Día de los Muertos in Old Town Is This Saturday and Sunday, and It's Free

Overview

Día de los Muertos takes over Old Town San Diego State Historic Park this Saturday and Sunday — October 31 and November 1 — and it costs nothing to attend.

Saturday runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Their own description of what's on offer: "Free music, food, and culture on Saturday from 11:00 am – 9 pm, and Sunday from 11:00 am-6:00pm."

More than 100,000 people come across the two days, which tells you both how good it is and how early you should arrive.

Here's what makes this one different from a street festival with papel picado on it.

The altars are the point.

Old Town fills with traditional ofrendas — the altars families build to welcome the dead back for the night, laid with photographs, marigolds, food and the things the person loved. Their site describes "traditional ofrendas or altars and hands on crafts kids area fill this amazing setting."

If you bring children, walk them past the altars before you do anything else. It's the most direct explanation of what the holiday actually is, and it lands better in person than any amount of telling.

What's Happening

• Live music, local bands and street performances across the park
• Face painting — the calavera makeup, done properly
• Fine art, with the Cosmopolitan Hotel inside the park hosting "Gallery in the Garden," featuring work by local artist Robert Barros
• A hands-on crafts area for kids
• Food, throughout

And the part that's been building for weeks:

Fiesta de Reyes, in the north corner of the State Park, has been transforming since September. Their words: "Over a period of several weeks, colorfully decorated skulls, skeletons, catrinas, and vignettes begin to appear." It's described as "a free, family-friendly immersive experience," and it's open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with extended hours Fridays and Saturdays.

So even if you can't make the weekend, the installation is up through November 2.

How to Go

• Where: Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
• When: Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. · Sunday, November 1, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Admission: free
• Parking: free throughout Old Town. Extra parking is available across Taylor Street in the CalTrans lot — all day on weekend days, and after 5 p.m. on weekdays
• Fiesta de Reyes installation: north corner of the park, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily
• The Trolley stops at Old Town, which is the easy answer to parking on a 100,000-person weekend

Good to Know

• It's free. Admission, music, and the Fiesta de Reyes installation.
• Saturday runs three hours later than Sunday — 9 p.m. against 6 p.m. If you want it after dark, go Saturday.
• Park across Taylor Street in the CalTrans lot if Old Town is full. It's open all day on the weekend.
• Go early on Sunday. Shorter day, same crowd.
• Take the Trolley if you'd rather not think about it.
• Find the altars first, then everything else.
• The installation is up through November 2, so Monday is a quiet option.

Why It's Worth It

Día de los Muertos is not Halloween, and the fact that it lands on Halloween weekend this year makes the contrast easy to see for yourself. One is about being frightened of death. The other is about setting a place for it at the table.

Old Town is the right setting for it — the oldest part of the city, the Mexican and early-Californian heart of San Diego, doing the holiday where the history actually is. For free, on a Saturday, with 100,000 of your neighbours.

Go on Saturday if you can, stay until the light goes, and let the kids get their faces painted.

For more things worth doing, browse our events calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Día de los Muertos in Old Town? Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, 2026. Saturday 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

How much does it cost? It's free, and so is the Fiesta de Reyes installation.

Where is it? Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

Is there parking? Yes, free parking throughout Old Town, plus an overflow CalTrans lot across Taylor Street that's open all day on weekends. The Trolley also stops at Old Town.

Is it good for kids? Yes — there's a hands-on crafts area, face painting, and Fiesta de Reyes is described as a free, family-friendly immersive experience.

What are ofrendas? The traditional altars built to welcome the dead, decorated with photographs, marigolds, food and personal items. They're the centre of the holiday and they fill the park.

How busy does it get? The organisers say more than 100,000 people attend across the two days.

Can I see the decorations outside the festival weekend? Yes. The Fiesta de Reyes installation runs through November 2, open daily 11 a.m.–9 p.m.