Carmel Valley's Halloween weekend runs Thursday through Saturday at three different town centers, one per night. It starts with pumpkin carving at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch tonight. Friday is a police Trunk or Treat at One Paseo, and Saturday ends with a full trick-or-treat route at Del Mar Highlands Town Center. Each center hosts a different kind of event, and the schedules hardly overlap.
This year the three calendars line up in sequence, and the only real squeeze comes on Saturday afternoon.
Thursday Belongs to the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch
The weekend starts at the east end of the community. Pacific Social at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch is hosting a Pumpkin Carving Party hosted by Ghost Tequila tonight, Thursday, October 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. A tequila brand is the host, so this is the evening of the weekend that leans adult. The Village's listing gives no price, so it makes sense to check with Pacific Social before you go.
The calendar actually opened the evening before. On Wednesday, the City of San Diego held its Fall Fun Fest on the small field at Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 3777 Townsgate Drive. It had music, games, prizes, an inflatable maze and face painters. The Village's own Halloween in the Village took place earlier, on October 25. That leaves Thursday night's carving party as the Village's last Halloween event this season.
Friday Moves to One Paseo, With Officers Handing Out the Candy
Friday's event comes from a different host. The San Diego Police Department's Northwestern Division is running a Trunk or Treat at One Paseo, 3725 Paseo Place, on Friday, October 30, from 4 to 6 p.m. The San Diego Police Foundation's listing says it is put on "in part with One Paseo." It promises music, a jumpy, candy and police vehicles to look at, and it asks kids to dress in their best costume and get candy from the officers.
The One Paseo events calendar shows the same Trunk or Treat on October 30. Neither listing says where inside the center it will be set up, so plan a few extra minutes to find it.
If you want dinner nearby afterward, One Paseo has a newer option. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Goop Kitchen opened at One Paseo on August 31 in the former Tender Greens space. It is the brand's first dine-in restaurant. It opened in late summer, so this weekend may be the first time a lot of neighbors walk past it in costume.
The center is also hosting events on the nights around the Trunk or Treat. One Paseo's calendar lists TJ Moss for a Shop, Dine and Unwind live music evening on October 24. David De Alva plays the same series on Halloween night.
Saturday Is the Long Day, and the Only Tight One
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and two Carmel Valley events overlap that afternoon. Here's how the day lays out:
- 3:00 to 4:45 p.m. Pacific Highlands Ranch Library shows The Addams Family as an Afternoon Movie Time screening in its Community Room at 12911 Pacific Place. It's for all ages, and you don't need to register.
- 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Del Mar Highlands Town Center hosts Halloween trick-or-treating at 12925 El Camino Real.
- Evening. David De Alva plays live music at One Paseo.
The trick-or-treating at Del Mar Highlands starts while the movie is still running. Families who stay for the whole film have about 75 minutes left for the Del Mar Highlands route. Families who go straight to the town center get the full two hours.
How Del Mar Highlands Runs Its Route
Del Mar Highlands has the most organized event of the weekend. Families start by picking up a trick-or-treat map at the Pop Jet Fountain. The center's site also says the fountain is down for maintenance, but the event page still names it as the map pickup spot.
The center has set up three character meet-and-greet stations:
- Toy Land, between Panda Express and Ralphs
- Superhero Headquarters, at the Pop Jet Fountain
- K-Pop Power Zone, at the Sky Deck
The center's list of participating businesses has about 30 names on it, and it says "more to come." The list mixes restaurants and services. Jimbo's, Geppetto's, Marufuku Ramen, Davanti Enoteca, Batch & Box, Ambrogio15, Zen Modern Asian Bistro, Parfait Paris, Latitude 33 and Mission Brewery are all on it. So are Xin Chao a Vietnamese Eatery, Ike's Love & Sandwiches, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and Panini Kabob Grill. Shops and services like Warby Parker, Birkenstock, Cozy Earth, Daisy Blue, Elfin Kids Cuts, Perspire Sauna and The Dance Academy are handing out treats too. The UPS Store is participating only until 5 p.m., so put it near the start of your route.
Families who RSVP on Eventbrite are entered to win four tickets to Cinépolis. If the weather cancels the event, the center will post it on its Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The center's fall decorations stay up after Halloween. The Harvest at the Highlands photo wall near Supercuts and the Sky Deck Harvest Chair by Jimbo's will be up until November 11. Families who miss Saturday's route can still get costume photos there for another week and a half.
Why the Calendar Works
Taken together, the schedules build on each other across the three days. The Village holds a Thursday evening event for adults. One Paseo hosts a Friday afternoon event run by officers from the local police division. Del Mar Highlands takes Halloween itself, with a map, character stations and dozens of tenants handing out treats. One Paseo and Del Mar Highlands both run from 4 to 6 p.m., but on different days, so neither takes families away from the other.
This only works because the centers sit fairly close together. One Paseo and Del Mar Highlands are both on El Camino Real, and the Village anchors Pacific Highlands Ranch to the east. A family could make all three, starting with the carving party on Thursday at 6 p.m. and finishing when the Del Mar Highlands route closes on Saturday at 6 p.m.
If You Want to Leave the Valley
Here are a few options within a short drive, all listed for 2026:
- Del Mar, Saturday morning. The Del Mar Foundation's free Halloween Dog Parade and Costume Competition takes place at Powerhouse Park. Check-in starts at 9:30 a.m., and the parade steps off at about 10 a.m. It's early enough that you can still make every Carmel Valley event that afternoon.
- Rancho Santa Fe, Saturday evening. Horizon Church's Harvest Festival at 6365 El Apajo runs from 5 to 9 p.m. The Union-Tribune's events roundup says the games and carnival rides are free, and food trucks will sell food.
- Encinitas, Saturday evening. The city's free Safe Trick or Treat runs from 5 to 8 p.m. along South Coast Highway 101 between Encinitas Boulevard and K Street. It includes live music, crafts and children's games, according to the same roundup.
- Olivenhain, Friday evening. The Haunted Hotel at Olivenhain Meeting Hall, 423 Rancho Santa Fe Road, runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Haunted Hotel tickets are $8 at the door, and concessions and carnival activities cost extra, the Union-Tribune reports. It starts half an hour before One Paseo's Trunk or Treat ends, so families can do the early part of One Paseo and then drive north.
Pumpkin Station in Del Mar, at 15555 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, is open through October 31. Walking through the patch is free, and rides and activities cost $5 each.
Debe McInnis has called coastal North County home for decades and follows its seasons up close, from the Del Mar Highlands route to the evenings at One Paseo. If this weekend has you wondering what your Carmel Valley home is worth, Debe McInnis offers a confidential home valuation based on the same close knowledge of the neighborhood.
