Best places to trick-or-treat in San Diego in 2026, plus what time it gets dark
The famous street is Margarita Avenue in Coronado, then Eldergardens Street in Del Cerro and Bressi Ranch in Carlsbad. Halloween is a Saturday this year; sunset is about 5:58 p.m. and it's fully dark by about 6:25.
- Halloween
- Saturday
- Sunset
- About 5:58 p.m.
- Famous street
- Margarita Ave
- Business districts
- 3–6 p.m. typical
October 31, 2026
Dark by about 6:24
Coronado
Daytime candy crawls
The short version
- Margarita Avenue in Coronado is San Diego's best-known Halloween street; police have closed it to cars in past years.
- Readers also pick Eldergardens Street in Del Cerro, Peppertree Way in Bressi Ranch and Porch Swing Street in Chula Vista's Otay Ranch (Axios, 2025).
- Sunset on Saturday, October 31, 2026 is about 5:58 p.m.; it's fully dark by about 6:24 (NOAA solar calculation).
- Daytime options: Little Italy (Sun Oct 25), La Jolla (Fri Oct 30) and Adams Avenue, La Mesa Village and Carlsbad Village (Oct 31).
- Clocks fall back the next morning, so Sunday, November 1 gets dark an hour earlier.
Halloween lands on a Saturday in 2026, so expect the big streets to be busier than usual. There's no official list of San Diego's best trick-or-treat neighborhoods, so this guide leans on what locals keep naming in reader polls and parent roundups, plus the business districts that host daytime candy crawls.
Halloween week at a glance
Event times from San Diego Moms and SD Family 2026 listings; sunset from NOAA's solar calculator for downtown San Diego.
The neighborhoods locals keep naming
Trick-or-treat streets
| Street | Neighborhood | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Margarita Avenue | Coronado | Big crowds from across the bridge; closed to cars in past years |
| Eldergardens Street | Del Cerro | Nicknamed "Helldergardens" for its decorations |
| Peppertree Way | Bressi Ranch, Carlsbad | A whole planned neighborhood that goes all in |
| Porch Swing Street | Otay Ranch, Chula Vista | Newer South Bay neighborhood with heavy turnout |
| Via Montenero, Fair Hill | Del Sur | Better for older kids |
| Trail Ridge Drive | Harmony Grove Village, Escondido | Calmer; good for little kids |
Axios San Diego reader poll (October 29, 2025) and San Diego Moms (October 2026). Not a ranking; turnout varies year to year.
Neighborhood streets
Street pins from OpenStreetMap, placed at the street's midpoint.
See these on the full San Diego mapDaytime and toddler-friendly options
Business districts run earlier, well-lit candy crawls that suit small kids: Little Italy's India Street on Sunday, October 25 (3:30–7:30 p.m.); La Jolla's Creepy Candy Crawl on Friday, October 30 (3–6 p.m.); and on Halloween itself, the Adams Avenue Halloween Haunt and Mission Valley (3–6 p.m.), La Mesa Village and Del Mar Highlands Town Center (4–6 p.m.), Carlsbad Village (2–6 p.m.) and Encinitas' Highway 101 (5–8 p.m.).
Looking for ticketed events instead? See Halloween in San Diego 2026. Need pumpkins first? Pumpkin patches and corn mazes.
Is this still right?
We last checked this tip against its sources on October 20, 2026, and we re-research every tip on a schedule. Things in San Diego change, sometimes overnight.
Event dates, times and prices are set by the organizers and can change or sell out. Confirm with the organizer's own page before you plan around them.
This is general information, not legal, financial, tax, medical or safety advice.
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
Axios San Diego · October 29, 2025
Reader-picked streets
- BackgroundTrick-or-treat in San Diego 2026
San Diego Moms · October 2026
2026 neighborhood picks and business-district events
San Diego Family Magazine · Checked October 20, 2026
Event dates and times
Coronado Times · October 28, 2016
Street-closure precedent
- PrimaryNOAA Solar Calculator
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory · Calculated October 20, 2026
Sunset and twilight times for downtown San Diego