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 14-30
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 $8.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; M-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
Fairytale Town Safe and Super Halloween in Space
When: Friday, October 20 – Sunday, October 22; 5-9pm
Where: Fairytale Town, Sacramento
What: Take off to a galaxy far, far away for three nights of trick-or-treating and family fun in space at the 31st annual Safe & Super Halloween. Go on a space adventure as you meet your favorite intergalactic characters, take part in Jedi training and lightsaber fitness, and travel to Dagobah, Endor, and Tatooine. This three-night extravaganza also features 15 treat stations, a nightly costume parade at 8:30 PM, hands-on activities, and lots of fun.
Cost: Presale tickets $10.00, Day of tickets $12.00
Halloween Boo Bounce
When: Tuesday, October 26; 6-8pm
Where: BounceU – Rancho Cordova and Roseville locations
What: Scavenger hunt, Halloween crafts, sweet treats, costume contest and Halloween themed bounce.
Cost: $10.95 per child
The Haunted Fort at Sutters Fort
When: Friday, October 26 – Saturday, October 27; 6:30 – 9pm
Where: Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park, 2701 L Street, Sacramento
What: During Haunted Fort, guests will be invited to explore Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park after dark, at your own pace. Our knowledgeable docents will share scary, spooky and sometimes disturbing details of pioneer life in the 1800s, and you’ll have opportunities to participate in fun and interactive stations set-up throughout the Fort.
This year we are also thrilled to be joined by talented performers from B Street Theatre Company, who will be giving short 10-15 minute family-friendly performances in our Distillery room. Visiting Sutter’s Fort after dark is a unique experience that you won’t want to miss.
Cost: Adults $10.00, Kids $5.00
Trunk or Treat
When: Friday, October 27; 3:30-5pm
Where: El Dorado Hills Community Pool
What: Trunk or Treaters go from trunk to trunk, collecting candy from volunteers who have decorated their vehicles to serve as a backdrop for this spooktacular event! Other activities include: Spooky Scrarecrow Trail, Ghoulish Games and Creepy Cake Walk.
Cost: FREE
Spooky Story Time
When: Saturday, October 28; 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. Recommended for age 6 and up.
Cost: FREE, Parking $5.00
Halloween Haunt
When: Saturday, October 28; 11am – 4pm
Where: Safetyville USA, 3909 Bradshaw Rd., Sacramento
What: Carnival games, trick-or-treating, funhouse maze, face-painting, family games, raffles, live entertainment, and more. Wear your costume for the parade.
Cost: $5.00 per person
Halloween at Hagan
When: Saturday, October 28; 4:30-7:30pm
Where: Hagan Community Center
What: This event features fun carnival games, a spooky spiderweb string maze, a haybale bowling activity, a haunted house hosted by event partner American River Masonic Lodge, inflatable slides (weather permitting) and a community favorite, trunk-or-treat. There is plenty to see and do at this year’s event with activities in the community center and in the surrounding area.
Cost: $2 per person; free for age 2 and under
Trick-or-Treat Festifall
When: Saturday, October 28; 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. Bounce houses and other fun activities at the Sutter St and Wool St Lot. 2:30 The Mad Science Show will be at the Amphitheater. 5:00-6:30 PM Enjoy a family-friendly concert at the amphitheater stage.
Cost: FREE
Spooktacular Halloween
When: Saturday, October 28 – Sunday, October 29; 10am – 5pm
Where: Funderland Amusement Park
What: Trick or Treating, hay maze, special visits from superheros, magician, costume contests, free crafts.
Cost: Free admission; Trick-or-Treating $3.50 per person
Boo at the Zoo
When: Saturday, October 28 – Sunday, October 29; 11am – 5pm
Where: Sacramento Zoo
What: Enjoy trick-or-treating throughout the ENTIRE zoo at 15 different candy stations, face painting for kids, festive games, themed stage shows, magic shows with Trevor the Magician, 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 $13 through Oct 22; $16 after Oct 23; under 2 free
Trunk or Treat at the Automobile Museum
When: Sunday, October 29; 10am-2pm
Where: California Automobile Museum
What: “Trunk or treat” at favorite cars, storytimes, a real live hearse, photo ops in Sparkplug Square, Halloween crafts.
Cost: Adults $10, Kids in costume FREE with paying adult (max 2 kids)
Haunted House
When: Tuesday, October 31; 4-5pm
Where: Downtown Library, Roseville
What: The Roseville Public Library VolunTeens will be hosting a spooky haunted house at the Downtown Library. Stop by for thrills, chills, tricks and treats.
Cost: FREE
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!
