Día de los Muertos in San Diego 2026: where to go, and what's free

Día de los Muertos isn't Mexican Halloween. It's a two-day homecoming for the dead, built around ofrendas: home altars loaded with marigolds, candles, photos and the favorite food of the person being remembered. San Diego, 20 miles from the border, does it properly. Here's where to go in 2026, using the San Diego Tourism Authority's event list and last year's official programs.

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Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors

Old Town

1. 1Plaza de las Armas, Old Town — Center of the state park's activities
2. 2Fiesta de Reyes — Free Catrina and altar displays through Nov 2
3. 3El Campo Santo Cemetery — Where the candlelit procession ends

Barrio Logan and Sherman Heights

1. 4Chicano Park — Barrio Logan celebrates November 1
2. 5Sherman Heights Community Center — Altar tradition since 1994

Balboa Park

1. 6San Diego Museum of Art — Free admission on November 1

Pins are approximate. Source: San Diego Tourism Authority, City of San Diego, California State Parks and Fiesta de Reyes, checked October 6, 2026.

See these on the full San Diego map

Old Town: the main event

Old Town has two hosts, and last year's programs show how it fits together. The City of San Diego ran a free street market on Harney Street and Twiggs Street, with shops and restaurants building their own ofrendas, and a candlelight procession at sundown from Immaculate Conception Church down San Diego Avenue to El Campo Santo, where a public altar takes mementos for loved ones. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park filled Plaza de las Armas and its historic houses with altars honoring Old Town's own early residents, sugar skull decorating, bilingual storytelling and a Catrina contest. Most of it is free; in 2025 the sugar skull workshop had a $10 materials fee and the community altar a suggested $5 donation.

Skip the parking hunt: the Trolley's Blue and Green lines stop at Old Town Transit Center, a short walk from the plaza, and MTS promoted exactly that for last year's event. More on the neighborhood in our Old Town guide and Barrio Logan guide.