How To Experience The Best 2026 Halloween Events in Southern California
October is approaching, and that means pumpkin patches and Halloween activities. Halloween-related celebrations start as early as September in Los Angeles and nearby counties. Our guide will help direct you to the best Halloween events in Southern California.
While we show you key highlights below for each county, be sure to select the links to get to our detailed event-by-event guides by county. Combined, we have a monster-sized list for you featuring the best events throughout the Southland. If you’re looking for an excursion with the kids and family or scary adventures for the grown-ups, there are lots of options from which to choose.
With fall in the air, you’ll find many special Halloween-themed events. And certainly don’t forget to get a pumpkin or a few for your home. It’s indeed an excellent time for family fun.
Our Guide to Halloween events in Los Angeles and Beyond has you covered for pumpkin patches and hayrides at farms. While most local communities will have the typical stands with stacks of pumpkins for sale, others go the extra mile, adding activities to entertain the kids. Some of these places will charge a fee to participate.
Important Note: Please visit the websites of listed attractions before visiting for the latest information and particular guidelines that apply per listed attraction. Information may change after posting on our website.
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Los Angeles County Halloween Events
Los Angeles County offers one of the largest and most varied collections of Halloween experiences in Southern California. Major attractions include Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood for serious scares, the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park, the family-friendly illuminated pumpkin displays at Night of the Jack in Calabasas, and Carved at Descanso Gardens.
Beyond these marquee events, you’ll find haunted attractions, pumpkin patches, Halloween movie screenings, community festivals, seasonal performances, and plenty of activities designed for families with children. Events stretch from the San Gabriel Valley to the South Bay, Long Beach, the Westside, and communities throughout the county.
We’ve gathered the latest dates, locations, and details in our dedicated guide:
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Halloween Events in Los Angeles County
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Orange County Halloween Events
Orange County is one of Southern California’s top destinations for theme park Halloween celebrations, with experiences ranging from family-friendly seasonal fun to some of the region’s most elaborate haunted attractions. Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort transforms both parks with seasonal décor, themed attractions, entertainment, and special events including Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure.
In Buena Park, Knott’s Scary Farm delivers haunted mazes, scare zones, shows, and nighttime thrills for visitors looking for a much scarier experience, while Knott’s Spooky Farm offers daytime Halloween activities geared toward families and younger children.
Beyond the major theme parks, Orange County offers pumpkin patches, community festivals, trick-or-treat events, and other seasonal celebrations throughout the county.
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Halloween Events in Orange County
Riverside County Halloween Events
Riverside County offers a mix of full-scale haunted attractions and family-friendly community celebrations during the Halloween season. One of the county’s marquee experiences is Castle Dark at Castle Park in Riverside, where haunted mazes, scare zones, live entertainment, themed food, and rides transform the amusement park after dark. The 2026 season runs from September 18 through October 31 on select nights.
For families, cities throughout the county host Halloween carnivals, trick-or-treat activities, costume contests, and fall festivals. Temecula’s Halloween Carnival, for example, returns October 30, 2026, with games, costume contests, and trunk-or-treating in Old Town. Riverside County also offers pumpkin patches and other seasonal activities for visitors looking for a less frightening way to celebrate.
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San Bernardino Halloween Events
San Bernardino County combines large-scale Halloween entertainment with community celebrations and one of Southern California’s most distinctive seasonal settings. Escape Halloween takes over the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino on October 30–31, 2026, bringing electronic music, elaborate stage environments, costumed performers, and immersive Halloween spectacle to one of the region’s biggest adult Halloween events.
For a completely different experience, Calico Ghost Haunt transforms the historic Calico Ghost Town with haunted attractions, trick-or-treating, costume contests, live entertainment, and family activities over two weekends. Other seasonal offerings include CHS Haunt: Escape the Murder Castle in Ontario and family-oriented community celebrations such as Rancho Cucamonga’s Spooktacular.
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🎃 Halloween Events in San Bernardino County 🎃
San Diego County Halloween Events
San Diego County offers Halloween experiences ranging from colorful family celebrations to full-scale haunted attractions. Families can celebrate Brick-or-Treat at LEGOLAND California, featuring trick-or-treat stations, LEGO characters, live entertainment, and costume fun, while the San Diego Zoo’s HalGLOWeen lights up weekend evenings throughout October with music, performers, activities, and spooky wildlife encounters.
For bigger scares, Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld San Diego brings haunted houses, scare zones, live entertainment, and nighttime rides on select nights from September 11 through October 31. The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park offers another distinctly San Diego fright experience, winding through the park after dark.
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🎃 Halloween Events in San Diego County 🎃
Santa Barbara County Halloween Events
Santa Barbara County brings a distinctly Central Coast flavor to Halloween, combining family celebrations with seasonal events in wine country and historic communities. Boo at the Zoo at the Santa Barbara Zoo is one of the county’s signature family events, offering after-hours trick-or-treating, themed activities, entertainment, and Halloween fun throughout the Zoo. The Zoo’s 2026 calendar already lists Boo at the Zoo for October 23.
In the Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang’s Harvest, Haunts & Happenings turns the Danish village into a fall destination with scarecrow displays, pumpkin patches, ghost tours, a haunted house, seasonal food and wine experiences, and family activities throughout October.
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🎃 Halloween Events in Santa Barbara County 🎃
Ventura County Halloween Events
Ventura County offers a mix of family-friendly fall traditions, community celebrations, and serious Halloween scares. In Moorpark, the Underwood Family Farms Fall Harvest Festival is one of the county’s signature seasonal experiences, with a giant pumpkin patch, themed weekends, farm activities, entertainment, and pick-your-own fields from September 26 through October 31, 2026.
For something much scarier, Reign of Terror Haunted House in Thousand Oaks returns for 18 nights in 2026 with 12 connected haunts and 145 rooms spread across 35,000 square feet. Families can also look for community events such as Camarillo Old Town Boo Fest and Oxnard’s Parade of Frights at Channel Islands Harbor.
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🎃 Halloween Events in Ventura County 🎃
Watch our Southern California Halloween Events Recap on YouTube
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Bookmark our Southern California Halloween Guide
We’ve finally reached the end of our Halloween Guide for Southern California. This region offers many things to do between September and October to keep you in the fall and Halloween spirit.
If you have additions to suggest for events for Halloween activities in Los Angeles and beyond, drop us a line at comments@theplaceswherewego.com. We hope you’ve found this directory helpful.
Following your review, we suggest you bookmark it for reference this season, and please share it with your friends. We hope you’ve found lots of ideas for things to do on Halloween and during the season in this post. Thanks for visiting our website.
Thanks for visiting this page. We hope to see you at the places where we go.
Julie & Art
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