Cambria is about to disappear under straw and button eyes again. Starting October 1 and running through October 31, the town's Scarecrow Festival will fill streets, front yards and business storefronts with more than 200 handcrafted scarecrows, part of a tradition that has quietly grown into one of the Central Coast's most photographed fall rituals.
The festival began modestly in 2009 with just 30 scarecrows scattered around town, according to visitcambriaca.com. Nearly two decades later, the event has swelled to a showcase of over 200 creative and captivating scarecrows lining the streets, the same source reports, though not everyone agrees on the exact count these days — a separate tourism write-up from highway1roadtrip.com puts the current total closer to 500 hand-crafted scarecrows built by businesses, students and individuals throughout Cambria. Either way, the growth from a few dozen figures to a small army of them is the story locals like to tell.
Cambria business owners have leaned into the season, constructing creative scarecrows to add autumnal charm around their storefronts, while residents display their own creations in front yards and near local businesses, according to NBC 7 San Diego reporting from the region. The result is a scattershot, self-guided scavenger hunt rather than a single ticketed event — the displays can be found all over town in Cambria, along Moonstone Beach Drive and in San Simeon, per visitcambriaca.com.
No Official Route, But Plenty of Help Finding Them
There's no official route to follow, according to visitsansimeonca.com, which notes the festival has expanded geographically across both Cambria and San Simeon rather than sticking to a fixed corridor. The site adds that the scarecrows come from a wide range of hands — local artists, businesses, organizations, school groups and everyday community members all contribute to the sprawling collection.
For visitors who don't want to wander blind, festival maps and scarecrow locations are available through the Cambria Scarecrow Festival website and the Visit Cambria App, the same source notes. The app is designed to steer sightseers toward the various clusters of scarecrows spread across town, San Simeon and the coastal stretch of Moonstone Beach Drive.
Whimsical themes are part of the draw this year. Among the new offerings is “PJ's in the Patch,” a brand-new sleep-themed display debuting in San Simeon, according to a press release from cambriascarecrows.com. NBC 7 San Diego's coverage also points to mermaid and alien-themed scarecrows dotted throughout the festival, adding to the mix of whimsical and offbeat creations residents dream up each fall.
Free Admission and a Nonprofit Behind the Straw
Viewing the scarecrows costs nothing. There is no fee to view any of the displays, according to the festival's own frequently asked questions page. Behind the free-to-browse event sits a volunteer-driven community nonprofit, per visitcambriaca.com, which also funds scholarships for graduating Cambria high schoolers headed into arts careers.
Those interested in more than a self-guided stroll can circle October 30 on the calendar. The festival organization holds a Salute to Scarecrows wine-and-food celebration that Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., according to highway1roadtrip.com — a ticketed capstone to a month otherwise built around free, wander-when-you-like viewing.
What Comes After the Scarecrows Come Down
Cambria doesn't go quiet once Halloween passes. The town's Christmas Market takes over on select dates between Thanksgiving and Christmas, running November 27 through December 31, according to cambriachristmasmarket.com. That event swaps straw for sparkle, featuring 3 million twinkling Christmas lights alongside a German-inspired artisan vendor market, Santa visits, a train ride, fire pits, live music, and festive food and drink, per the same site.
For now, though, the spotlight belongs to burlap and buttons. As NBC 7 San Diego put it, the town enjoys a scarecrow-saturated October before the holiday lights eventually take their turn.
