← Halloween weekend · Día de los Muertos & Cultural
Día de los Muertos in Old Town San Diego
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park & San Diego Ave/Harney St · San Diego
4002 Wallace St, San Diego, CA 92110
Self-guided tour of 40+ altars across Old Town's historic houses and businesses, plus a community altar, live stage entertainment, magic lantern shows and sugar skull workshops. Over the weekend there is also an arts-and-crafts mercado along San Diego Ave and Harney St, and the Catrina Contest is on Sunday.
When
- Sat, Oct 31State park 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; street mercado 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Hands-on art and bilingual story time
Forecast: 72° · 92% rain · Cloudy then Rain Showers Likely - Sun, Nov 1State park 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; street mercado 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
La Catrina Contest at 2 p.m.; hands-on art and bilingual story time
Forecast: 70° · 85% rain · Rain Showers
Dates are stated explicitly by the source.
Getting in
Free to walk the altars and attend. Paid extras: sugar skull workshop $10 per skull, wooden butterfly $5 suggested donation, quilt raffle $1 per ticket or 6 for $5. Hands-on art and story time are free.
State park lots charge for parking and Lot F is closed. Overflow parking is at the CalTrans lot, 4300 Taylor St. Taking the trolley to Old Town Transit Center is recommended. Photos left on the community altar are not returned.
- State park lots charge for parking and Lot F is closed. Overflow parking is at the CalTrans lot, 4300 Taylor St. The Old Town Transit Center trolley is recommended.
- Paid extras: sugar skull workshop $10 per skull, wooden butterfly $5 suggested donation, quilt raffle $1 or 6 for $5.
- Photos left on the community altar are not returned.
- The MTS page says the mercado runs 11 a.m.–6 p.m. but lists no separate mercado hours.
Where
Sources
- parks.ca.gov municipal
Oct 31–Nov 2, 2026 dates, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. hours, altars, activities, Catrina Contest Sun Nov 1 at 2 p.m., workshop fees, procession Nov 2 at 6 p.m. - sdmts.com municipal
Oct 31 & Nov 1, 2026, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Weekend Mercado on San Diego Ave and Harney St; Catrina Contest Nov 1; transit to Old Town Transit Center - sandiego.org tourism
Lead: event listing with 40+ altars and free admission