Best of SF: 5 Halloweeny Destinations in San Francisco

by Cynthia Cummins

Cynthia is owner and founder of Kindred SF Homes and a top San Francisco Realtor. Check out RealEstateTherapy.org for refreshing reflections on the meaning of home and for more “best real estate advice (since 2013).

Reading time: 2 minutes

San Francisco may not have the full-on fall foliage that many of us associate with back-east autumns, but there’s plenty of orange to go around. (Go Giants!)

Here’s our two favorite city pumpkin patch destinations plus three fun and FREE alternative pre-Halloween outings if you want to change things up!

1. Clancy’s Pumpkin Patch. Two pumpkin patches this year! The unexpected garden at 7^th Avenue and Lawton has been a San Francisco Halloween staple since 1979 (according to ther website). It’s centrally located and feels nice and woodsy. This year there’s a second Clancy’s in operation near the SF Zoo. Take you pick and pick a pumpkin!
2. “Spooky trees walk at Land’s End.” There’s lots of blue sky and blue bay at the northwest tip of the city, but the woods have a twisty stark quality that can be rather eerie and unnerving if you’re open to inviting that mood. Walk the Land’s End Trail from either its west end (go to the north end of the parking lot off Point Lobos Avenue) or from its east end (park near El Camino Del Mar and 32^nd Avenue in Sea Cliff). Once you’re on the trail, take the cut off to the Palace of the Legion of Honor; there are signs. The path goes uphill alongside the golf course, but the trees opposite the greens look like something out of the Wicked Witch of the West’s forest in The Wizard of Oz. Lions, tigers, bears and COYOTES…!
3. The Great Pumpkin Patch. You can’t miss this one. It’s at the corner of 19^th Avenue and Sloat. AKA The Great Christmas Tree Lot once Thanksgiving rolls around.  
4. Fall-focused tours of the San Francisco Botanical Garden. We never tire of roaming here – whatever the season. If you want a guide to show you around, register for one of these guided walks.
5. Wait until it’s windy and wait for the aliens to land.  A drive (or walk) to the top of Twin Peaks is guaranteed to give you chills (it’s almost always cold…). Go there at night, gaze at the Sutro Tower and imagine you see a spaceship trying to dock. Or simply enjoy the unparalleled views of San Francisco and the East Bay.