With Halloween around the corner, and spooky season in full swing, now is the best time to explore the Bay Area’s darkest, eeriest and downright scariest spots outdoors that might make you squirm — or at least elicit some pleasing chills.
From haunted-feeling hikes and tunnels to neighborhood ghost tours and creepy critters, keep reading for our pre-Halloween outdoor recommendations for making the most of the season.
Jump straight to where to discover:
While this year’s UC Berkeley Botanical Garden’s “Bay Area Bats” event is already full, you still have the chance to see the spooky creatures yourself in the wild.
The closest place to spot bats is near Livermore at Del Valle Regional Park, where hundreds of these animals munch on insects all night long. Some say they can even be spotted in San Francisco, in Golden Gate Park at Blue Heron Lake or even at Lake Merced.
And while Olompali State Historic Park in Novato is known for its annual “Bat Night” event in summer, with eight types of bats living in the park, you stand a good chance of seeing them here in the fall too.
And don’t forget about the iconic bats of Yolo County near Davis, where the animals take flight at sunset every evening from underneath the Yolo Causeway bridge.
If you’re willing to travel even further into true bat territory, consider making the trip to Pinnacles National Park in the Central Valley. There, you can explore caves where bats hibernate and raise their young. Just be sure to check on the status of the caves before you go, as they close seasonally to protect the creatures.
Pro tip: To maximize your chances of seeing bats, remember they’re nocturnal and love water (especially the insects that lakes attract). But don’t ever touch the animals: not only are they a protected species in California, they’re more likely than other animals to carry diseases that are dangerous to humans.
The Bay Area is home to the city of Colma, known affectionately as the “City of Souls,” owing to the fact that most of San Francisco’s graves were relocated there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. So if you’re looking to roam and reflect among the headstones, head to any one of the city’s 16 cemeteries: the oldest and largest of which is the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, spanning 300 acres.
There are also a number of other atmospheric and unique cemeteries across the city and Bay Area. In the city proper, you can still visit the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio. Or, for a birds-eye view, head to Cemetery Overlook for unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge — a perfect hike on a foggy evening at dusk, even when the bridge itself is shrouded by mist. There’s also a pet cemetery in the Presidio, where you can visit with companions of the past.
The San Francisco Columbarium in the Laurel Heights neighborhood is open to the public and adorned with stained glass, a soaring rotunda and several sculptures and fountains. More than 8,000 people are interned there, including gay rights leader and politician Harvey Milk.
For more cemeteries with views, try the Piedmont cemetery or Skylawn Memorial Park on Skyline Drive near Half Moon Bay. Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, take an almost-6-mile hike to Rose Hill Cemetery in the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch.
Just remember: If you’re planning on visiting any of these cemeteries, be sure to respect the sanctity of these spaces — these are the resting places of peoples’ loved ones, after all. In that vein, make sure you’re aware of other visitors who may be visiting to honor passed family and friends.
Eager to go underground? And no — we’re not talking about the BART or Muni tunnels (which you should obviously never venture into, except while riding transit).
While the Bay Area has fewer mysterious tunnels than other, older metropolitan areas, what we do have are coastlines — with cliff areas where tunnels open up seasonally, like those that tend to crop up around Fort Funston and Sutro Baths.
If you’re looking for a longer hike, in the East Bay, check out the Indian Joe Cave Rocks at Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve, popular with hikers and climbers for their basalt rocks that tower overhead.
Or head to the Marin Headlands, where old bunkers like Battery Townsley hid top-secret guns during World War I. The battery is open to the public for tours from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month.
We cannot emphasize this enough — if you’re going to go tunnel exploring, be safe. If you’re on the coast, always research the tides beforehand, as you don’t want to ever get stuck in or near a tunnel. Always bring a light and don’t trespass — especially into San Francisco’s vast sewer network, which can contain lethal levels of toxic gases.
Ghost tours in the Bay Area are aplenty, but this one in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood is especially apt for those who want their ghosts with a hefty side of history.
You won’t just learn about the supposed hauntings of the area — you’ll also become immersed in the complex lives of the early San Franciscans who are rumored to still occupy the neighborhood.
You could also opt to make contact with the spirit world all by yourself. The USS Hornet, once a World War II Navy aircraft carrier that was also used to recover the Apollo 11 and 12 crafts, is now a museum docked in Alameda, which is also apparently quite haunted. You can also stay inside it overnight … if you dare.
Another possible haunted stay? The Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, where reports of children crying, smells of smoke rumored to be from the 1901 fire that burned down the original hotel structure and ghostly apparitions have all been reported. The Claremont is now offering haunted tours during the month of October.
Eager to spend the fall season with some uncanny creatures? The East Bay Vivarium is your best bet for reptiles and other creepy crawlers. While their two-headed kingsnake recently passed away, there are plenty of other snakes and slithery animals to behold at the Berkeley reptile shop.
Out in the wild, hikers recommend Mt. Diablo for tarantula, scorpion and reptile viewing. Mid-October is the peak of tarantula mating season, so head to grassy oak woodlands like Del Valle, Sunol or Henry Coe State Park to catch a glimpse of the creepy crawlies.
Looking for newts, slugs or ladybugs? These creatures are more active in the spring, but can be seen after any rainstorm at nearby parks like Tilden Regional Park and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.
Just want to get an Instagram-worthy photo of the Bay Area in its prime during spooky season? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered: We’ve got a roundup of best-seen-in-the-gloom spots, including the eerie abandoned boat rotting in Tomales Bay, the towering eucalyptus trees of Quarry Park in El Granada and the daring cliffsides of Devil’s Slide.
Not on the list, but still worth a visit for their atmospheric vibes: The Cypress Tree Tunnel in Point Reyes and the ruins at Sutro Baths — both of which are Bay Area outdoor highlights, no matter the season.
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