Sunset Dunes is trading its usual ocean breeze for costumes and candy today, as the sixth annual Great Hauntway takes over the stretch of park between Judah and Taraval streets from 1 to 4 p.m. The free Halloween event brings trick-or-treating, live performers, bounce houses and live music to the oceanfront promenade, giving Sunset District families a car-free afternoon of fall festivities right along the coast.
The event is presented by Friends of Sunset Dunes, according to sunsetdunes.org, and runs in partnership with San Francisco Recreation and Parks, as the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department noted in a Facebook post promoting today's gathering. Bay to Breakers is also listed among the Hauntway's partners, per the same transcript shared by the city agency.
Because neighborhood parking is limited, organizers are urging attendees to bike or take Muni instead of driving. The sunsetdunes.org event page notes that the N-Judah, L-Taraval and the 7, 18, 23 and 48 Muni bus lines all service the Hauntway, giving visitors multiple transit options for reaching the park between Judah and Taraval.
A Special Shuttle Links the Coast to Golden Gate Park
For guests looking to extend their Halloween outing, San Francisco Recreation and Park is running a special edition of the Golden Gate Shuttle connecting the event's Judah Street entrance and Lower Great Highway with the Blue Heron Lake Boathouse and Transverse Drive at JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park. The standard Golden Gate Park shuttle normally runs free seven days a week, 365 days a year, and sometimes adds evening service during special events, according to the same sunsetdunes.org listing.
Families with children who have sensory sensitivities also have an option today: a quieter welcome station set up at the Pacheco intersection, designed as a lower-key entry point away from the louder crowds and music elsewhere along the route.
Sunset Dunes' First Full Year Includes a Big Halloween Debut
This year's Hauntway builds on a tradition that predates the park itself. Last year's fifth annual edition was held on October 26, 2025, also staged between Judah and Taraval, with trick-or-treat stations, bounce houses, live music, Sunset Dunes x Great Hauntway merchandise and costumes throughout, as allabilitiesfun.com reported at the time. That event, like this year's, was free and open to everyone.
Sunset Dunes itself officially opened on April 12, 2025, converting the former Upper Great Highway into a two-mile oceanfront promenade stretching from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard. The park's first year included 20 permitted events, and the 2025 Great Hauntway alone drew roughly 3,000 Halloween revelers, according to a newsflash from sfrecpark.org.
With that kind of turnout last year, today's sixth annual gathering gives the Sunset District another chance to fill its newest park with costumes, candy and crowds before the sun sets on the 1 to 4 p.m. event.
