This year Carmel Valley's public Halloween events run from Sunday, October 25, through Saturday, October 31, on five different days. None of the hosts planned it as a series, but the dates still line up in order.
The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch has a Sunday. Carmel Valley Recreation Center has a Wednesday. One Paseo has the Friday, and Del Mar Highlands Town Center has Halloween itself, which falls on a Saturday in 2026. Across five days and six hosts, the only two events that run at the same time share a single hour on Saturday evening. Everything else follows one after another, so you can use the whole week instead of picking one party.
Here is the week in date order.
Five days, six hosts, one overlap
- Sunday, October 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Carmel Valley Farmers Market at Torrey Pines High School, 3710 Del Mar Heights Road. The market runs every Sunday all year.
- Sunday, October 25, 3 to 6 p.m. Halloween in the Village at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch.
- Wednesday, October 28, 3 to 6 p.m. Fall Fun Fest on the small field at Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 3777 Townsgate Drive.
- Thursday, October 29, 6 to 9 p.m. A pumpkin-carving party at Pacific Social, hosted by Ghost Tequila, back at the Pacific Highlands Ranch Village.
- Friday, October 30, 3 to 5 p.m. Trunk or Treat with the San Diego Police Department at One Paseo. Admission is free.
- Saturday, October 31, three separate windows. A morning party and an afternoon trick-or-treat at Del Mar Highlands Town Center, then Horizon Church's Harvest Festival in the evening.
The start times matter as much as the dates. Three of the family events start at 3 p.m. and end by 5 or 6. That is a short block right after school pickup, and it shows up on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. The only evening event before Saturday is Thursday's carving party at Pacific Social, which runs 6 to 9. So the week alternates between afternoons for kids and one evening that skews older, and it builds to a Saturday with something happening from morning to night.
Sunday starts the week at both ends of Carmel Valley
Sunday is the one day you can stack two stops with no planning at all. The farmers market at Torrey Pines High School closes at 1 p.m., and Halloween in the Village starts at 3. That leaves two hours to go home, unload produce and get kids into costumes.
The pairing also covers both ends of the community. The market sits on Del Mar Heights Road at the western edge. The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch is at the newer eastern end. On the first day of the week, Halloween is already happening in two different parts of 92130.
One practical note. The Village's event page lists the date and the 3 to 6 p.m. window but doesn't say where in the center it happens or whether anything costs money. Check the page again Sunday morning before you head out.
The weekday stretch moves from the park to the plazas
After Sunday, the week moves to the Recreation Center. Fall Fun Fest takes over the small field at 3777 Townsgate Drive on Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. The City's listing promises music, games, prizes, an inflatable maze and face painters. The City has also posted a flyer for the event on its Fall Fun Fest page. For many families this is the easiest stop of the week. It's a weekday, it's at a city park, and there's no shopping center parking to deal with.
Thursday goes back to the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch for the pumpkin-carving party at Pacific Social, 6 to 9 p.m., hosted by Ghost Tequila. The listing doesn't give a price, so ask Pacific Social directly before you reserve an evening around it.
Friday afternoon belongs to One Paseo. Trunk or Treat with the San Diego Police Department runs from 3 to 5 p.m., and admission is free. It ends earlier than any other afternoon event this week, which leaves Friday evening open, and One Paseo has a new place to spend it. goop Kitchen opened there for dine-in and pickup on October 1. A 5 p.m. finish followed by an early dinner within the same center makes Friday the simplest night of the week for parents.
If you followed our Carmel Valley summer dining roundup, One Paseo's role here will look familiar. The center keeps adding reasons to stay past the errand you came for.
Saturday is the one day the schedule overlaps
Halloween on a Saturday gives Del Mar Highlands Town Center a full day, and the town center uses it. Here is how October 31 lays out across the community.
| Time | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | Children's Halloween party with Kathryn the Grape | Pop Jet Fountain, lower plaza, Del Mar Highlands Town Center | Free |
| 4 to 6 p.m. | Trick-or-treating at participating businesses, with three character meet-and-greet stations | Del Mar Highlands Town Center, maps at the Pop Jet Fountain | No price listed |
| 5 to 9 p.m. | Harvest Festival with games, carnival rides and food trucks | Horizon Church, 6365 El Apajo | Games and rides free, food sold by trucks |
Horizon Church's festival, listed in the San Diego Union-Tribune's October 13 events roundup, starts at 5 p.m. Del Mar Highlands trick-or-treating doesn't end until 6. That 5 to 6 p.m. hour is the only overlap of the week. Families who want both can finish at the town center at 5 and arrive at the festival a little after it opens, or stay at Del Mar Highlands until 6 and still have three hours of rides and games left. The church has a Rancho Santa Fe mailing address, so allow for the drive.
The Pop Jet Fountain comes up twice in Saturday's plans. It hosts the morning party, and it's where you pick up the trick-or-treat map. The town center's Halloween page, dated October 2, also says the fountain is undergoing maintenance, and the center hopes to have it running soon. Both events are still listed at that spot. The water may simply be off when you arrive, so you'll still know where to go, but small children shouldn't count on splashing in the fountain.
What stays up after the costumes come off
The week ends Saturday night, but some of it stays around. The Harvest at the Highlands decorations at Del Mar Highlands Town Center, set up on the wall between Panda Express and Ralphs Fresh Fare, stay on display through November 11, 2026. That gives you about a week and a half after Halloween to take the fall photo you didn't get while chasing a costumed kid on Saturday.
The Sunday farmers market at Torrey Pines High School keeps going too, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., January through December. On November 1, the day after Halloween, it's the same market at the same hours. It bookends the week the way it opened it.
Carmel Valley's Halloween comes from six separate hosts: a shopping village, a restaurant, a city recreation center, an outdoor plaza, a town center and a church. Each one publishes only its own date. Put the listings side by side, though, and every one has its own slot except for one shared hour on Saturday. That's why the neighborhood can fill a week of Halloween without anyone coordinating it. For more on the places that host it, start at our Carmel Valley neighborhood page.
At The Houston Team, we keep track of these Carmel Valley calendars because they show how a neighborhood works day to day. If this fall has you wondering what your own Carmel Valley home is worth heading into the holidays, request a complimentary home valuation and we'll walk you through what's moving on your street.
