San Francisco’s Outer Sunset closes out October at the beach this year. On a Sunday afternoon in late October, Sunset Dunes - the oceanfront park along the former Upper Great Highway - hosts the Great Hauntway, and it’s one of the easier family Halloween outings in the city: outdoor, daytime, car-free, and completely free to attend.
According to the Friends of Sunset Dunes, the event is now billed as San Francisco’s largest Halloween celebration. It started in 2021 as a safe, car-free place for kids to trick-or-treat by the ocean, and 2025 marked its fifth year and the first time the official city park played host - a milestone that followed the passage of Proposition K, which permanently closed this stretch of highway to cars.
What to Expect at Sunset Dunes
More than a mile of trick-or-treating runs along the park between Judah and Taraval streets, and you simply wander the car-free path from one stop to the next. Along the way are live performers, bounce houses, live music, a costume parade, arts and crafts, pumpkin decorating, and even a spooky disco.
What gives it such a homegrown feel is that the neighborhood builds it: residents set up their own decorated tables for kids to trick-or-treat, so each stretch takes on the character of the blocks around it. A practical note - it’s a daytime affair on the coast, so layer for the fog and wind, and check the official Hauntway page for this year’s date and volunteer sign-ups. Parking is limited, so transit is the smart call; the N-Judah, the L-Taraval, the 7, 18, 23, and 48 Muni lines, and nearby Baywheels stations all serve the area.
That car-free park is worth knowing about beyond this one afternoon. It exists because the Outer Sunset is exactly the kind of beach-first, community-minded neighborhood that can close a highway and throw the city’s biggest Halloween party - a corner of San Francisco where the ocean is a walk, not a drive. Afternoons like this one are what the new park was built for.
Location: Sunset Dunes park, former Upper Great Highway between Judah and Taraval streets, Outer Sunset, San Francisco
Hours: Late October 2026, Sunday afternoon, approximately 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Learn More: The Great Hauntway
Sources: sunsetdunes.org
