Seasonal & Holidays
2025 SoCal Fall Fun Guide: Halloween Events, Haunted Houses, Fall Festivals And More
There's plenty of fun, festive and spooky things to do this fall across Southern California.
The autumnal equinox on Monday, Sept. 22, signals the official arrival of fall, but the season is already in full swing in Southern California with events such as fall festivals, hayrides and mazes, Halloween events and haunted houses.
Sunny days and crisp evenings are perfect for outdoor fun. Some can't-miss events in Southern California are Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld San Diego. Both feature haunted houses, scare zones, live shows, and themed food and drinks.
But that's just the beginning of fun activities taking place over the next couple of months.
Find out what's happening in San Diegofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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Below, find the 2025 Patch Guide to Fall Fun in Southern California:
Find out what's happening in San Diegofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Hayrides and Mazes
Irvine Park Railroad's Pumpkin Patch
- Dates: Sept. 13-Oct. 31
- Location: Irvine Park Railroad, Irvine
- Details: The pumpkin patch offers hayrides, train rides, carnival games, a bounce house, face painting and pumpkin decorating.
- Dates: Sept. 25-
- Location: Live Oak Canyon Farm, Redlands
- Details: The pumpkin patch features a corn maze, games, hayrides, live entertainment, a petting zoo and more.
- Dates: Select nights, Sept. 19-Nov. 2
- Location: Griffith Park, Los Angeles
- Details: The annual event features a haunted hayride, haunted mazes and live entertainment.
- Dates: Sept. 27-Nov. 1, closed Sundays and Mondays
- Location: Oma's Family Farm, Lakeside
- Details: Oma's Pumpkin Patch features an array of attractions, including a hay maze, a petting zoo and a hayride.
Pumpkin Patch at Bates Nut Farm
- Dates: Sept. 18-Oct. 31
- Location: Bates Nut Farm, Valley Center
- Details: Activities include tractor hayrides, straw maze, pony rides, petting corral, a corn pit and an inflatable bounce house.
- Dates: Irvine pumpkin patch open now through Nov. 2. Costa Mesa pumpkin patch opens Sept. 27.
- Locations: University Farm, Irvine and Hana Field, Costa Mesa
- Details: Activities include corn mazes, wagon rides and more family fun.
Festivals
A Great Day in the Stoke Surf Competition and Beach Festival
- Date: Sept. 27
- Location: Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington Beach
- Details: This free, all-day event brings surf, music and community to Surf City USA in Huntington Beach.
- Date: Oct. 25
- Location: Private estate in Point Loma
- Details: This sips and tastes event is held every October in recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
- Date: Oct. 5
- Location: Lorimar Winery, Temecula
- Details: The festival will feature a grape stomp photo opportunity, food, wine, beer and sangria, and live music.
Indian Food Festival of Los Angeles
- Date: Oct. 4
- Location: beTRUE Studios, Los Angeles
- Details: The first annual festival will offer food vendors, live cooking demonstrations, DJs, henna and more.
- Date: Sept. 20
- Location: LA Center Studios, Los Angeles
- Details: The event will offer unlimited tastings from more than 85 premium agave brands, food trucks and live music.
- Date: Oct. 11-12
- Location: Girard Avenue, San Diego
- Details: This family-friendly weekend features more than 170 juried artists from across the U.S. and Mexico, as well as a ticketed wine and beer garden with over 35 wineries, local breweries and craft distilleries.
- Date: Oct. 3-5
- Location: La Mesa Village, La Mesa
- Details: This three-day event will transform La Mesa into a lively Bavarian village complete with three biergartens, live music, games and a kid-friendly zone with bounce houses and play areas.
Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation Sunset Run
- Date: Sept. 27
- Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
- Details: Nearly 40,000 fans and participants are expected to be in attendance for the ultimate Los Angeles Dodgers fan experience.
- Date: Sept. 27
- Location: OC Fair and Event Center, Costa Mesa
- Details: This year's theme, Revolutionary, is a bold call to unity, visibility, and standing proud — louder than ever.
- Date: Sept. 27-28
- Location: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego
- Details: The two-day event will feature premium tastings, craft cocktails, live entertainment and ocean views.
Storm Halloween Festival and Marketplace
- Dates: Oct. 24-26
- Location: Diamond/Storm Stadium, Lake Elsinore
- Details: The festival will offer games, inflatables, rides, food trucks, live entertainment and shopping.
Running Events
- Date: Oct. 19
- Location: SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego
- Details: The Howl-O-Sprint 5K Run will take participants on a 3.1-mile course throughout the park. The course will weave through different animal and marine life exhibits while also featuring Halloween surprises, themed photo moments and spooky characters along the route. There will also be a Kids 1K Run.
McAlister Institute's 5K Walk for Sobriety
- Date: Sept. 27
- Location: NTC Park at Liberty Station, San Diego
- Details: The Walk for Sobriety raises funds for lifesaving services and aims to increase awareness and support the power of recovery.
- Date: Nov. 2
- Location: Balboa Park, San Diego
- Details: The More Than Pink Walk is Susan G. Komen's largest fundraising event series.
- Date: Oct. 11
- Location: TeWinkle Park, Costa Mesa
- Details: This pet-friendly community walk brings people together to celebrate health, inclusion and community spirit. Proceeds benefit Project Independence, a nonprofit that supports adults with developmental disabilities in Orange County.
Walk to End Alzheimer's Temecula Valley
- Date: Sept. 21
- Location: Promenade Temecula, Temecula
- Details: The Alzheimer's Association invites the Temecula Valley community to join the fight to end Alzheimer's on World Alzheimer's Day by participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer's.
Halloween Events and Haunted Houses
- Dates: Select dates, Sept. 20 - Nov. 1.
- Location: Legoland California Resort, Carlsbad
- Details: The theme park gets a monstrous makeover and transforms into a family-friendly Halloween destination with candy stations, character meet and greets, live shows and other festive activities.
- Dates: Select dates, Sept. 19 - Nov. 2
- Location: The Queen May, Long Beach
- Details: Dark Harbor transforms the ship and its surroundings into a frightening festival featuring mazes and live entertainment.
- Dates: Select nights, Sept. 19 - Nov. 2
- Location: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia
- Details: The theme park's nighttime event features haunted mazes, scare zones and live shows.
- Dates: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 5 - Nov. 5
- Location: SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego
- Details: SeaWorld's family-friendly Halloween event features enchanting mermaids, whimsical pirates, spooky surprises and trick-or-treating throughout the park.
- Date: Oct. 25
- Location: Fazeli Cellars Winery, Temecula
- Details: The ball will feature dancing, a DJ, food and a full bar. Costumes and masquerade-style masks are recommended but not required.
- Date: Oct. 17
- Location: Downtown El Cajon
- Details: The city's block party includes a haunted maze, a family outdoor movie, costume contests, a family outdoor movie, live entertainment and rides.
- Dates: Select nights, Sept. 12 - Nov. 1
- Location: SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego
- Details: The theme park's nighttime event features five haunted houses, eight immersive scare zones, several staged scenes known as vile vignettes, a live show and coaster rides in the dark.
- Dates: Select nights, Aug. 17-Oct. 31
- Location: Disney California Adventure Park, Anaheim
- Details: This separately ticketed event, which is sold out, offers Halloween-themed entertainment, immersive treat trails, spellbinding attractions and more.
- Date: Oct. 4
- Location: Downtown Torrance
- Details: A free event that will feature a haunted house, a scavenger hunt, a trunk or treat and a vampire club car show.
- Dates: Sept. 26-Nov. 1
- Location: Balboa Park, San Diego
- Details: The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park offers two haunts in one: the 3,500-square-foot eXperiment Maze and the mile-long Haunted Trail.
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