Explore the Haunted Trail of Balboa Park

Haunted Fun For The Whole Family

San Diego’s Balboa Haunted Park is a Fun Alternative to Trick or Treating

Halloween is quickly approaching, and with it comes every parent’s eternal struggle: they want to bring their children to kid-friendly Halloween events, but they also want to be entertained themselves. Halloween is such a children-oriented holiday—with costumes, festivals, and community fairs organized with families in mind—but parents deserve to have fun too. Instead of suffering through another endless journey to pumpkin patches and fall fairs, there are alternatives with attractions that interest everyone in the family. The best Halloween event in San Diego for everyone in the family is Balboa Park’s Haunted Trail!

The Balboa Park Haunted trail is a fantastic family-friendly option during the Halloween season. For those who do not know, the Haunted Trail is a mile-long walk through Balboa Park filled with all sorts of scares not suitable for the faint of heart. The attraction changes from year to year, with new rooms, monsters and jump scares to make the experience memorable. This year, the Haunted Trail is featuring a variety of different themes, including following a red balloon towards "…Penny-Wise, the Dancing Clown who is waiting for you in the sewer by the Ghoul Bus, Annabelle and the Nun who have possessed the farmhouse, Krampus and his snowmen who are terrorizing the trail and back by popular demand, the Stranger Things house and upside down will return… This year, you can get up close and personal with horror icons like Pennywise, Leatherface, Freddy, and Michael Myers." In addition, the Haunted Trail is connected to the optional Experiment Maze. Patrons can struggle to find their way out of the maze while being stalked by victims of the "experiments."

Cautious parents should note that, unlike some of San Diego’s scarier Halloween attractions, the characters will not touch or grab anyone walking through either the Haunted Trail or the Experiment Maze. The Haunted Trail does utilize both strobe lights and fog machines to give the attraction a dark and eerie feeling. Patrons are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes when they go through, though any offensive or inappropriate costumes will not be allowed. 

The location of the Haunted Trail is what makes this classic San Diego attraction ideal for parents. Balboa Park is home to some of San Diego’s premiere museums and theaters, including the San Diego Museum of Man, the San Diego Air and Space Museum and the Old Globe Theater. In addition, the Haunted Trail is close to both Balboa’s Prado restaurant and to some of the contemporary restaurants in Hillcrest. Families can spend the afternoon visiting the various Balboa attractions or dining on quality cuisine before they head over to the Haunted Trail and the Experiment Maze. For Halloween, the Haunted Trail is a perfect mixture of a family-friendly attraction and a cultured day out. 

Haunted Trail: 6th Ave, San Diego | (619) 231-0131 | https://hauntedtrail.net/about/

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