Best Halloween Road Trip Ideas from San Francisco, LA and Las Vegas

With legitimate ghost towns, haunted houses and plenty of Halloween festivities, the West Coast has some of the scariest places in the country and they’re all within a day’s drive of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, making it the perfect excuse to rent a campervan and get away for a few nights. Take a day or two off work, pick up your rental on a Thursday or Friday and return it on Monday. Along the way, stack up some scares with three spooky road trip options from each city that will put the chills in your spine and show you a great time.

Morbid mansions and ghoulish ghost towns await, so get planning and book in your Halloween road trip rental today.

Why renting a campervan for a Halloween road trip is a great idea – expert advice

Why do a Halloween road trip in a campervan?

If you’re someone who really leans into the spooky spirit of Halloween, you’ll get plenty of thrills from camping out. But, logistically, renting a campervan for a Halloween road trip makes good sense, because the limited accommodation at these small ghost towns gets snapped up quickly. In a campervan, you can turn up, get spooked and then head straight to bed in the back. Maybe sleeping with a light on!
You’ll also get free unlimited miles with every rental USA-wide as well as 24/7 roadside assistance, which means you have absolute peace of mind. All you need to worry about is the ghosts.

Best Halloween road trips from San Francisco

If you’re setting out from San Francisco on your ghost hunt, there are three routes to consider. Head south to Winchester Mystery House at San Jose, east to Virginia City Nevada or down the coast on Highway 1 to the Pumpkin Capital of the world at Half Moon Bay.

Start planning your chills and thrills today with a campervan rental from San Francisco.

Winchester Mystery House, San Jose (about 1 hour south)

An extraordinary architectural piece of history, Winchester Mystery House was created by the reclusive heiress and philanthropist Sarah Winchester, whose spirit is said to still haunt the house all these years later. Her project spanned 36 years, from 1886 to 1922 and rambled eccentrically over 160 exquisitely detailed rooms in the Victorian mansion.

Between September 18 and November 1, the house plays host to the ticketed Festival Fright Nights, where the ghouls and ghastly creatures of Winchester emerge. On these evenings, attractions include the Root of All Evil set inside the greenhouse, The Final Descent: No Escape, where guests try to escape the house, and The House of Spirits, where you’ll encounter unsettling sights. You’ll need to book tickets ahead online and remember, this is a popular attraction come the spooky season, so get in early.

Virginia City, Nevada (a four-hour drive east)

Established in 1859, the former silver rush town of Virginia City is now an incredibly well-preserved attraction. There’s plenty of wild west history to absorb in town, such as the history of the Comstock Lode, a rich silver ore deposit that heralded the town’s success, as well as boomtown architecture and underground mine tours. But come Halloween, it’s the spookier side of the city that draws crowds thanks to its reputation for hauntings and unexplained mysteries.

Revel in the paranormal with a ghost tour at the Gold Hill Hotel, which has been declared the eighth-most haunted location in Nevada. Tours run every other Thursday, but there is a special three-night tour over Halloween. You’ll need to book in advance to secure these spots as the maximum tour size is 20 people.

You can also relish the ghoulish theme with Hauntober, which runs all October and features events throughout the month, such as The Spirits Made Me Do It Saloon Crawl and the Bats in the Belfry Guided Ghost Tour. You can even enter into the best costume competition.

Half Moon Bay, Pumpkin Capital of the World, on Highway 1 (about 45 minutes)

Pumpkins are synonymous with Halloween and the town synonymous with pumpkins is Half Moon Bay in California. Here the proud ‘Pumpkin Capital of the World’ is illuminated with the orange hue of the gourds every October. There’s even an event to celebrate the pumpkin with the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival running annually. This year, the festival is in its 54th year and will run from October 17–18 with festivities kicking off with the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Monday, October 12. There’s also the Great Pumpkin Parade, the Great Pumpkin Run, pumpkin carving and the world’s biggest pumpkin sculpture.

If that’s not enough gourd for you, supplement your pumpkin intake with a visit to some of Half Moon Bay’s pumpkin patch farms. There’s plenty along Cabrillo Highway (State Route 1) and San Mateo Road.

Best Halloween road trips from Los Angeles

Hitting the road from LA, set forth for supernatural excitement by heading northeast to Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, south to San Diego’s haunted Whaley House and Old Town, or east to eerie Joshua Tree and Pioneer Town. Pick up your campervan rental from Los Angeles and set off for spine-chilling thrills.

Calico Ghost Town, Yermo (less than 3 hours northeast)

If travelling along Ghost Town Road doesn’t give away what you’ll find at your destination here, then the dusty backdrop and haunted buildings of Calico Ghost Town will leave you in no doubt. This restored former silver-mining town transports you straight back to its 1880s heyday.

Across two weekends in October, the town hosts the annual Calico Ghost Haunt, where you can revel in trick or treating, a costume contest and a campground decorating contest. There’s also entertainment, food and tarot reading, storytelling and poetry recitals. This year, you can get along from October 24–26 or October 31–November 2.

The haunted Whaley House and Old Town, San Diego (about 2 hours south)

Whaley House is often claimed as the most haunted house in America, but the title is somewhat disputed and perhaps a little difficult to prove. Whether it is or isn’t, the house certainly has a haunting aura and is well worth a Halloween trip, at just two hours from LA.

The two-storey Greek revival house was built by Thomas Whaley for around $10,000 between 1856-57 and was a grand affair. Complete with a theater and county courthouse and general store, it was not only a family home, but a place for the community to gather. As well as being a historic landmark, the house is believed to be haunted on account of the fact it was built on the site of San Diego’s first public gallows. You can stir up some goosebumps on the After Hours Paranormal Investigation evening tour, where special equipment is used to detect ghostly activity. You’ll  need to check the website for October dates and be quick, as the tour sizes are limited.

Joshua Tree and Pioneertown (about 2.5 hours east)

A living and breathing movie set, Pioneertown is an 1880-themed town built by Hollywood investors back in 1946. While it still functions as a film set, you can wander around, enjoy a bite to eat and take in the wild west atmosphere.

While you’re here, take in the dark skies of nearby Joshua Tree National Park. Free from any light pollution star-gazing here is truly epic and makes for an excellent spot to share ghost stories.

Best Halloween road trips from Las Vegas

Frights are found within easy reach of Las Vegas. Head just 45 minutes south to Nelson Ghost Town and El Dorado Canyon, two hours northwest to Rhyolite Ghost Town and Death Valley, or three hours north to arrive at Tonopah and the Clown Motel. Astonishingly, the state of Nevada has more ghost towns than incorporated towns with the dry climate preserving the ruins of more than 600 former towns. A campervan rental from Las Vegas will have you exploring these spooky settlements easily.

Nelson Ghost Town and Eldorado Canyon (about 45 minutes south)

Set in the Eldorado Canyon, Nelson Ghost Town is a former 1800s gold-mining town steeped in history. It’s a stark contrast to the glittering Strip and is a great place to get dusty and dirty discovering Nevada’s gold-mad past on a tour of the mines and old town.

The highlight for ghost chasers though is the Techatticup mine, where the tunnels are said to be haunted by the spirits of those who perished in the mines in their pursuit of a golden fortune.

Rhyolite Ghost Town and Death Valley (about 2 hours northwest)

Rhyolite is the most famous ghost town in Nevada and that’s saying something given the state’s proliferation of ghostly locations. Set in the Mojave Desert next to Death Valley, this 1905-era settlement once swelled with the discovery of gold but is now an eerie monument to greed.

Wander the ruins of the Cook Bank Building and the eccentric Tom Kelly bottle house, which was constructed in 1905 from 50,000 collected bottles from Rhyolite’s many saloons. Don’t forget to absorb the ghostly silhouettes of the Goldwell Open Air Museum sculptures. They look particularly otherworldly at sunset, but keep in mind, access to Rhyolite is only during the day.

Of course, no Halloween road trip to Rhyolite would be complete without stopping in at the menacingly sounding Death Valley. This is the hottest, driest and lowest national park in the country and sprawls for an astonishing 3000-square miles. Death Valley is a gold-tier dark sky reserve, so be sure to pay a visit after sunset to check out those dazzling night skies – just be sure to stick to paved roads. Too beautiful to skim through, you could add a Death Valley Road Trip to your Halloween itinerary.

The Clown Motel and Tonopah (about 3 hours north on US-95)

If you’re someone who breaks out in goosebumps at the sight of a clown, you’ll be chilled to the core with a stay at The Clown Motel. Dubbed “America’s Scariest Motel”, even those who are mostly fine with clowns will struggle to get a good night’s rest here. But that’s the point of Halloween, right?

You can stay in a themed room inspired by classic horror films, such as The Exorcist, IT and Chucky, but you may find sleep eludes you. The motel was originally opened in 1985 by the children of an avid clown collector, who filled the hotel, situated right next-door to the Old Tonopah Cemetery where their father was buried, with his beloved clowns. Now the hotel has a 6500-strong clown collection and purports to play host to a handful of ghosts. But it doesn’t take any responsibility for the emotional distress you may experience while staying here. So if a sleepover is a bit too much for your clown phobia, pay a passing visit to the collection in the main lobby building for free and sleep elsewhere.

Tips for a Halloween campervan road trip

If you’re off to chase thrills this Halloween, remember that you’re not alone out there. So our top suggestion is to be organized and rent your campervan ahead of time. Beyond that, follow these hot Halloween tips.

• If you’re traveling to a specific event, be sure to book your tickets well in advance. Some group tours and events have limited capacity and will be in demand.
• Book your campsites ahead of time, too. Many of these small towns and sites don’t have a lot of options or sites.
• Be prepared for cooler weather. At elevated places such as Virginia City and Tonopah, nights can get close to freezing. While Calico, Joshua Tree and Death Valley are milder, they still require warm layers at night.
• Always arrive at unfamiliar stops before dark so that you can familiarize yourself with the terrain and check the venues’ websites for opening times and access before setting out.
• Keep your campervan on paved and well-maintained roads at all times, even when accessing campgrounds. Your rental terms require it and unpaved driving can void cover.

Plan your Halloween road trip campervan rental

Ready for a scary escape? Book your rental today and start planning your Halloween road trip route. You can pick up your Travellers Autobarn vehicle from San Francisco, Los Angeles or Las Vegas and receive free unlimited miles on every rental.

Keep driving with these campervan road trips for the fall

Once you experience the freedom of traveling by campervan, you’ll want to have your next USA road trip booked in right away. Or maybe you will just keep driving through the fall? Grab some inspiration from these bucket list drives.

• LA to Grand Canyon road trip
• Las Vegas to Zion National Park road trip
• San Francisco to Santa Barbara road trip

DISCLAIMER: All information provided, including prices, availability, and site details, is correct when published. We recommend contacting campsites or caravan parks directly to confirm the latest details before planning your visit. Please review our Terms and Conditions for additional information.