Celebrate Halloween all month long in Sacramento with these family-friendly events that will provide your kids with safe trick-or-treating options and plenty of chances to wear those costumes more than once!
Here are the festive activities in date order so that you don’t miss a thing. Make some fun memories!
Free Library Halloween Events
Crafts, puppet shows, pumpkin carving, and more.
Spookamotive Train Rides
When: Three weekends, October 15-30
Where: Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot in Old Sacramento (located on Front Street between J and K Streets)
What: Halloween-themed Spookomotive trains decorated for the season depart from the Central Pacific Railroad Freight Depot in Old Sacramento. Join the Skeleton Crew for a fun and delightful (but not frightful) 40-minute ride along the Sacramento River.
Cost: Adults $15.00, Kids age 6-17 $6.o0, 5 and under free
Spooky Halloween River Cruise
When: Weekends in October
Where: Leaves from Old Sacramento L Street Dock
What: One-hour cruise on the Sacramento River, Halloween coloring/activity sheets for kids, music, face painting.
Cost: $18.00 per person (Discount here)
Monster Mini Golf
When: Open year round; T-Th 2-9pm, Fri 2-10pm, Sat 12-10pm, Sun 12-8pm
Where: Monster Mini Golf, 12401 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova
What: 18 holes of Indoor Glow-in-the-Dark Monster Themed Mini Golf. Golf in a costume in October and be eligible to win prizes.
Cost: Adults $9.00, Kids $8.00
Halloween Fright Fest at Six Flags
When: Fridays, Saturday and Sundays through November 1st
Where: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo
What: Enjoy frightful fun and spine-tingling adventures. Watch as the park transforms from “Thrills by Day” to “Fright by Night.” Seasonally-themed shows, attractions and lots of kid-friendly activities during the daylight hours. There’s traditional trick-or-treating in Looney Tunes Seaport, an elaborate pumpkin patch with cookie decorating and a pint-sized hay maze. When the clock strikes 6:00 p.m., the sun goes down and the ghouls come out! Chilling new haunted maze, and scare zones that will have you looking over your shoulder (and everywhere else!) in Mt. Rotting Cemetery and Arachnid Alley.
Cost: $45.99 and up
Halloween Crafts with the Craftketeers
When: Saturday, October 15; 10-11am
Where: Arden Fair Mall, Center Court
What: Kids can wear costumes and join Arden Kids Club for a Halloween celebration. The Craftketeers will be on hand to lead crafts.
Cost: FREE
Fairytale Town Safe and Super Halloween: Superheroes
When: Friday, October 21 – Sunday, October 23; 5-9pm
Where: Fairytale Town, Sacramento
What: Trick or treat at 15 candy stations. Enter the world of your favorite comics as you meet superheroes, take part in Wonder Woman’s Amazon training camp and visit a comic book city – but watch out for the Hulk!
This three-night extravaganza also features a nightly costume parade at 8:30 PM, hands-on activities and lots of fun. Sevilla Magic FX will perform Batman’s Cave of Wonders, a magic show featuring Batman and Harley Quinn, each night at 6, 7 & 8 PM in the Children’s Theater. Magic show tickets are an additional $1 for members and $2 for nonmembers.
Cost: Presale tickets $10.00; magic show $2.00
Spooky Story Time
When: Saturday, October 22; 10:30am
Where: Effie Yeaw Nature Center, Carmichael
What: Gear up for Halloween with some spooky stories told by members of the Sacramento Storytellers Guild. Stories guaranteed not to cause nightmares! Suitable for all ages.
Cost: FREE, Parking $5.00
Monster Bash
When: Saturday, October 22; 6-8pm
Where: Sacramento Children’s Museum, Rancho Cordova
What: Get those costumes ready for Halloween with a night of music, dancing, haunted hallway, refreshments, and museum play.
Cost: $15.00 per person, $10.00 per member
Halloween Boo Bounce
When: Rancho Cordova: Tuesday, October 25; 6-8pm Roseville: Wednesday, October 26; 6-8pm
Where: BounceU
What: Scavenger hunt, Halloween crafts, sweet treats, costume contest and Halloween themed bounce.
Cost: $10.95 per child
Wee Halloween at the Crocker
When: Wednesday, October 26; 10am – 1pm
Where: Crocker Art Museum
What: Children ages 5 and younger and their grownups are invited to take a delightful stroll through the Museum and encounter gentle surprises in the form of mini-performances by the Sacramento Ballet, Pixie Tribe, and many others. At each stop, children receive a small gift for their specially decorated treat bag. This Halloween stroll ends with a celebration featuring Clemón Charles and yummy nibbles.
Cost: $15.00 adults and children, Under 18 mos Free (Advance registration required, sells out early)
Family Fun Night
When: Thursday, October 27; 4-8pm
Where: Vernon Street, Downtown Roseville
What: You are invited to a spooktacular Family Fun Night in Downtown Roseville. Hands-on activities, vendor booths, live entertainment, costume contests, a haunted house, trick-or-treating on Vernon Street.
Cost: FREE
The Haunted Fort at Sutters Fort
When: Friday, October 28 – Saturday, October 29; 6:30 – 9pm
Where: Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park, 2701 L Street, Sacramento
What: Amid the glow of campfire, daring visitors will go on guided tours through the darkened rooms and hear unusual and intriguing tales of how some of California’s early pioneers perished throughout history. Some even believe many of the rooms at the Fort are still haunted by the spirits of past inhabitants! Tours may not be appropriate for children under 8.
Cost: Adults $8.00, Kids $6.00
Halloween Haunt
When: Saturday, October 29; 11am – 4pm
Where: Safetyville USA, 3909 Bradshaw Rd., Sacramento
What: Magic show with Trevor Wyatt, harvest maze, face-painting, family games, raffles, live entertainment, and more. Wear your costume for the parade.
Cost: $5.00 per person
Pumpkin Splash Patch
When: Saturday, October 29; 2-4pm
Where: El Dorado Hills Community Pool
What: Children 3 to 10 years of age should come wearing their swimsuits for this holiday hunt. Participants will hunt for their perfect pumpkin in the heated pool, decorate it and take it home. In addition, there will be open swim and the Marshall Medical inflatatable will be available. Price includes a pumpkin, decorating supplies, swim pass for the day and a special Trick-or-Treat goodie bag.
Cost: $12.00 per person; pre-registration required
Trick-or-Treat in the Historic District
When: Saturday, October 29; 1-4pm
Where: Historic District of Folsom
What: Dress up the kiddos in their Halloween finest and join us for Trick-or-Treating. Watch for Participating Merchant signs throughout the entire district. At 1:30pm and 2:30pm Cynthia’s Dance Center will be presenting Cinderella on the Amphitheater Stage. Cast members are from 4 years old on up.
Cost: FREE
Trick-or-Treat in Old Sacramento
When: Saturday, October 29
Where: Old Sacramento
What: Trick-or-treat at participating businesses in Old Sacramento. Last year, more than 40 merchants participated! The Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum is a great place to start as maps and bags are available for interested participants.
Cost: FREE
Spooktacular Halloween
When: Saturday, October 29 – Sunday, October 30; 10am – 5pm
Where: Funderland Amusement Park
What: Dress up in your silliest costume and come trick or treat with us at 12 different candy stations, magic show, hay maze, meet Kylo Ren and Rey, free crafts, and costume contests
Cost: Bring a new toy or art supplies for River Oak Center for Children and get FREE tickets (number of FREE tickets depends upon value of item donated)
Boo at the Zoo
When: Saturday, October 29 – Sunday, October 30; 11am – 5pm
Where: Sacramento Zoo
What: Trick-or-treating stations throughout the WHOLE Zoo, face painting for kids, ghoulish games, themed stage shows, keeper chats and even animal enrichments. Top off a perfect day with a ride on the Spooky Zoo Train or the Creepy Carousel for an additional fee.
Cost: Advance tickets $10 general admission, Free for 1 and under; $12 at the door
Superhero Halloween
When: Sunday, October 30; 11am-3pm
Where: California Automobile Museum
What: “Trunk or treat” at favorite cars, superhero themed festivities, including some special displays; a BatCycle and a Batmobile! Be on the lookout for some supervillains keeping guard over some noteworthy trunks.
Cost: Adults $9-10, Kids in costume FREE with paying adult (max 2 kids)
Trick or Treat Night at IKEA
When: Monday, October 31
Where: IKEA, West Sacramento
What: Stroll throughout the store and stop at various scary spots along the way for treats for your little goblins and ghouls. For kids ages 3 -12 years old.
Cost: FREE
Trick-or-Treat in Sacramento Children’s Museum
When: Monday, October 31; 10am-2pm
Where: Sacramento Children’s Museum
What: The Museum will feature 10 treat stations, a costume parade at 11 a.m., hands-on activities, and Museum play. Dress-up is encouraged.
Cost: FREE with donation of a children’s book
This is an exerpt from our Fall Fun Guide sponsored by Memories by Michelle Photography
You can check out our family session with Michelle here
Written by Keilah Woodard
My love for exploring and creating experiences with my three kids led to the founding of SacramentoSidetracks.com in 2009. I realized that Sacramento has so much to offer and I was excited to share my findings with other parents. Besides simply having fun, these are the other positive side effects of taking my kids on outings that I’ve discovered: we have quality time together away from the distractions at home, we cultivate our curiosity, learn new things, conversations are triggered by what we see and do, we connect and bond as a family, and we create new memories. Ready to get sidetracked, too? Let me be your guide!
