Halloween Events for Kids in SF: Boo at the Zoo

If your search for halloween events for kids near me in San Francisco lands on Halloween morning itself, the zoo at the edge of the Pacific is the answer. San Francisco Zoo & Gardens holds Boo at the Zoo as a single-day festival on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 10am to 3pm, and the zoo calls it one of the Bay Area's most popular family Halloween traditions. Everything on the program is free with paid daytime admission or a zoo membership, so the only ticket you need is the regular one.

The centerpiece is the costume parade, which starts at 11am and leads into a costume contest at noon. Prizes are awarded in four categories, Family, Animal, Individual and Toddler, which matters if you have a two-year-old in a homemade bumblebee suit: the youngest entrants are not up against a ten-year-old's elaborate build. The Family category rewards group themes, so siblings dressed as a matching set have their own lane.

The zoo says the festival is meant to encourage creativity and originality in costumes. Arrive by 10:30am if you plan to march, because the parade gathers families quickly once the gates have been open for half an hour and the walk from the entrance to the activity area takes a few minutes with a stroller.

Ask any regular and they will tell you the best part is Animal Pumpkin Enrichment. Keepers hand out Halloween-themed treats to the zoo's residents, and animals explore, roll and smash their own pumpkins. Enrichment is a normal part of animal care, designed to encourage natural foraging and play, and on Boo day it doubles as the most memorable thing a small child will see.

Between enrichment sessions there is a Trick-or-Treat Candy Booth at the main treat station, craft tables where kids make something to take home, and a DJ Dance Party playing Halloween songs. Face painting and caricatures are on offer, along with Halloween-themed food and drinks. For curious older kids, a Creepy Conservation table displays skulls and bones from the zoo's biofact collection, and there is a Spooky Selfie Station for the family photo.

The zoo asks guests not to wear full-face masks, because they can startle the animals. That covers rubber monster heads and full-face superhero masks for adults as well as kids. Face paint is the easy workaround and is sold on site, or pick a costume built around a hood or hat that leaves the face open.

Pets are not allowed on zoo grounds, so the family dog in a pumpkin costume has to stay home. Trained service animals are welcome except in areas where animals roam freely. Dress in layers: the zoo sits steps from Ocean Beach, and a foggy Halloween morning on the west side can feel much colder than downtown.

The zoo's own history begins with Herbert Fleishhacker, who built a huge oceanside playground here in the 1920s, including what was then the world's largest swimming pool, the Fleishhacker Pool. On June 12, 1929, the Herbert Fleishhacker Zoo was established on the expanded grounds, and its first animals were moved over from Golden Gate Park, among them two zebras, a Cape buffalo and three elephants named Babe, Virginia and Marjorie.

Several of the early pieces survive as attractions families still use. Fleishhacker acquired the Dentzel Carousel and the Little Puffer miniature steam train for the playground, and both remain part of a visit today. Many of the first major exhibits, including Monkey Island and the Lion House, were built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration.

Two of the playground relics from the Fleishhacker era are still running. The restored 1921 Eugene Friend Dentzel Carousel stands near the Exploration Zone, and children pick a hand-carved horse, cat, rabbit or giraffe to ride; tickets are $4 per person, and adults ride free when standing beside a paying child. It is the best place to wait out the half hour between the parade and the noon contest.

The Little Puffer miniature steam train, nicknamed after the Fleishhacker Playfield Limited, ran for about 50 years before going into storage in 1980 and came back in 1998. Rides cost $9 per person and run from 11am to 4pm, with one car built to hold a wheelchair, but the train does not run in wet weather because the tracks get slippery. The Elinor Friend Playground is free with admission when kids need to climb.

October 31 falls on a Saturday, so weekend prices apply. General admission is $34 for adults 12 to 64, $27 for seniors 65 and over, and $24 for children 2 to 11; children under 2 are free and members get in free. San Francisco residents pay $31, $23 and $21 for the same groups with proof of residency.

The zoo is open from 10am to 5pm every day, with last general admission at 4pm, so families can stay after the festival ends at 3pm. Buying online skips the ticket window line, which on Halloween morning can be the slowest part of the day.

The zoo sits at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway in the southwest corner of the city. The L Taraval line runs outbound to the zoo, and Muni bus lines 23 and 18 also stop nearby; show a same-day Muni receipt, transfer or pass at the ticket window for $1 off admission. On-site parking is $20 on weekends with no in-and-out privileges, and guests with a disabled placard park free.

When the costumes start to wilt, cross the Great Highway to Ocean Beach for a windy walk on the sand, or head a few minutes south to Lake Merced for a calmer loop. Stroller and wheelchair rentals are available at the Friend and Taube Family Entry Village by the main entrance.

Address: San Francisco Zoo & Gardens, Sloat Boulevard at the Great Highway; the city's directory lists it as 1 Zoo Road, San Francisco, CA 94132. Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026, 10am to 3pm. Costume parade 11am, contest 12pm. Cost: free with weekend admission of $34 adults, $27 seniors, $24 children 2 to 11.

Bring a warm layer, skip full-face masks, and plan the day around the 11am parade and the pumpkin enrichment. With a 3pm finish, it pairs well with an early dinner in the Outer Sunset before trick-or-treating closer to home.