Find the Halloween event that's right for you! We'll keep updating our list of Halloween events in Marin as we find more. If you have an event you'd like to see added to the list, please contact us.

Marin Events:

• Strawberry Halloween Faire with candy and prize hunt
  Friday, October 30; sessions at 10:30 am and 3 pm
  For kids ages 1–9. All children must be accompanied by an adult. $5 per child, includes jumpy house, carnival games, prizes, and candy hunt. Strawberry Recreation District, 118 East Strawberry Drive, Mill Valley. Sign in at SRD gym. More info: strawberry.marin.org
• Howl'oween Spooktacular
  Strawberry Village Shopping Center in Mill Valley
  Friday, October 30, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm
  Come bring the family for trick-or-treating from at participating stores from 4:00 pm-6:00 pm. There will also be a pet costume contest at 5:00 pm. Participating stores will provide candy and goodies. There will be fun, games and entertainment for the entire family. For more info, go to www.strawberryvillage.com.
• Special Halloween Sing and Dance with Bonnie Lockhart
  Tiburon-Belvedere Library
  Saturday, October 31, 11 am
  Costumes welcome, but not required. Local musician Bonnie Lockhart will encourage kids to sing and dance in this free music program
  for ages 0-5 in the Founders Room.  Bonnie Lockhart's Web Site: http://www.bonnielockhart.com/. For more info, go to the library website.
• Halloween Parade and Trick or Treat Lane
  Sausalito City Hall
  Saturday, October 31, 6–8 pm.
  Kids of all ages are welcome to come in costume for a Halloween Parade and for some Trick or Treat. Come on down to the Sausalito City Hall, located at Caledonia and Litho Streets in Sausalito for a spooky time. For more info, call (415) 289-4100.
• Downtown Novato Halloween Safe Trick or Treat
  Saturday, October 31, 11 am–3 pm
  Grant Avenue, Old Town Novato
  Come trick or treat on Grant Avenue in downtown Novato! Businesses along the avenue will be handing out treats and helping everyone get into the Halloween spirit.
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Announcing the winner of the 2009 Marin Mommies Pumpkin Patch Poll: Peter Pumpkin Patch at Spring Hill Farm! This is one of our favorite pumpkin patches and, judging by the fact that it won first place by a huge margin (41% of the total vote), is the favorite of a lot of other people as well. Second place goes to Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch (18%), and third place to the Tolay Fall Festival (13%). Congratulations to all three, and thanks to everyone who voted for in the poll.

Peter Pumpkin Patch is kind of out in the middle of nowhere (which is part of the fun) on a real working farm that normally produces the yummy Spring Hill Jersey cheese that you may have seen in farmers' markets or stores around town. The Peter Pumpkin Patch is a classic old-time pumpkin patch. We've been going there for the past six years, and it's definitely grown in size and scope to be a major autumn production.

Although you wouldn't know it by the weather, summer is over and fall is here, which means Halloween is just around the corner and most local pumpkin patches are now open! For those seeking that that true Halloween pumpkin patch experience, we present our annual roster of pumpkin patches in Marin and southern Sonoma counties. In Marin County, only the Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch offers that on-the-farm experience, but old favorites like the St. Vincent's Pumpkin Patch offer an exciting Halloween experience for families, too. To seek out real live farms offering pumpkin patches this season, head up north a short distance to rural Sonoma County, where you'll find them in relative abundance.

We visited as many of these pumpkin patches as we could last year, and have posted links to our reviews of them below. We'll certainly make an effort to visit again this year, and we'll add our updated reviews when they're written.

We've included dates and hours for pumpkin patches when available. As a rule, most pumpkin patches are open throughout the month of October, although some open in September and some run through early November.

While there are plenty of awesome pumpkin patches to choose from in Marin and southern Sonoma counties (see our list of those here), you can find other great places to pick up pumpkins and other Halloween and autumn treats throughout the greater Bay Area. Maybe you're headed on a road trip to the south bay, or bound for the grandparents' house in Leisuretown this October—there's probably a pumpkin patch on the way. Here are a few out-of-town pumpkin patches in Solano, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties, that we've seen or have had recommended to us. Of course if your favorite isn't here, now's the time to let us know! Leave a comment to this post or send us an email and we'll consider adding it to the list.

The last two years we've visited the pumpkin patch at Peterson's Farm in Petaluma, which is one of our favorite pumpkin patches and family farm experiences. How was it this year? We still had a great time, but it was definitely busier than we've previously experienced, and we felt that their pumpkin selection this year was a little lacking. We did bring home two large pumpkins, but it took us a lot longer to find them out in the field. Peterson's is also still one of the best pumpkin patch bargains in the Bay Area.

You'll find Peterson's Farm on the north end of Petaluma, on Gossage Avenue off of Petaluma Boulevard North. The area is full of suburban bustle, but when you turn up Gossage and head over the hill, you quickly find yourself in a quiet rural neighborhood. The turn into Peterson's kind of sneaks up on you. The best way to confirm that you're headed in the right direction is to look for the Sonoma County Farm Trails sign on your right. There are also smaller signs identifying the place as Peterson's Farm, but they're harder to spot. Turn right onto the gravel drive and head around the barn and park in the back.

This weekend we finally made it to the Tolay Fall Festival on Tolay Lake Regional Park outside of Petaluma. This annual festival, held over two long weekends in October, is the successor to the popular pumpkin patch held at the site's former incarnation as Cardoza Ranch. Tolay Fall Festival is much more than a pumpkin patch, however. It's a down-to-earth celebration of fall with tons of fun activities for the whole family.

Of course there's a pumpkin patch—it's located way out in the back 40 of the park and you need to take a tractor-drawn hay ride to get there. But there are also other attractions, exhibits, and hands-on activities. Our children enjoyed making old-fashioned corn husk dolls and dipping candles, and felting wool. There's also an animal area with the opportunity to pet some friendly Boer goats, scarecrow-making, a pumpkin-seed-spitting contest, lawn games, a straw maze, a demonstration of old farm equipment and early gas engines, a firefighting display, a Native American village, and more.

Many families in Marin and the North Bay have fond memories of visiting the popular pumpkin patch at Cardoza Ranch outside Petaluma. In 2005, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District and the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department acquired Cardoza Ranch, also known as Tolay Lake Ranch, turning its 1,737 acres of farmland into a county park. Tolay Lake Ranch is a unique spot, with a freshwater lake, wetlands, diverse wildlife, and 8,000 years human habitation with extensive archaeological and historical sites. Tolay Lake Regional Park is currently under development and access is restricted, although the public can now make use of the park through a day-use permit program.