Halloween in California
Events, parties and parades in botanical gardens and arboretums
If you want a spine-chilling but family-friendly Halloween, California’s arboretums and botanical gardens are waiting for you
California’s arboretums and botanical gardens will play host to garden goblins, forest ghouls and talking birds this Halloween when they stage some of the spookiest Halloween events and parties in the state. Read on to find out more about twilight adventures in ghost-ridden forests, storytelling in scary groves, and trick-or-treating amid the shifting colors of autumnal landscapes.
Event: Spooky Stories in the Redwood Grove
Berkeley’s enchanted grove will come alive this Halloween with talking pumpkins, birds and trees as well as storytelling with Bobbie Kinkead and Jean Ellisen. Costumes welcome.
Where: The University of California Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive #5045 Berkeley, California 94720-5045
When: October 28, 10am to 11:30am
Admission: $10 for one child and one adult; $3 for each additional child or adult; $8 for members
More Info: Garden@uclink4.Berkeley.edu; 510-643-2755
Event: Halloween Party and Parade
Thirty-five acres of tropical rainforest, bamboo groves and native Californian plants will be the backdrop for trick-or-treats, songs and a parade. No masks or scary costumes allowed.
Where: Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, California 92024
When: October 30 10am to 11:30am
Admission: normal fee plus $10 for materials
More Info: info@qbgardens.org; 760-632-0917
Event: Halloween Twilight Tour
A gem hidden in the foothills of Montecito, Lotusland Botanical Garden will bewitch and entrance visitors this Halloween with its atmospheric fall gardens and their spooky inhabitants.
Where: Ganna Walska’s Lotusland, Santa Barbara, 695 Ashley Rd, Santa Barbara, California 93108
When: October 28
Admission: $40 for members; $50 for non-members
More Info: mpetrini@lotusland.org; 805-969-9990
Event: Haunted Garden in the Arboretum
Visit Fullerton Arboretum this Halloween and join Frankentstein, Count Dracula, Bela Lugosi, bats, bullfrogs, goblins and ghouls. Snacks and drinks provided.
Where: Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated RD, Fullerton, California 92831-1659
When: October 28 to 30 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Admission: prebooked adults $10 and children $6; at the door $13
More Info: lmckenna@fullerton.edu; 714-278-4792
Event: Tree-ker-Treat
Trick-or-treating in the only horticultural theme park in California, which includes six gardens and the world-famous Circus Trees.
Where: Bonfante Gardens, 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy (Hwy 152), Gilroy, CA 95020
When: October 28 to 29 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Admission: Free with park admission
More Info: info@bonfantegardens.org; 408-840-7100
