Halloween in San Diego – Where to Find Best Chills & Thrills in 2023

Halloween is for kids of all ages so not surprisingly, San Diego has the right kind of fun for every crowd.

Prefer chills? Masked villains bearing chain saws will be happy to scare you ’til you shake and quake.

How about just thrills? There are pumpkin patches, street parties and family friendly events for the more faint of heart.

Let us point you in the right direction for All Hallows Eve 2023 (hot costumes by the way, Barbie and Taylor Swift with Travis Kelce). There’s local bashes and pumpkin picking along with events hosted by some of the region’s biggest attractions (some of which are hosting both super scary and gentler haunts):

Chills

SeaWorld – Howl-o-Scream, with haunted houses and scare zones at night, Thursday to Sundays through Oct. 29, but open Oct. 31.

Balboa Park – Haunted Trail, with the eXperiment Maze and a mile-long trek through twisted pines and gnarled oaks filled with demented dolls, zombies and freaks, through Oct. 31.

Del Mar – Scream Zone at Del Mar Fairgrounds, with creepy old mansions, haunted hayrides and some unsavory folks – Freddy, Leatherface, Valak – you might know, through Oct. 31.

Marshal Scotty’s Playland in El Cajon – Haunted Amusement Park, the Scare Trail winds through long-deserted carnival rides, where evil may lurk; through Oct. 31.

AleSmith Brewing Company – Fright Nights, interactive haunted brewery trail for craft beer fans, with new release, Dead Man’s Double IPA, opens Oct. 13, then recurs through Oct. 29.

Thrills

San Diego Zoo – Halgloween, the park lights up and offers interactive holiday activities Fridays through Sundays in October starting at 5 p.m.

SeaWorld – Halloween Spooktacular, with Halloween dance party and pumpkin scavenger hunt, Fridays through Sundays through Oct. 29.

Sesame Place – The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular, with trick-or-treating, Halloween-themed shows and parades and interactive Sesame Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt, Fridays through Sundays through Oct. 29.

Legoland – Brick-or-Treat, with new shows and silly monster LEGO characters, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 29.

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures in Santa Ysabel – Haunted Harvest Hayride, with ghost stories and jug band music, Saturdays through Oct. 28.

San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park – Halloween takes over the Toy Train Gallery, through Nov. 6.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association in Campo – Pumpkin Express, take a ride through the backcountry, then decorate pumpkins and view a collection of Halloween scenes and haunted train cars, through Oct. 29.

Westgate Hotel, Downtown San Diego – Witches of the Westgate Halloween High Tea, wear costumes in Le Fontainebleau Room and enjoy Halloween treats, Oct. 15, 20-22

El Cajon – Haunt Fest on Main, with costume contest, music on two stages, 4 p.m. Oct. 20.

U.S. Midway Museum – Haunted Hanger, with crafts, cookie decorating, magic demonstrations, simulator rides, “Thriller flash mob, 6 p.m. Oct. 21.

Pacific Beach – Mavericks Beach Club starts the Halloween festivities on Oct. 25 with a PAW-loween adopt-a-thon and doggy costume contest; Halloween Pro Wrestling follows on Oct. 27 and on Oct. 28, the big celebration, the all-day Dead Man’s Beach party with multiple DJs, contortionists, circus performers, live entertainment and more.

La Jolla – Birch Aquarium, Halloween Aglow, with live music, costume contest, trick-or-treat stations and skeleton divers, 6 p.m. Oct. 27-28.

Lions Tigers & Bears in Alpine – Spooky Campover, with campfire songs, pumpkin carving, costume contest, and all-ages haunted house. Oct. 27.

Chula Vista – NOVO Brazil Brewing Company‘s annual Halloween celebration on Oct. 27 at its Lane Avenue headquarters, with live music, games and a bouncy castle, and food from famed Tijuana eatery Tortas WashMobile by Chef Pedro Fuentes.

Gaslamp Quarter – Zombie Crawl, dress up and enjoy welcome potions, body painting, live music and dancing along Fifth Avenue, Oct. 27-28, Oct. 31.

Hillcrest – Nightmare on Normal Street at Pride Flag Plaza, costume competition with more than $2,000 in prizes, dance party, a VIP area, vendors and bar, Oct. 28.

The Forum Carlsbad – Halloween Spooktacular, with Frankenstein, the Sanderson Sisters and a Mad Hatter Magician, and live music, carnival games and free Halloween buckets in the Garden Area, and trick-or-treating in the shops, 2 p.m. Oct. 28

Santee – Santee Lakes Spooktacular, with Halloween maze, face painting, creepy crafts, 10 a.m. Oct. 28.

Little Italy – Trick or Treat on India Street, which will be transformed into “The Nightmare Before Christmas” with a giant 13-foot Jack Skellington and large pumpkin stacks, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 29.

Pumpkin patches

Bonita, Rancho Bernardo and more – Pumpkin Station locations include these two actual farms, with living pumpkin patch, corn maze, farm animals and a tractor-pulled hay-wagon ride. Other sites, in Del Mar, Mission Valley and National City, have kiddie rides, slides, inflatable play centers and petting zoo; though Oct. 31.

Lakeside – Oma’s Pumpkin Patch, with petting corral, kid-powered games, sand pile with toy trucks and tractors, and play area with climbable Cottonseed Mountain, through Oct. 28.

Liberty Station – Goff Family Pumpkin Patch at Sellers Family Putting Green, with lawn games and beer on tap each Friday and Saturday, through Oct. 31.

Ramona – Mountain Valley Ranch Pumpkin Patch, 842 Hwy 78, includes corn maze, corn cannon and petting zoo.

Valley Center –  Bates Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch, tractor hayrides, straw maze, petting corral and Snows Pony Rides, through Oct. 31.