Family Friendly Fall Festivities Throughout Silicon Valley

We love this time of year! The kids are all back in school, the weather starts to cool, and of course there’s the fun of Halloween.

There are so many great pumpkin patches, fall festivals, and fun family events going on that it can be difficult to keep up with. So, we decided to put together a guide of our favorites.

PUMPKIN PATCHES
Harbor Village Pumpkin Patch - Jain Center of Northern California, 270 Capistrano Rd., Milpitas
For the whole month of October, the Jain Center will host tons of pumpkins, live music, and on weekends a petting zoo and live music.

The Milpitas Rotary Club's 8th Annual Community Pumpkin Patch, 1331 E Calaveras Blvd. -- Ppen Friday, October 19 through Tuesday, October 30 at the Milpitas Unified School District/Sports Complex Parking lot behind the Shell Station. Hours are 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends featuring a giant slide, jump house, scary hay maze, lots of pumpkins, and more!

Spina Farms - Santa Teresa Blvd. at Bailey Ave. San Jose, CA 95141
This place is nice and close to home with none of the Hwy 1 traffic. They have tons of pumpkins of all different sizes and price ranges, a train ride, pony rides, hay rides, petting zoo, and picnic area. They also have lots of fun props all around that are great for photo ops with the kids.

Lemos Farm - 12320 San Mateo Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
This farm is outstanding! Not only do they have pumpkins, but pony rides, a train, a petting zoo, and live music on the weekends (they host birthday parties too!). But make sure you get there early because the roads into Half Moon Bay get very backed up!

Pastorino’s Farm - 12391 San Mateo Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Located right across the street from Lemos, this farm is also bustling with activity for kids! Hay rides, ponies, petting zoo, jumpy castles, and more! It’s actually nice because they have a crossing guard on the road that stops traffic to let people cross from one farm to the other. But again, remember to go early otherwise you’ll be stuck in traffic!

Arata Pumpkin Farm - 185 Verde Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Along the same lines as Lemos and Pastorino’s this farm has a great amount of activity. They offer a corn maze, hay rides, and a gladiator battle as well as many other things! This farm is a little farther south down Highway 1 which makes it a little easier to get to from the south bay.

Uesugi Farms - 14485 Monterey Rd, San Martin, CA 95046
Another great South Bay option with lots to do. Along with the pumpkins (of course) they have so much for the whole family to do! There is a train ride, hay ride, corn maze, petting zoo, carousel, pumpkin “blasters”, a hay jump, live music, and lots of photo op areas set up.

Some places have wagons available, but we recommend bringing a  wagon (if you have one) or a rugged terrain friendly stroller for the smaller kids as most pumpkin patches tend to involve lots of walking.

FESTIVALS
Oktoberfest in Campbell  - Downtown Campbell
Munich comes to the South Bay! Join us for an awesome day of food, music, shopping, and the 5th Annual 5k run right in downtown Campbell! The festival will be held the weekend of October 13 and 14 and is very family friendly! Come on down and support your local businesses! (There will be some road closures around downtown and parking will be limited because of that, so please plan accordingly.)

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival - Downtown Half Moon Bay, CA
The Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival is SO much fun! There is a ton of activities and if you’ve ever lived on or near the coast, you know this is the most gorgeous time of year there! It runs the weekend of October 13 and 14 and there is music, games, arts, crafts foods and much much more! This time of the year, getting to the coast can be tough so if you plan on going, make sure you leave EARLY otherwise you’ll be stuck in traffic FOREVER!

Roaring Camp Railroad Annual Harvest Fair - Graham Hill & Roaring Camp Roads, Felton, California 95018
Along with the fun train rides, there will also be a pumpkin patch, make and take scarecrow craft, hand car races, petting zoo, bounce houses, gold panning, tractor rides, candle making, old time photos, and historical demonstrations like a blacksmith and printing press operator. The Harvest Fair event takes place Saturday and Sunday, October 13 and 14 from 10am - 5:30pm.

Diwali Festival of Lights - Memorial Park, 21267 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Saturday, October 13 from 10am - 5pm at Memorial Park come have fun at this multi-cultural festival. There will be music, dance, arts and crafts, fun, frolic and food. Admission and parking are free.

Northern California Renaissance Faire - Casa De Fruta, 10031 Pacheco Pass Hwy 152, Gate 6, Hollister, CA 95023
Visit the “Village of Willingtown” for a fun look back in time. There will be performances, food, shopping, and (of course!) a truly awesome game of dress-up! The event will be on weekends thru October 14 from 10am - 6pm.

HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREATING
Downtown Campbell Tick-Or-Treat - Downtown Campbell
On October 26, Local businesses hand out candy and there is even a costume contest!

Willow Glen Trick-Or-Treat - Downtown Willow Glen, San Jose, CA
The annual trick or treat event will be held on the day of Halloween. There will be an early one for toddlers and a later one for school aged children.

Saratoga Parent Nursery School Annual "Witchy Walk-a-bout"  - Downtown Saratoga, CA
Witchy-Walk-A-Bout is a fun, safe and free trick-or-treating event for children. This year’s will be hosted on October 27 but time and location are TBD, so check their website for more info.

Westgate Trick-Or-Treat Event - 1600 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, CA 95129
Free event Friday, October 26 from 5pm - 7pm. Safe (indoor) trick-or-treat, performances by Andy Z, The Dance Zone and Momentum, Balloon Animals, Arts & Crafts and more!

Mommy & Me FREE Kid’s Club: Halloween Family Fest - Santana Row, San Jose, CA
This fun (and popular!) event takes place on Tuesday, October 30 from 10am - noon. There will be trick-or-treating, live music, and more. This tends to get pretty crowded, so we recommend going early!

ZOO AND FARM EVENTS
Flashlight Safari  - Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, 1300 Senter Road  San Jose, CA 95112
Bring your flashlight and take a tour of the zoo at night! You will learn all about nocturnal animals, and even meet some of them up close! Event runs October 19, 20, 26 & 27 from 7:30pm - 9pm.

Spooky Times at Deer Holloween Farm - Deer Hollow Farm, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Mountain View, CA
Saturday, October 27 from 10am - 3pm ($7 per person, $5 with costume, Children under 1 free!) Along with all the usual farm animals to see, there will also be some childrens activities and  crafts and they will be able to tour the “spooky barns”.

Boo At The Zoo  - San Francisco Zoo, 1 Zoo Rd, San Francisco, CA 94132
This is a great event for families with younger children! Trick-or-treat amongst the animals at the zoo, see puppet shows, story times, and sing-alongs, and do fun crafts. Event runs October 27 & 28from 10am - 4pm.

Boo At The Zoo - Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Rd, Oakland, CA 94605
Another great family event! Wear your costumes and trick-or-treat, ride the “boo train”, and join the costume parade. There will also be face painting, and kids can make treats for the animals and see how the animals at the Oakland Zoo celebrate Halloween. Kids in costumes receive a free ride ticket! This event takes place the weekend of October 27 & 28 from 10am - 3pm.

TRAIN RIDES
Roaring Camp Railroad - 5355 Graham Hill Rd., Felton, CA 95018
Children's Ghost Train - Relive "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow" this Halloween riding vintage railway cars through a Redwood forest. Costumed actors re-enact scenes from the story as it's narrated during the one-hour and fifteen minute ride. Reservations required. Friday October 28 and Saturday 29.

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad - 233 Blossom Hill Rd, Los Gatos, California 95032 (Oak Meadow Park)
The Haunted Train is a family event featuring spooky train rides, friendly frights on the carousel, and entertainment for children of all ages. There will also be a children’s trick-or-treat event called “Goblyn's Glen”. The events run every weekend (Friday through Sunday) for the whole month of October with two added nights on Thursday, October 18 and Thursday, October 25. Hours are from 6pm until 9pm and tickets can be purchased at the Goblyns Glen event ticket booth.

APPLE PICKING
Gizditch Ranch 55 Peckham Road  Watsonville, CA 95076
They have some great apples as well as a wonderful little store that sells baked goods and fresh pressed juice. This place may be a little far from home, but it’s worth the drive!

Gabriel Farm 3175 Sullivan Rd. Sebastopol, CA 95472
If you’re up for a drive, they also has some fantastic U-Pick apples as well as delicious fresh juice (and not just apple juice but Asian pear juice as well!). It’s nice to be able to pick your apples fresh and come home and make something delicious out of them!

HAUNTED HOUSES
Winchester Mystery House - 525 S. Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128
“Fright Nights” is back for their second year at this famous local landmark. This house can be creepy on a normal day, but for Halloween they pull out all the stops, so be prepared to be scared! This is probably not for the little ones, but older kids and parents will enjoy it. The event runs weekends for the month of October, but for the week of Halloween they will be open every day. (Be sure to check their website for more info.)

Candle Lighters “Ghost House” - Fremont Hub (between Mowry and Walnut Avenues), Fremont, CA 94537
This fundraising event is put on every year by the Candle Lighters (a non-profit organization of nearly 130 women volunteers dedicated to raising funds for non-profit groups and community-based projects in the Tri-City Community of Fremont, Newark & Union City). They have a haunted house, games, food, shopping, and family-friendly entertainment.

*For all events and activities listed: Please make sure to check for more info on dates, times, pricing, and directions.