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Haunted Guide
Every haunted house, hayride, corn maze, and ghost tour across San Diego County — plus year-round haunted landmarks you can visit any month of the year.
What are the best haunted attractions in San Diego? San Diego's haunted scene splits into seasonal scream parks (Haunted Hotel in the Gaslamp, Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld), haunted hayrides and corn mazes at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and year-round landmarks like the Whaley House and Hotel del Coronado's Room 3327.
Source: Sandi Spots — Last updated
22
Attractions covered
6
Year-round ghost tours
1857
Whaley House built
$20+
Ghost tours start at
Haunted houses & scream parks
Walk-through mazes, chainsaw alleys, and full-scale scream parks. 13+ recommended, most 17+ for hard scares.
Haunted hayrides & corn mazes
Tractor-pulled scares, pitch-black corn mazes, and pumpkin-patch haunts across the county's farms.
Ghost tours & paranormal walks
Year-round guided tours through San Diego's most haunted neighborhoods — Old Town, Gaslamp, Whaley House, and the Hotel Del.
Year-round haunted landmarks
Historic sites open to the public where paranormal activity is documented — visit anytime, not just October.
Walk-through mazes, chainsaw alleys, and full-scale scream parks. 13+ recommended, most 17+ for hard scares.
Downtown
424 Market Street, Gaslamp
San Diego's longest-running haunted attraction (since 1992) — a basement walk-through under the Gaslamp with chainsaw alley, clown rooms, and tight-space scares. Pure old-school haunt.
Price: $25–$35
Ages: 13+ recommended
Local tip: Buy the combo ticket with Haunted Trail of Balboa Park to hit both on the same night.
Balboa Park
Marston Point, Balboa Park
A mile-long outdoor haunt through the eucalyptus groves of Balboa Park with 30+ scare zones, live actors, and a fog-drenched trail. The e·Ticket 'Trail of Terror' upgrade adds indoor mazes.
Price: $28–$38
Ages: 13+ recommended
Local tip: Wear closed-toe shoes with grip — the trail is dirt, unlit, and slick after fog machines run all night.
Mission Bay
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld after dark with 6+ walk-through haunted houses, scare zones, roaming monsters, and most thrill rides running (Emperor, Electric Eel, Manta) with no daytime crowds.
Price: $45–$95 (separate ticket)
Ages: 13+ recommended
Local tip: Weeknights are half the wait of Saturdays. Add Quick Queue Unlimited if you go on a Saturday.
Del Mar
Del Mar Fairgrounds
North County's biggest scream park — the Haunted Hayride, House of Horror walk-through, and the KarnEvil clown maze. Family-friendly early evening, adult scares after 8pm.
Price: $25–$45 (combo tickets)
Ages: 10+ for hayride, 13+ for haunts
Local tip: Buy the 3-attraction combo online; walking up costs 25% more per attraction.
Carlsbad
LEGOLAND California
Not a hard-scare, but the only large-scale walk-through Halloween experience aimed at families with kids under 10. Costumes encouraged, six themed trick-or-treat stops, LEGO monster meet-and-greets.
Price: Included with park admission
Ages: All ages (no scares)
Local tip: Stay for Fright Nights fireworks at 8:15pm — some of the best fireworks in North County.
Del Mar
L'Auberge Del Mar Resort
A boutique pop-up haunt in the resort's basement ballrooms — smaller than the big scream parks but consistently rated among the most well-produced walk-throughs in North County.
Price: $20–$40
Ages: 13+
Tractor-pulled scares, pitch-black corn mazes, and pumpkin-patch haunts across the county's farms.
Valley Center
Bates Nut Farm, Valley Center
The classic North County pumpkin-patch hayride since 1972 — 6 acres of pumpkins, a petting zoo, and daytime tractor rides. Zero scares, maximum nostalgia.
Price: Free entry, $6 hayride
Ages: All ages
Local tip: Go the first Saturday of October before 11am for the best pumpkin selection and no line for the hayride.
Del Mar
Del Mar Fairgrounds
A 20-minute tractor-pulled ride through the horse-track backlot with actor-driven scare zones (chainsaws, clowns, zombies) at every stop. San Diego's only true haunted hayride.
Price: $25 standalone / combo saves
Ages: 10+ recommended
Ramona
Mountain Valley Ranch, Ramona
A 5-acre corn maze with a friendly daytime version and a 'Field of Screams' Friday/Saturday night version with actors, strobes, and flashlight-only navigation.
Price: $10–$15
Ages: All ages daytime, 13+ 'Field of Screams' night
Local tip: Bring a flashlight — the night maze does not provide one and the corn is well over head-height.
Menifee (day trip)
Peltzer Farms (near Temecula)
45 minutes north of SD — a working farm with a 7-acre corn maze, pumpkin cannon, hayrides, and pig races. The best family day trip for October if Bates Nut Farm is too crowded.
Price: $16–$25
Ages: All ages
Year-round guided tours through San Diego's most haunted neighborhoods — Old Town, Gaslamp, Whaley House, and the Hotel Del.
Old Town
2476 San Diego Ave, Old Town
Officially designated one of the 'most haunted houses in America' by the U.S. Commerce Department. The after-dark tour covers the Yankee Jim hanging, the Whaley family deaths, and documented apparitions.
Price: $20 adult / $10 child
Ages: 8+
Local tip: Book the 9pm tour on a weekday — smaller group, longer time in the courtroom and children's bedroom.
Old Town
Departs from Old Town Plaza
A 90-minute walking tour hitting the Whaley House, El Campo Santo cemetery, the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and half a dozen documented haunts. Includes an EMF-meter walk-through segment.
Price: $28 adult
Ages: 13+
Local tip: Bring a jacket — Old Town's plaza turns 15° cooler after sunset and the tour is entirely outdoors.
Downtown
Departs 4th & Market
The Gaslamp's true-crime and paranormal walking tour — Wyatt Earp, the Yuma Building, brothel-era murders, and the Horton Grand Hotel's Room 309.
Price: $29
Ages: 16+ (adult themes)
Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
A docent-led tour of Kate Morgan's 1892 story, Room 3327/3502, and the hotel's documented paranormal activity. More history than horror — a great pairing with afternoon tea.
Price: $25 (hotel guests free)
Ages: All ages
Local tip: Guests staying at the hotel get the tour comped — mention your reservation at check-in.
Downtown Waterfront
USS Midway Museum
After-hours access to the aircraft carrier with a paranormal investigator — engine rooms, brig, and forecastle where dozens of sailors died. One of the more unique haunted experiences in the country.
Price: $45
Ages: 10+
Point Loma
Cabrillo National Monument
The old lighthouse keeper Robert Israel is said to still walk the stairs. NPS rangers run a limited-run seasonal evening tour covering the 1855 lighthouse's history and reported activity.
Price: $15 (park entry separate)
Ages: All ages
Historic sites open to the public where paranormal activity is documented — visit anytime, not just October.
Old Town
San Diego Ave, Old Town
1849 Catholic cemetery with 477 documented burials, several of which are now under San Diego Avenue itself — brass survey markers in the road mark the graves. One of the most active reported spots in Old Town.
Price: Free
Ages: All ages
Sherman Heights
1925 K Street, Sherman Heights
The 1887 Queen Anne mansion of Jesse Shepard, a spiritualist who held séances in the music room. Considered one of the most haunted homes in California — a must-visit for architecture and paranormal fans.
Price: $5 suggested donation
Ages: All ages
Downtown
Horton Grand Hotel, Gaslamp
Room 309 is where gambler Roger Whittaker was shot in 1843; guests routinely report card-table sounds, cold spots, and the closet door opening on its own. Book it if you want to bring the haunt home.
Price: Room rates from $189/night
Ages: 18+
Downtown Waterfront
Maritime Museum, Embarcadero
The world's oldest active sailing ship (1863) has documented deaths in the lower decks. Below-deck sections in the bow are the most-reported hotspots — visit at opening for the quietest experience.
Price: $20 museum ticket
Ages: All ages
Old Town
2660 Calhoun St, Old Town
Restored 1827 Casa de Bandini. Staff report footsteps in the upstairs hall and the ghost of the original owner's wife on the balcony. Book the corner room facing the plaza if you want to test it yourself.
Price: Free to visit, rooms from $159
Ages: All ages
The Haunted Hotel, Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, Scream Zone, and Howl-O-Scream all run late September through Halloween. Ghost tours and haunted landmarks run year-round.
Haunted Hotel + Haunted Trail of Balboa Park have a same-night combo. Scream Zone bundles all three of their attractions. Buying at the gate costs 20–30% more.
For claustrophobia and jump scares: Haunted Hotel. For total-darkness disorientation: Field of Screams corn maze. For sheer scale: Howl-O-Scream. For genuine paranormal creep: after-dark Whaley House.
Every major haunt peaks the two Saturdays before Halloween with 60–90 minute waits. Thursdays, Fridays, and opening weekend cut wait times in half.
Whaley House after-dark tours and Old Town Ghost Tours sell out every October weekend by mid-month. In non-October months you can usually walk up.
Balboa Park's trail is dirt and gets slick from fog machines. Old Town and Coronado both drop 15°+ after sunset. Corn mazes require a flashlight (they don't supply one).
Full October hub — parties, pumpkin patches, trick-or-treat streets, and neighborhood traditions.
ExploreDeep-dive on the Whaley House, Hotel Del, USS Midway, El Campo Santo & more.
ReadTicket links and dates for October haunts and year-round ghost tours.
BrowseFor traditional scare parks: Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld is the biggest, and the Haunted Trail of Balboa Park is the highest-rated locally-produced walk-through. For year-round haunted experiences, the after-dark Whaley House tour and the USS Midway Ghosts & Legends tour are the two most recommended.
Yes. The Haunted Hayride at the Scream Zone (Del Mar Fairgrounds) is the only true scare-actor haunted hayride in the county, running late September through Halloween. Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center runs family-friendly daytime hayrides every October weekend.
Yes — Old Town's Haunted San Diego Ghost Tour, the Whaley House after-dark tour, Sinister San Diego's Gaslamp tour, and the Hotel del Coronado's Kate Morgan tour all run year-round. October dates sell out; other months you can usually book same-week.
The Whaley House in Old Town is the most famous and was officially designated one of America's most haunted homes by the U.S. Commerce Department. El Campo Santo cemetery, the Hotel del Coronado, Villa Montezuma, and the USS Midway round out the top five most-documented haunted sites in the county.
Ghost tours run $20–$45. Standalone haunted-house tickets are $25–$40. Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld is $45–$95 (separate from park admission). Combo tickets and weeknight pricing typically save 25–35%. Bates Nut Farm and year-round haunted landmarks like El Campo Santo are free.
The hard-scare haunts (Haunted Hotel, Haunted Trail, Scream Zone, Howl-O-Scream) are all 13+ recommended. For families with young kids, stick to Brick-or-Treat at LEGOLAND, Bates Nut Farm, the daytime Mountain Valley corn maze, and daytime tours of the Whaley House and Hotel del Coronado.
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Written and fact-checked by the Sandi Spots Editorial team — San Diego residents publishing under Sleep Coast LLC. Every place we recommend has been visited in person or verified against an official source, and no business can pay for inclusion or a higher ranking. Last updated .