Haunted Chenery in Glen Park: A Car-Free Halloween Parade Near Me Alternative

Glen Park does not hold a formal march, yet on Halloween night it puts on what feels like San Francisco's biggest neighborhood costume parade, and it is the one to know if you are searching halloween parade near me from the southern half of the city. Haunted Chenery closes Chenery Street between Diamond and Elk Streets to cars on Saturday, October 31, 2026, with the Glen Park Association listing 5 to 9 pm for car-free trick-or-treating. In an average year, 3,500 to 5,000 people walk the street in costume.

Families have trick-or-treated on Chenery for well over a decade, but the street closure is recent. In 2018, the Ingleside Police Station under Captain Hart closed Chenery and its feeder streets from 5 to 8 pm, with officers handing out candy, and the night went off without problems. In 2019 the partnership grew to include Livable City, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman's office and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, and the closure became a fixture.

COVID cancelled it in 2020. In 2021 there was no official closure, but the Chenery Slow Street drew crowds anyway, and in 2023 the Glen Park Association took over sponsorship, with barricades from Livable City. By 2024 the association was fundraising $4,000 for equipment, permits and insurance. For 2026, the barricades are paid for by a Civic Joy Fund grant, and the association is the organizer on the ground.

Chenery between Diamond and Elk is a short, gently sloping block of houses, flats and small shops, and the homeowners go all in. In 2025, neighbors opened decorated garages and one household built a labyrinthine horror house with a giant spider, according to the association's recap. None of that is official programming; it is simply what the block does, which is part of the charm.

Because the street is closed, kids walk down the middle of it instead of on narrow sidewalks, and with thousands of people moving in the same direction it plays out like a slow, sprawling costume parade. Earlier in the day, Glen Park Elementary and Glen Park Montessori have held their own school parades along Chenery, though those are for enrolled families rather than the public.

The association's 2026 announcement lists the event as 5 to 9 pm, while its volunteer details describe the barricades going up at 5 pm and coming down at 8:30 pm, with volunteer shifts starting at 4:30 pm. Plan around the barricades: arrive by 5:15 pm with younger kids, when there is still daylight and the crowd is thin, and treat 8:30 pm as the end of the car-free window.

Cars parked on Chenery may stay during the closure, so you will be walking past parked vehicles, and volunteers help residents who need to drive out or back home. The association asks everyone else to avoid driving on Chenery that evening. Volunteers are still needed; anyone who wants to help can write to info@glenparkassociation.org.

One block over, the Vella family at 354 Sussex Street lines its front steps with 175 carved pumpkins, now in their 31st year, and lights them from dusk until 11 pm on Halloween. It is a short detour from Chenery and makes a calm counterpoint to the crowded block.

The display is the best place to bring kids who are too small for the Chenery crowds. Walk up Diamond to Sussex at dusk, look at the glowing steps, then drift back down to Chenery once the first wave of trick-or-treaters has passed.

Bird and Beckett Books and Records at 653 Chenery Street, is the neighborhood's bookshop and music room, open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 6 pm, so it is open on Halloween afternoon.

For a special night out, La Cigale at 679 Chenery is a small wood-fired French counter of about 15 seats, open Wednesday through Saturday with seatings around 6 pm and 8:30 pm and a three-course prix fixe of $140 per person including tax and tip.

Glen Park Station, the long-running bar at 2816 Diamond Street, sits a few steps from the top of the closure, and the association has praised it for making the best martinis for 99 years. It is a reasonable place for a parent handoff while the other adult finishes the candy loop, though it is a bar, so plan for kids to wait outside.

Note that Destination Bakery at 598 Chenery closed in December 2025 when owner Joe Schuver retired, so older guides that send you there for Halloween cookies are out of date.

Glen Park BART station is a short walk down Diamond Street from the closure, which makes this one of the easiest Halloween events in the city to reach from the East Bay or downtown. The J Church light rail also stops at San Jose Avenue and Glen Park Station. On Muni buses, the 35 Eureka, 36 Teresita and 52 Excelsior stop at Diamond and Chenery, right at the top of the closed block; the 23 Monterey stops at Diamond and Bosworth, and the 44 O'Shaughnessy stops at Bosworth and Elk.

Glen Canyon Park sits at the bottom of Elk Street, with its recreation center at 70 Elk Street. If you arrive early, the canyon trails give kids a chance to burn energy before the crowds; just leave the trails before dark.

Event: Haunted Chenery, Saturday, October 31, 2026, listed 5 to 9 pm, with Chenery closed to cars from 5 to 8:30 pm. Where: Chenery Street between Diamond and Elk Streets, Glen Park, San Francisco, CA 94131. Organizer: Glen Park Association, info@glenparkassociation.org. Crowds: 3,500 to 5,000 people. Extra stop: Vella family pumpkins, 354 Sussex Street, lit dusk to 11 pm. Transit: Glen Park BART, J Church, Muni 23, 35, 36, 44 and 52.

Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a Glen Park dinner before the closure or a quieter trick-or-treat street nearby for small children.