and November 1, 2026. One Legoland Drive, Carlsbad — about 90 minutes south of LA without traffic.

Get your DISCOUNT Legoland tickets HERE!

 

Universal Studios Hollywood – North Hollywood

We got the chance to experience Halloween Horror Nights with the boys, and I thought Knox would try to fight the monsters. He was actually kind of into it. Kaleb brought a friend, and the three of them huddled together like ducklings through every single house.

On the way in, elaborate monsters stalked us with power tools and materialized out of nowhere. A girl with a cut-up doll face held a knife in front of Kaleb’s eyes and then just walked off. It was fun screaming and laughing at our own fear — I squeezed Howard’s hand, leaned into him, and we jumped and screamed together. OK, it was mostly me. We knew the monsters were coming, but it helped knowing they couldn’t touch us. And none of them did.

DON’T MISS! Meet Your Favorite Dead Celebrity At These 7 Haunted Hollywood Hotels

 

boys heads in movie clapper

And that’s a wrap! © Rina Nehdar

 

You’re never too old to love Halloween!

 

The houses pull from horror franchises and Universal originals, and the detail is absurd. Bat-like creatures, Killer Klowns and carnival criers dismembering bodies as we walked past, things launching out of nooks we hadn’t spotted, possessed kids mutilating adults. Our favorites were Stranger Things and Evil Dead Rise. Both franchises are back this year with new houses, which is reason enough for us to return.

 

DON’T MISS! A Wimp’s Guide To Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights

 

WATCH THE VIDEO we posted on Instagram to see the houses we walked through!

 

Best For Ages 13-99. This is the scariest event on this list by a wide margin. Real fear, real screaming. Little kids should be at Legoland.

🏚️ Eight haunted houses for 2026: Sinners, Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser, Evil Dead Burn, Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Dead Deader Deadest, and KILLceañera: Music by SLASH.

🎄 The Terror Tram is a Christmas-gone-wrong takeover hosted by Art the Clown from the Terrifier films, with an original score by Ice Nine Kills twisting classic carols. Backlot only — you can’t get this in Orlando.

🃏 Scare zones include Fortnitemares, Hackerz, El Circo de la Muerte and Blood Bog, plus roaming characters throughout the park. The Purge: Dangerous Waters stunt show returns.

🍭 No candy stations, sorry. But Butterbeer and Starbucks are still there, plus a full lineup of event-only food.

👹 HHN is a separate ticket from regular park admission. Gates open at 7 p.m. and nights sell out, so buy as soon as you know your date.

🎟️ Single-night general admission starts at $77. Express Pass is $249 (one skip per house), Unlimited Express is $289. An Early Access add-on from $20 gets you into select houses at 5:30 p.m., ninety minutes before everyone else.

💡 The math nobody tells you: two single nights costs $154, but the Frequent Fear Pass is $179 for up to 35 nights. If there’s any chance you’ll go twice, buy the pass. The Ultimate Fear Pass is $299 for every event night.

42 select nights, September 3 through November 1, 2026, starting at 7 p.m.

Get your DISCOUNT Universal Hollywood Fast Pass and regular tickets HERE!

 

Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest — Valencia

This is how I know Knox can’t handle monsters that appear out of nowhere. Magic Mountain has scare zones — you walk into them knowing something is coming. That’s the entire point. But Knox and Cam still didn’t expect it, since it was their first time at a park like this, and Knox threatened and then actually swung at a poor gnarled monster in a top hat.

The monster complained. I had a conversation with my son. Then I stayed glued to him the rest of the night, even though we’d come with another family and there were five boys running loose. We did not go into a single haunted house after that. Six Flags officially doesn’t recommend Fright Fest for kids under 13, and I’d take that seriously — not because your kid will be traumatized, but because mine tried to fight the staff.

 

monsters - halloween in la

Walk through your fear…. © Rina Nehdar

 

The regular coasters run during the event, and we got stuck on one for about fifteen minutes. At first I assumed it was part of the show and scanned the track for climbing goblins. They did not. We were on a flat section, thank goodness, and eventually they fixed whatever it was, and we finished the ride on pure nerves.

Best For Ages 13-99. If you have younger kids, come during the day instead — the family-friendly Tricks and Treats programming runs then and is expanding this year.

🔪 New mazes for 2026: Final Destination, plus Wolves’ Blood, a werewolf original.

👻 Seven scare zones: City Under Siege, Devil’s Triangle, Exile Hill, Nightmares: Reign of Blood, Plaza de la Muerte, Thunderbolt Alley, and Underworlds of Oz. Unleashed has moved to the main gate with a new overlord this year.

🎟️ Read this part carefully. Scare zones, shows, and rides in the dark come with regular admission or a season pass. Haunted mazes do not — those need a separate Haunted Attractions Pass, from $25 for a single night. An All-Season Haunted Attractions Pass is $49, down from $69.

💡 If you’re buying fresh, the Fright Fest Bundle pairs admission and maze access starting at $74. Express upgrades are available on any of them.

🎧 There’s a DJ dance area, an adults-only bar area, and dark rides to round out the night.

🅿️ Parking starts at $40 — budget for it.

Select nights, September 18 through November 1, 2026, from 7 p.m.

26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia. Fright Fest details and tickets.

Get your DISCOUNT Magic Mountain tickets HERE!

 

Tricks and Treats

This is the family-friendly event at Six Flags where we probably should have taken Knox. The trouble is he’s at that in-between age — too old for the trick-or-treat trail, and Six Flags officially says don’t bring him to Fright Fest until 13. If you have a tween, you’re going to have this exact problem, and there’s no clean answer. We went with Fright Fest, and I spent the night as a bodyguard for ghouls.

For actual little kids, though, this is the right call. It runs during the day, before the scare actors come out and the park turns. There’s a candy trail, costume contests, and treats that are spooky in the most wholesome possible way — think gummy worms on a pile of crushed Oreos.

Best For Ages 2-9. Daytime only, no scares, no monsters. Officially it’s all ages, but the programming is aimed squarely at younger kids.

🍬 Trick-or-treat trail, costume contests, and seasonal food and drinks throughout the park.

🎢 The park’s regular rides are running, so the coasters are part of the day.

🍺 Oktoberfest runs on the same weekends if the adults want something too — German food, drinks, and music.

⏰ It’s a daytime event and wraps before the Fright Fest scares begin. Check the cutoff time for your date so you’re not still there when the monsters clock in.

Fridays through Sundays, September 25 through November 1, 2026.

26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia. Tricks and Treats details.

 

Boo at the Zoo — Santa Barbara

For whatever reason, this is the zoo where we celebrated Halloween when the kids were toddlers in strollers. Maybe because it’s smaller than the LA Zoo and little legs could actually handle the whole thing, maybe because it was closer to where we lived. Whatever it was, we went a few years in a row, and the Santa Barbara Zoo did a great job every time.

The daytime version is the low-commitment one — come in costume, it’s included with regular admission or membership, and you’re out by mid-afternoon. The nights are the real event. The zoo turns into a trick-or-treat trail after dark, which for a small kid is about as good as Halloween gets: no cars, no doorbells, no strangers, and a train.

Best For Ages 2-10. No scares at all. This is the gentlest event on this list.

🎃 Daytime Boo, October 16–31, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM. Included with admission or membership. Scavenger hunt with a prize, daily costume contest and parade, Halloween story time, a candy station and a hay maze. Face painting costs extra.

🌙 Nighttime Boo, October 23–25, 5:00–8:00 PM. Separate ticket required — this is not included with daytime admission. Trick-or-treating and a costume contest, plus a DJ and dance floor, bounce houses and inflatable slides, train rides, a photo booth, rock wall, kids’ hay maze, and s’mores by the campfire. Members save $5.

🍸 New for 2026: Adult Night, October 22, 6:00–10:00 PM, 21+ only. Cocktails, complimentary beer and wine tastings, a DJ, train rides, and a costume contest hosted by a local drag queen.

⚠️ You can’t stay from day into night. The zoo closes at 3:30 PM on October 22–25, clears the grounds, and reopens at 4:45 PM for family nights and at 5:45 PM for Adult Night.

🦁 Heads up: the animals go to bed early and aren’t visible during the evening events. Come for the trick-or-treating, not the zoo.

🅿️ Parking is $11 per car, free for members.

👗 Costumes encouraged. Adults can’t wear full-face masks or full-face paint, and no realistic weapons.

🏨 Make it an overnight — it’s 90 minutes back to LA, and driving home at 8:30 with a sugared-up kid in a costume is nobody’s idea of a good time. Three hotels sit on the same stretch of East Cabrillo, all walkable to the zoo gate. The Mar Monte is our pick: closest at about a third of a mile, heated pool, and directly across from East Beach and its playground. Want more to do? The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort has a bigger pool and free bike rentals, fifteen minutes on foot. Watching the budget? The Cabrillo Inn at the Beach is the best value on the block, with free parking — which matters when the zoo charges $11.

October 16–31, 2026. Santa Barbara Zoo Boo at the Zoo

500 Niños Drive, Santa Barbara.

 

boy in lion costume with big pumpkins

Roars for treats. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Zoo

 

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor — Long Beach

Dark Harbor is back, and this is its 13th season. We spent a night on the ship last October with our teenagers and their friends, and Dark Harbor was the real reason the boys agreed to come at all.

Read all about our haunted stay in the Queen Mary!

It had changed enormously since we last went, about ten years ago. Back then it was a few mazes inside the ship with people in ghoul makeup. Now the whole thing sprawls across the Shipyard below the hull — rides, food stalls, concerts, fire breathers, and cast members who will absolutely follow you around with a chainsaw. What I didn’t expect were the hidden speakeasies. They’re not on the map and there’s no signage. We wandered for twenty minutes before someone finally told us to look for the symbol projected near the entrances.

The lines are the thing to plan around. On a busy night, the mazes can run over an hour. We had VIP tickets, which let us skip the lines and get through twice as many, and that’s the difference between a great night and a frustrating one.

Best For Ages 13-99. This is a real haunt — chainsaws, jump scares, and cast members who don’t break character. The daytime ship tours are a much better fit for younger kids.

👻 New for 2026: Shipwrecked: Brace for Impact, set during a blackout voyage with flooded corridors and the spirits of drowned sailors, based on the ship’s real collision history.

🎃 Six mazes total, including reimagined versions of Lullaby, Infirmary, and Big Top Terror — the Lullaby maze is set at the drained first-class pool where seven-year-old Jackie is said to still sing.

🍸 Five secret speakeasies, plus themed bars and lounges.

🎡 New rides this year include Alien Abduction and Blacklight Bumper Cars, with Sinister Swings and the Rampage Double Wheel returning.

🎟️ Tickets start at $50.99 on select nights. Produced by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group — the same team behind the LA Haunted Hayride below.

🚢 We stayed on the ship, and it was worth it. Book a haunted stateroom here.

Select nights September 18 through November 1, 2026.

1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach — about 45 minutes from downtown LA. Check their website for updates.

 

two women touch fingers across table with psychic man in suit behind them

Do you see the ghost? Photo by Rina Nehdar

 

Other Halloween Events

SeaWorld — San Diego

San Diego’s ocean-themed park runs two completely different Halloween events, and which one you want depends entirely on the age of your kid.

During the day, SeaWorld Spooktacular is the little-kid version — trick-or-treat trails, character shows, candy everywhere, and it’s included with regular park admission. The 2026 headliner is the California debut of an all-new Baby Shark Halloween Show, which will either delight or destroy you depending on your relationship with that song.

After dark, Howl-O-Scream takes the same park and turns it inside out. Now in its sixth year, it’s the biggest lineup they’ve done — six haunted houses, eight scare zones, five vignettes, hidden speakeasies and themed bars, with coasters running in the dark.

Here’s the thing worth knowing: Howl-O-Scream is meaningfully less intense than Knott’s or Universal. The scare zones run fewer actors, so the scares come at you less relentlessly. If you have a kid who wants to try a real haunt but isn’t ready for Halloween Horror Nights, this is the right first one.

Spooktacular: Best For Ages 2-9. Howl-O-Scream: Best For Ages 13-99. They’re separate events with separate tickets — don’t assume one gets you the other.

🦈 Spooktacular runs Fridays through Sundays, September 11 through November 1, included with admission. Kids ages 3–9 are currently free with a paid adult ticket at $99.99, good any day through November 1.

👻 Howl-O-Scream runs select nights, September 11 through October 31, starting at 7 p.m. You can enter at 6 p.m. through the dedicated gate to the right of the main entrance. Separate ticket required.

🔪 New houses for 2026 include I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Final Catch, Everything Must Stay, and The Crawl Space. Five of the six houses are new.

🎢 Arctic Rescue, Electric Eel, Emperor and Manta all run in the dark.

📿 Buy a “No Boo” necklace if anyone in your group is nervous. Wear it and the scare actors leave you alone. There’s no equivalent at the other parks and it’s the difference between a kid enduring the night and enjoying it.

⏰ House lines spike Friday and Saturday. Get there in the first hour..

🏨 Here’s the thing about SeaWorld: doing both events means two days, since Spooktacular runs during daylight and Howl-O-Scream doesn’t start until 7. But that’s not a burden when the park sits on Mission Bay, which is one of the prettiest places in San Diego to wake up. Three resorts are five minutes from the gate. The Bahia Resort Hotel is our pick — it has its own peninsula, a private bay beach with calm shallow water, resident sea lions, free kids’ activities, and parking right outside your room. Want the splurge? Paradise Point Resort & Spa is a 44-acre island of lagoons, palms and five pools where you may not want to leave. Chasing waterslides? The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay is closest to the park with three pools and marina views — just confirm the slides are open for your dates. Rooms at all three run a little dated, but nobody comes to Mission Bay to sit inside.

Spooktacular: September 11 – November 1, 2026.

Howl-O-Scream: select nights, September 11 – October 31, 2026

500 Sea World Dr., San Diego, CA 92109

Get your DISCOUNT SeaWorld tickets HERE!

 

girls in costume - halloween in la

I’m not scared! Photo courtesy of SeaWorld

 

Disneyland – Anaheim

Both Anaheim parks go all in, and they start absurdly early — Halloween Time opened August 21 this year, which means Disney was hanging pumpkins while the rest of us were still at the beach.

At Disneyland Park, the draw is Haunted Mansion Holiday, the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay that turns the whole ride into Jack Skellington’s takeover. Main Street goes full pumpkin, Cars Land gets its Haul-O-Ween treatment, and there’s seasonal food everywhere.

At Disney California Adventure, Plaza de la Familia in Paradise Gardens Park honors Día de los Muertos with Coco-inspired décor and entertainment. It runs two days longer than everything else, through November 2.

The big one is Oogie Boogie Bash, the separately ticketed after-hours party at California Adventure. Treat trails, villains lurking along the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, and this year a new Haunted Mansion street party with Madame Leota presiding over a séance and a wake. Yzma joins the villain lineup for 2026.

Best For All Ages. Nothing here is genuinely scary — Oogie Boogie Bash is a costume party, not a haunt. If you have a kid who can’t handle Knott’s, this is where you go instead.

🎃 Halloween Time runs August 21 through October 31, included with park admission. Plaza de la Familia runs through November 2.

👻 Oogie Boogie Bash: 33 select nights, August 18 through October 31, 6 to 11 p.m. Your ticket gets you into California Adventure starting at 3 p.m., so it’s really eight hours, not five. Unlimited PhotoPass downloads included.

💸 Tickets are $139 to $199 — held flat from last year, which never happens at Disney.

⚠️ Buy now or don’t bother. Tickets went on sale June 18 and the Bash sells out, often months ahead. If you’re reading this in September, check availability before you plan anything around it.

🎯 The money-saving tip: Disney has $104 ticket days scattered through Halloween Time, mostly Tuesdays through Thursdays in September. If your kids can miss a school day, that’s a serious discount on a regular park ticket.

🎃 Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit returns as a scavenger hunt for hidden Disney-designed pumpkins — and it now spans Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney, not just Downtown Disney.

🏨 Oogie Boogie Bash runs until 11 p.m., and the difference between walking back to your room and finding your car in the Mickey and Friends structure at midnight with a kid in a Buzz Lightyear costume is enormous — so in Anaheim, distance beats amenities. Disney’s Grand Californian is the splurge and the only hotel with its own private entrance into California Adventure, which on a Bash night is worth real money. If that’s out of range, the Courtyard by Marriott Theme Park Entrance is the best option on Harbor: rooms with two queens and bunk beds, an on-site water park, and under 10 minutes to the gate. For younger kids and a smaller bill, the Howard Johnson Anaheim is five minutes from the entrance with a splash pad built for the under-eight crowd and rooms where you can watch the fireworks from your window. Skip the cheaper Harbor Boulevard motels — the savings aren’t worth it, and the reviews will tell you why.

Halloween Time: August 21 – October 31, 2026.

Oogie Boogie Bash: select nights, August 18 – October 31, 2026

Get your DISCOUNT Disneyland Resort tickets HERE!

 

little carved pumpkin with Sleeping Beauty's castle in background

The magic is spooky cool! Photo by Wenhao Ruan on Unsplash

 

Knott’s Scary Farm — Buena Park

Knott’s has been doing this since 1973, which makes it Southern California’s longest-running Halloween theme park event, and it shows. More than 1,000 monsters roam the park, and unlike the more polished haunts, Knott’s monsters follow you. They pick a target. Sometimes that target is you, and you will simply have to live with it.

The 2026 lineup runs 10 mazes, two of them brand new: Inked, following a washed-up 1930s cartoonist whose blood-as-ink finale unleashes murderous cartoon characters, and Unearthed, an excavation site where ancient tablets wake something that should have stayed asleep. The Grimoire and Mesmer were retired after last season, and the new mazes took their spots.

Five scare zones this year — Ghost Town Streets, The Gore-ing ’20s, Forsaken Lake, The Gauntlet, and a reimagined CarnEVIL — plus three shows, including the fan-favorite Hanging.

Best For Ages 13-99. Knott’s says outright it’s not recommended under 13, and they mean it. This and Universal are the two genuinely frightening events on this list.

⚠️ Anyone 15 or younger needs a chaperone who’s at least 21, and one chaperone can cover no more than four kids. Check the Code of Conduct page before you go — this policy changes.

🎟️ Tickets start at $65 online and climb to $89 on October Saturdays. Parking is $45. The Scary Farm Pass is $164 for all 26 nights, which beats buying three single nights. Fright & Fast Lane, the line-skip, starts at $139 on top of admission — if you want it, buy the $200 Ultimate Bundle instead, which wraps in admission, parking, and food for less than the two pieces cost separately.

🕐 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Yes, 2 a.m. Plan accordingly.

🚫 No re-entry and no costumes. Both catch people out.

💡 Thursdays and Sundays early in the season are the cheapest and least crowded, with the identical maze lineup.

👻 For younger kids: Knott’s Spooky Farm runs during the day from September 24 through October 31 — trick-or-treating and family programming, included with regular admission, with no monsters anywhere near it.

The event runs until 1 or 2 a.m., which makes this the strongest case for an overnight on the entire list — nobody should be driving the 5 at 2:15 in the morning after six hours of adrenaline. The Knott’s Hotel is the obvious answer: it’s on property, about a ten-minute walk to the park gate, it sells room-and-ticket packages that save you a step, and the whole place smells like boysenberry, which your kids will find hilarious. Rooms have been refreshed rather than renovated, so set expectations there. If it’s booked, the DoubleTree by Hilton Buena Park is a solid step up in room quality a few minutes north on Beach Boulevard, and Best Inn & Suites is the budget option directly across from the Knott’s parking lot — basic, but you cannot beat the walk. One to avoid: the Buena Park Grand Hotel & Suites, which sits at 2.8 stars across more than 2,000 reviews for reasons the reviews make very clear.

26 select nights, September 17 through October 31, 2026.

8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. Knott’s Scary Farm

Get your DISCOUNT Knott’s Berry Farm tickets HERE!

 

three very scary monsters for halloween

We told you it was scary. Photo courtesy of Spectrum News.

 

The Great Big BOO at Gilroy Gardens — Gilroy

This is the gentlest event on the entire list, and if you have a kid under six who wants Halloween without a single scare, drive here.

Gilroy Gardens is a nonprofit family theme park set across 26 acres of gardens with more than 10,000 trees, which turns out to be a spectacular backdrop for light displays. For The Great Big BOO, the park becomes BOO Alley, where kids team up with Vinnie the Vampire, Wolfgang Werewolf and Princess Priscilla to save Halloween from the curse of Wendella the Witch. There’s a musical show with a theme song called “Do the BOO” that your children will sing for approximately eleven months.

bald headed monster on stage

Sing along, especially if you don’t know the words…scary! Photo courtesy of Gilroy Gardens

 

Best For Ages 2-8. Not a single jump scare. The characters are silly, not scary, and everything is built at little-kid scale.

🎃 Trick-or-treating at Wendella’s House on the Hill — grab a BOO Trail pail and work the trail.

🎭 Live shows on rotation through the evening: BOO Town Hall with Sammy Jo Scarecrow, Princess Priscilla’s Perfect Tea Party, Cranium’s Mad Lab brewing wacky potions, and Frankie’s Lounge, where you help Frankie get over his stage fright.

💡 The BOO Alley Light Tunnel is a music-and-light show and the thing people actually remember. Downtown BOO Alley has a giant pumpkin pyramid and family games.

🚂 Themed rides including Wendella’s Wild Ride, Wolfgang’s Rockin’ Road Trip and the BOO Train.

🎃 Sammy Jo Scarecrow’s Pumpkin Patch sits by the exit on your way out — not included with admission, so budget for the pumpkin you are definitely buying.

🎟️ Free for Gilroy Gardens Premium Members, which also covers parking and every other signature event all year.

🏨 The BOO runs into the evening and Gilroy is a long way from anywhere, so make it a night — the town sits between the Bay Area and Santa Cruz, which makes it an easy anchor for a whole fall weekend. The Hampton Inn & Suites Gilroy is the closest good option at about ten minutes from the park: newer, spotless, free hot breakfast, and free bottled water in the lobby fridge, though it’s a freeway-adjacent property with nowhere to walk. If you’d rather be closer to San Jose, the La Quinta Inn & Suites Morgan Hill is twenty minutes north, rates highest of anything in the area, has a pool the kids will want, and takes dogs — one reviewer picked it specifically to avoid a three-hour drive home after a long day at Gilroy Gardens, which tells you everything. On a budget, the Best Western Plus Forest Park Inn has a pool, a real hot breakfast and rooms with patios for noticeably less.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, September 25 through October 31, 2026.

3050 Hecker Pass Highway, Gilroy. The Great Big BOO

Get your DISCOUNT Gilroy’s Gardens tickets HERE!

 

Festival Fright Nights at the Winchester Mystery House — San Jose

Sarah Winchester inherited her family’s rifle fortune and then spent decades building — and rebuilding — a 160-room mansion full of staircases that end at ceilings and doors that open onto nothing. The popular story is that she was warding off the spirits of everyone killed by Winchester rifles. The house’s own historian is more skeptical. Either way, you are standing inside a genuinely strange building, and no set designer had to invent any of it.

For 2026, Festival Fright Nights takes over the whole estate — produced by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, the same team behind the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor and the LA Haunted Hayride. The big change this year is format: last season ran as one linear haunt, and 2026 opens it up into four festival zones with 13 attractions and experiences spread across the grounds, so you wander rather than queue for a single path.

The story is set in 1926, with the estate stirring after Sarah Winchester’s death. New this year is The House of Spirits, following her loyal butler as he tries to keep the place running while something spreads through the halls. The haunted houses run inside the actual mansion, using rooms that are normally closed to the public.

Best For Ages 13-99. This is a real haunt. For younger kids, book a daytime mansion tour instead — the house is strange enough on its own, and during the season the Halloween decor stays up and is visible on the regular tours.

🏚️ Three haunted houses inside the historic mansion, plus theatrical performances, games, and photo ops across four festival zones.

🍸 Seasonal food and drink, with a bar for the 21-and-over crowd before or after you go in.

🎟️ Tickets start at $60.99 and rise on peak nights. VIP admission is the tier worth considering — it adds the Séance Society Speakeasy and Harry Houdini’s live séance, which general admission doesn’t include. Fast Pass upgrades are available; check current pricing for your date.

💡 Costco has carried discounted Fast Pass vouchers for this event in past seasons — worth checking before you buy direct.

🏨 San Jose makes this an easy overnight, and the hotel cluster around Santana Row puts you within walking distance of the mansion. The Row San Jose is the obvious pick — guests specifically book it to walk to the Winchester House, which is a little over a mile away, with shops and restaurants along the way. Rooms are modern, with jetted tubs in some, but ask for a room away from Stevens Creek Boulevard, because the street-facing rooms get real traffic noise. If you need more space, TownePlace Suites San Jose Cupertino has suites with kitchens, free parking and free breakfast about two miles out, and the DoubleTree Campbell at Pruneyard Plaza has two-bedroom suites near downtown Campbell — though several recent guests flag thin walls and late-night noise, so it’s the pick for space rather than quiet.

Select nights, September 18 through November 1, 2026.

525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose. Festival Fright Nights | Winchester Mystery House

 

goblin in orange loading smoking rifle

Shots in the dark.

 

Shawn’s Pumpkin Patch — Culver City

There are pumpkin patches and there are PUMPKIN PATCHES. This one is the latter.

It’s a proper patch dropped into the middle of the city — straw bales, corn stalks, mountains of pumpkins and gourds in every shape — with enough attractions to fill an afternoon rather than fifteen minutes. Petting zoo, pony rides, a train, bounce houses, giant inflatable slides, an obstacle course, a straw maze, a rock wall, carnival games, face painting, and a separate play area for toddlers.

The best part is the low stakes. No timed entry, no $200 tickets, nobody jumping out at anyone. Just a couple of hours of hometown-fair goodness, and everybody goes home with a pumpkin.

Best For Ages 1-10. The most relaxed thing on this list. Genuinely fine for babies and toddlers, and there’s a dedicated area for them.

🎃 New location for 2026: 6229 Bristol Parkway, Culver City — they’ve moved from the Sepulveda site, so don’t rely on an old pin.

🕐 October 3–18: weekends open at 10 AM, weekdays at 3 PM. Saturday the 10th is the one exception — it opens at 12:30 PM.

🕙 From October 19 through the end of the season: 10 AM every day.

🌙 Closing is 9 PM nightly, except Halloween at 7 PM and November 1 at 6 PM.

🎟️ Entrance is $4 for adults and kids 12 and over — but weekdays before 3 PM are free. In practice, that means October 19–23 and 26–30, since weekdays don’t open until 3 PM before the 19th. A weekday morning after the 19th is the cheapest time to visit any pumpkin patch in LA.

🪙 Everything inside runs on tokens — wooden chips stamped with the patch logo, bought at the cashier with cash or card. Each one is $5, and every 10 you buy comes with an 11th free. Food vendors take tokens too, along with cash and cards.

💡 Do the math before you get in line. At $5 a token, a kid who wants the pony, the train, the slide and the obstacle course is $20, and a family of four can clear $100 without trying. Buy in tens for the free token, and decide on the drive over how many rides each kid gets — much easier conversation in the car than at the cashier.

🐴 Pony rides and a petting zoo, plus a train ride and a toddler play area.

📸 Photo ops throughout the patch, and pumpkins in every color and shape for the actual pumpkin-buying part.

October 3 through November 1, 2026.

6229 Bristol Parkway, Culver City. Shawn’s Pumpkin Patch

 

kiddie train ride on left and pumpkin patch on right

A pumpkin patch with its own zip code. Photo courtesy of Shawn’s Pumpkin Patch

 

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch — Culver City

The westside institution, running over 30 years. Bigger and busier than Shawn’s down the road, with a proper Pumpkin Village, a boo-tique of Halloween merch, petting zoo, giant slides, bounce houses, straw maze and pumpkin decorating.

New for 2026: special guest animal appearances and extended evening hours on select Fridays and Saturdays, so you can do it after dark.

Best For Ages 2-9. Same audience as Shawn’s, but a larger operation with more to do — and priced accordingly.

🎟️ Admission runs $10 to $25 depending on the day and time slot, and it climbs through the month. Early October weekdays are $10.

💡 Buy online. The box office closes an hour before the patch, last entry is 45 minutes before close, and activities shut down before that.

🎠 Activities aren’t included in admission — same structure as Shawn’s, so budget separately.

🌙 Extended hours to 10 p.m. on select Fridays and Saturdays.

October 2 through 31, 2026.

10100 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City. Mr. Bones

 

boy pushing wheelbarrow with pumpkins

For Halloween, he’s a helper. Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova

 

Scaredown in Downtown — Torrance

If your kids are still in the trick-or-treating years and you’d rather not spend $200 to get screamed at by a professional, this is the one. Scaredown in Downtown in Torrance hits its 10th year in 2026, and it’s free.

The heart of it is the Trunk or Treat, where decorated car trunks line up and hand out candy to costumed kids — all the fun of door-to-door with none of the “are we allowed to knock here” negotiation. Around that, Old Torrance fills in with games, contests, live music, a DJ, craft stations, and photo ops. There’s a marketplace with Halloween décor, spooky art, creepy collectibles, and handmade goods, plus tarot readers and mystics if your family is into that kind of thing. My kids would be mortified, which is of course the point.

Downtown Torrance is worth the drive on its own. It’s one of the more walkable historic districts in the South Bay, packed with locally owned restaurants, craft breweries, coffee shops, antique stores and art galleries, so you can make a whole afternoon of it and eat dinner there before heading home.

👧 Best For Ages 2-12. No jump scares, no mazes, no chainsaws. This is a neighborhood block party in costume.

🍬 Trunk or Treat is the centerpiece — come in costume.

🎪 Free admission, plus a marketplace, live music, crafts, games and contests.

🔮 Tarot readers and mystics in the marketplace.

🍴 Local restaurants and breweries throughout the district — plan to eat there.

🏨 If you’re coming from the Valley or the far side of the 405, this is worth building a Saturday around: hit Torrance Beach or the Redondo Pier during the day, then roll into Old Torrance for the block party at 4. The DoubleTree by Hilton Torrance South Bay is the most convenient base, ten minutes from Old Torrance, with a pool, and next to the Del Amo mall if the weather turns. For a beach-first weekend, the Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina is the nicer stay: a rooftop pool over the marina, bike rentals, and a walk to the pier, about fifteen minutes from the event. Watching the budget, the Best Western Plus Redondo Beach Inn has a pool, a hot tub and a real included breakfast within walking distance of the sand.

Saturday, October 3, 2026, 4:00–9:00 PM.

Old Torrance, in the heart of the South Bay.

 

carved pumpkins in foggy park

All the haunted fun. Photo courtesy of Discover Torrance

 

Delusion: Den of the Mosquito — Los Angeles

This is the one for adults and older teenagers, and it’s unlike anything else on this list.

Delusion isn’t a haunted house. It’s interactive horror theater — a scripted play created by Jon Braver, staged inside the historic Beckett Mansion, where you’re a participant rather than a spectator. Actors speak to you. You move through the story. This year’s production, Den of the Mosquito, is a homecoming: the series began at Beckett Mansion in 2011.

It’s also produced by Thirteenth Floor, which makes it the fourth event on this list from the same company, alongside the Haunted Hayride, Dark Harbor and Winchester.

Best For Ages 16-99. Not for kids, not for the squeamish, and not something you wander through casually.

🎭 Fully scripted interactive theater inside a historic mansion, with a small cast and a small audience.

📅 The longest run of anything here — September 17 through November 8, well past Halloween.

🎟️ Tickets start at $143, which is a different category of spend from everything else on this page. It’s a night out, not a family outing.

Select nights, September 17 through November 8, 2026.

Beckett Mansion, Los Angeles. Delusion

 

 

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride — Griffith Park

This is LA’s marquee haunt that isn’t attached to a theme park, and it’s the only one staged inside Griffith Park. Now in its 18th season, and produced by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group — the same company behind the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor and Delusion.

You board a haywagon and roll out through the Griffith Park foothills into Midnight Falls, a town where the Witch of the Woods has called up the spirits of the underworld to take revenge on the people who cast her out. The conceit is that the whole town is stuck on Halloween night, 1985, and this year a new séance show finally explains how the curse started.

Once you’re off the wagon, you can wander the town itself — mazes, shows, roaming monsters, and the Scary-Go-Round. New for 2026 is Fallen Angel, an eighties rock maze, joining returning favorites Elvira’s Trick or Treat Mayhem and Hellbilly Halloween.

Best For Ages 12-99. Scarier than Disneyland, milder than Knott’s. A good middle step for a kid who wants a real haunt but isn’t ready to be chased by a chainsaw.

🎃 New for 2026: Fallen Angel, an eighties rock maze, plus the biggest upgrade to the Hayride trail in years.

🔮 A new séance show revealing how Midnight Falls got cursed on Halloween night, 1985.

🍺 Alcohol for the first time — themed bars throughout Midnight Falls for guests 21 and over.

🍩 The Cider Mill returns with warm apple cider and fresh cider doughnuts, plus s’mores stations by the fire. This is the most autumnal thing available in Los Angeles and you should take advantage of it.

🪓 Add-ons priced separately: Midnight Falls Axe Throwing, mini escape games, and Zombie Splat GellyBall, where you shoot glowing gel balls at live zombies.

🎟️ Tickets start at $34.99 most nights, rising to $42.99 over Halloween weekend. Add-ons like axe throwing and GellyBall are priced separately on top.

💡 Go early in the season. The lineup is identical in late September, the crowds are thinner, and you save $8 a head over Halloween weekend — $32 for a family of four, which covers the cider and doughnuts.

🚗 Note the address — the event moved from the Old Zoo to the Crystal Springs Picnic Area. If your kids still have energy, or they’re older, make it a full Griffith Park day: the LA Zoo and the observatory are both right there, and the zoo closes at 5, well before the Hayride opens.

Select nights, September 18 through November 1, 2026.

Crystal Springs Picnic Area, Griffith Park, 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles. Los Angeles Haunted Hayride

 

 

Boo at the LA Zoo — Griffith Park

Two weekends only, and it’s included with regular zoo admission, which makes it one of the best-value Halloween outings in the city.

The zoo decorates, sets up trick-or-treat stations, and puts on live shows, but the thing actually worth timing your visit around is the animal pumpkin feedings. Watching a bear demolish a pumpkin is genuinely better than anything a costumed actor can do, and it happens a couple of times a day.

The LAIR is the sleeper attraction here — rare snakes, poisonous frogs and venomous lizards. It requires no decorating whatsoever to be the creepiest building on the property.

Best For Ages 2-10. Nothing scary, no dark, no actors. Costumes encouraged.

🎃 Trick-or-treat stations with candy throughout the zoo.

🎃 Animal pumpkin feedings a couple of times daily — check the schedule when you arrive and plan around them.

🎭 Live performances, themed photo ops, education stations, and an extinct animal graveyard.

🐍 The LAIR is open and needs no help being unsettling.

🎟️ Free with paid zoo admission or GLAZA membership. No separate ticket.

🎡 The Griffith Park double: the zoo runs 10 to 4, and the Haunted Hayride opens after dark in the same park. Older kids can do both in one day — zoo in the afternoon, Hayride at night.

October 24–25 and October 31–November 1, 2026, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles. Boo at the LA Zoo

 

Super Boos – Photo Courtesy of LA Zoo

 

HalGLOWeen at the San Diego Zoo — Balboa Park

The world-famous zoo stays open until 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights in October and lights the whole place up. Live bands, DJ sets, glowing acrobats, stilt-walking scarecrows, and keeper talks about the animals with the spookiest reputations. No haunted houses, no actors jumping out — this is a glow party, not a scare.

The Reptile House becomes Python Path and glows after dark, which is exactly as good as it sounds.

But the real headline is Kids Free October. Every day that month, one paying adult can bring up to six kids aged 11 and under for free — and it isn’t just the zoo, it covers dozens of San Diego attractions.

If you have kids and any flexibility, October is the single cheapest month to visit San Diego. 

Best For All Ages. Zero scares. Small kids, grandparents, everybody.

🌙 Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October — 14 nights, including Halloween. The zoo runs 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on event nights, versus a 6 p.m. close Monday through Thursday.

🎟️ Included with any valid admission. Same ticket, three extra hours.

👶 Kids Free October: up to six kids 11 and under per paying adult, all month long, all across San Diego.

🕕 Arrive by 5, stay past 6:30. Activities start at 5 p.m., but sunset is around 6:30 in early October and closer to 6 by Halloween. The glow doesn’t work until it’s dark, so come early for the animals and stay for the lights.

🐍 Python Path in the Reptile House, Featured Creatures keeper talks, Boo Crew scarecrow stilt-walkers, and character meet-and-greets with Dr. Harry.

🗺️ Most of the five activity zones sit near the entrance — pull the map on the zoo app so you’re not hiking the canyon at 8 p.m. with a tired kid.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, October 2–31, 2026, activities from 5 p.m.

2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego. HalGLOWeen

 

flamingos around a squiggly pond

We come dressed for the occasion. Photo by Matthew Cabret on Unsplash

 

SoCal Corgi Beach Day — Huntington Beach

Roughly 1,200 corgis in Halloween costumes on a beach. That’s the whole pitch, and it’s enough.

What started in 2012 with fifteen dogs now draws over 15,000 people, making it the biggest breed-specific event in the world. There’s a main arena running contests all day — corgi costume contest, loudest barking, corgi limbo, fetch — plus themed photo stops, meet-and-greets with celebrity corgis, more than 45 vendors and over 10 food trucks.

You don’t need a corgi. You don’t need a dog. All dogs are welcome as honorary corgis, and plenty of people just show up to look at short dogs in costumes, which is a completely legitimate way to spend a Saturday.

Best For All Ages. Free. No tickets, no reservations, no scares. Bring sunscreen.

📍 New location for 2026 — Huntington City Beach, two blocks south of the pier, not Huntington Dog Beach. Don’t navigate to the old address.

🅿️ The new site has over 3,000 parking spots, a wider beach and more room in the vendor village — the old location’s parking was the main complaint.

🏆 Contests run all day in the main arena: costume, loudest barking, corgi limbo, fetch.

🌭 45+ vendors and 10+ food trucks.

🐕 All dogs welcome, corgi or not.

🏨 The new location sits directly across PCH from three hotels, which makes this an easy beach weekend if you’re coming from the Valley or further out. The Paséa Hotel & Spa is the nicest of them and the most kid-tolerant despite looking like it wouldn’t be. The Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton, has the biggest pool deck and connects straight to the sand. The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach is the most family-oriented of the three, with a pool complex built for kids. All three put you a walk from the event and from Pacific City for dinner. Book early — October 24 is a busy Saturday on this stretch of coast.

Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Huntington City Beach, 21351 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach. SoCal Corgi Beach Day

 

costumed corgie - halloween in la

No, I did not raid your closet! Photo courtesy of Visit Huntington Beach

 

Night of the Jack — Calabasas

Formerly Nights of the Jack, and still the best-looking Halloween event in Los Angeles.

You walk a mile-long trail across King Gillette Ranch — 588 acres of meadow and ridgeline in the heart of Calabasas — lined with thousands of hand-carved, illuminated jack-o’-lanterns and larger-than-life lantern installations, all set to a light show. There’s a live pumpkin carver working on site, LA food trucks for dinner, and the Spookeasy bar pouring hot cider for the kids and seasonal cocktails for you.

New for 2026, the trail has been reimagined with bigger displays, and they’ve added Jack’s Carnival with more than 10 rides and attractions.

This is the entry point. If you have a kid who wants to do something for Halloween but isn’t ready to be scared, start here. Nothing jumps out, nobody’s in costume trying to frighten you, and the whole thing is genuinely beautiful.

Best For All Ages. The gentlest ticketed event on this list, and the prettiest. Good for grandparents too.

🎃 A mile-long trail of hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins and giant lantern art, with a light show throughout.

🎡 New for 2026: Jack’s Carnival — 10+ rides and attractions. Unlimited access requires a separate carnival wristband, so budget for it if your kids will want to ride.

🍸 The Spookeasy serves hot cider and seasonal cocktails; LA food trucks handle dinner.

🎟️ Tickets are timed-entry and sell out on weekends. Parking and the carnival wristband are both separate charges on top of admission.

💡 Go on a weeknight in late September or early October. Same trail, a fraction of the crowd, and the cheapest tickets of the season.

September 25 through November 1, 2026, on select nights.

King Gillette Ranch, 26800 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas. Night of the Jack

 

two story house lit up for holidays with pumpkins in front

Come in if you dare. Photo courtesy of Night of the Jack

 

Carved at Descanso Gardens — La Cañada Flintridge

Thousands of hand-carved pumpkins and illuminated installations threaded through 150 acres of gardens, and this year they’ve built a new route. It’s the prettiest Halloween event in Los Angeles County and it isn’t close.

Think of it as Night of the Jack’s eastside counterpart — same idea, different landscape. Where Calabasas gives you open meadow and ridgeline, Descanso runs you through the camellia forest and under oaks, which makes the light do something completely different.

Best For All Ages. Zero scares. Strollers welcome, grandparents welcome.

🎃 Thousands of hand-carved pumpkins, luminous displays, and a new route for 2026.

🎟️ Tickets run $12 to $52 depending on date and time. Members get the lowest pricing all season plus access to Anytime Tickets.

Capacity is limited and it sells out. Buy in advance, especially for the last two weekends.

💡 Weeknights early in October are cheapest and least crowded. Same pumpkins.

Nightly, October 2 through November 1, 2026, 6–10 p.m.

1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. Carved

Underwood Family Farms Fall Harvest Festival — Moorpark

An actual working farm, which is the difference. Fifty acres with pick-your-own pumpkins, a corn maze, tractor-drawn wagon rides, pig races, animal shows and carnival games — and five themed weekends including Wild West and Antique Tractors.

This is the one where a kid pulls a pumpkin out of the dirt themselves rather than off a pallet, and for a lot of LA families that’s the whole point.

Best For Ages 2-12. The most authentically autumnal thing within an hour of Los Angeles.

🚜 Pick-your-own pumpkin patch, corn maze, wagon rides, pig races and live entertainment.

🎟️ Weekdays are dramatically cheaper than weekends, and parking is free.

⚠️ Weekend tickets are online only — walk-ups are not guaranteed admission. Buy ahead.

🗓️ Each weekend has its own theme, so check the schedule if your kid has a preference.

September 26 through October 31, 2026, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

3370 Sunset Valley Road, Moorpark — about 50 minutes from LA. Underwood Family Farms

 

two boys on a hay bale surrounded by pumpkins

Pumpkin heads. Photo by Rina Nehdar

 

Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns — Palos Verdes

More than 10,000 hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns along a mile-long trail through the South Coast Botanic Garden. That’s roughly triple what you’ll see at Carved, and it’s the biggest pumpkin display in Southern California.

The 2026 trail adds three new themed scenes: a whimsical circus, a Día de los Muertos tribute, and an under-the-sea section. A synchronized pumpkin light show fires every 30 minutes, and there are towering inflatables and bounce pads for kids who need to burn something off between photo stops.

This is the fifth event on this list from Thirteenth Floor, which by now you may recognize as the company running Southern California’s Halloween season.

Best For All Ages. No scares. If your family has done Night of the Jack in Calabasas or Carved in La Cañada, this is the South Bay version — bigger pumpkin count, more to do for younger kids.

🎃 10,000+ hand-carved pumpkins on a mile-long trail, with a light show every half hour.

💙 A low-sensory night runs Sunday, September 27 — a modified experience with reduced stimulation. Very few Halloween events in LA offer this, and if you have a kid who needs it, this is the one.

🕶️ Add-ons include 3D Jack O’Lantern glasses that turn every light source into a glowing pumpkin, and a s’mores package for the fire pits along the trail.

🎟️ Tickets start at $29.99 adults, $24.99 kids, fees included, on select nights.

📍 Pairs well with Scaredown in Torrance — both are South Bay, twenty minutes apart.

Select nights, September 18 through November 1, 2026.

South Coast Botanic Garden, Palos Verdes. Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns

 

Día de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever

The 27th annual, and one of the largest Day of the Dead celebrations outside Mexico.

Hundreds of elaborate ofrendas fill the cemetery grounds, alongside a ceremonial procession, Aztec dancers, live music on the Muerte y Tradición stage, an art exhibition in the cathedral, and a Children’s Plaza built specifically for families. Thousands of people come in full Catrina makeup.

It’s the one event on this list that isn’t Halloween at all. It’s a different holiday with different roots, and going will teach your kids more than every haunted house here combined.

Best For All Ages. Not scary, but it is enormous and it runs late. The Children’s Plaza is where you’ll want to anchor with little ones.

🕯️ Altars exhibition, ceremonial procession, live music, and the cathedral art exhibition.

🎫 Three admission windows: noon–4, 4–7, and 7–11. Pick the noon window with small kids — the evening gets very crowded and stays loud until midnight.

👶 Everyone 5 and up needs a ticket. No refunds, no exchanges, rain or shine.

🅿️ Parking is in the Paramount structures on Van Ness and Gower, not at the cemetery. Plan for the walk.

Saturday, October 24, 2026, noon to midnight.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. LA Day of the Dead

 

cemetery in foggy night

Inviting the spirits to be free.

 

The Haunted Car Wash — multiple locations

Exactly what it sounds like, and better than it has any right to be. You drive through an actual car wash that’s been turned into a haunted attraction — monsters on the other side of the glass, in the dark, while your car is stuck on a track and you cannot leave.

The genius is that it’s the only haunt where the scare comes to a family that never gets out of the car. No walking, no lines in the cold, no separating from a nervous kid.

Best For Ages 6-99. The car is the safety blanket. Kids who would never set foot in a maze will do this one.

🚗 You stay in your vehicle the whole time — one ticket per car, not per person.

🎃 Multiple Southern California locations across LA, Orange County and the Inland Empire.

October 2 through 31, 2026.

Check the site for the location nearest you. thehauntedcarwash.com

 

 

Rina Baraz Nehdar is a multi-award-winning journalist and photographer. Rina’s background is in television and radio news. She is editor and founder of www.LAFamilyTravel.com which helps Los Angeles area families plan their best trips with kids. Rina’s writing focuses on family adventure travel, eco-travel, and luxury travel. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Parents, L.A. Parent, Global Traveler Magazine and more. As a family travel expert, she has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Spectrum News and podcasts. She is an active member of SATW.
Website |  + posts