San Diego Zombie Crawl: Four Nights, 25+ Gaslamp Bars, and Eight Shots Included
The Gaslamp's longest-running Halloween crawl returns for four separate nights — October 23, 24, 30 and 31 — with free entry to more than 25 downtown venues, eight welcome shots, and a 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. run each night.
Overview
This is the big one downtown, and it's been running long enough that the promoter calls it the city's longest-running Halloween club celebration. The 2026 theme is "Choose Your Fighter — Embrace the Undead," with the Gaslamp recast as a zombie battle arena.
The mechanics are simple: buy a pass for one night, pick it up at the kickoff venue, then move at your own pace through a map of participating bars where your pass gets you in free and unlocks drink deals. It is not a parade and there's no route you have to follow.
One thing to get right before you buy: this is four individually ticketed nights, not a nine-day event. You'll see "October 23–31" on listings. October 25 through 29 are not event dates.
What You Need to Know
When: Four separate nights, each 6:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. — Freaky Friday October 23, Spooky Saturday October 24, Hallo-Eve Friday October 30, and Halloween Saturday October 31
Pass pick-up: 6:00–8:30 p.m. nightly at the kickoff venue
Where: American Junkie SD, 628 Fifth Ave (between G and Market), San Diego, CA 92101
Cost: $33–$39 depending on the night, plus Eventbrite fees. Tier 1 has sold out on all four nights
Ages: 21+. Valid ID required
Parking: $12 at ACE Parking, 707 Broadway, with a free overnight option
Tickets: Eventbrite
Info: Gaslamp Event Management · (619) 944-8900
Which Night to Pick
The nights aren't interchangeable, and the pricing tells you what the promoter expects:
- Friday, October 23 — $33. Cheapest, earliest, thinnest crowd
- Saturday, October 24 — $35. The first real Saturday
- Friday, October 30 — $39. Halloween-weekend Friday
- Saturday, October 31 — $39. Halloween itself, on a Saturday
All four are single-night passes. There's no multi-night pass, and if you want two nights you buy two tickets.
Two scheduling details matter if you have particular bars in mind: AKA and ZAMA are valid on October 23 and 24 only. Onyx is valid October 24 only. Parq, Greystone, Panevino and Romanissimo are not valid on October 31. Halloween night has the most people and the fewest venue options.
What the Pass Actually Gets You
- Free entry to 25+ Gaslamp venues, self-paced, with an event map
- Eight hosted "power-up" welcome shots — bartender's choice, subject to cut-off times, capacity and sobriety
- 69+ drink and dining deals across participating bars
- The opening party at American Junkie; finale parties at Parq, Vin De Syrah and Good Night John Boy
- A keepsake "zombie hunting permit" with an hour-by-hour guide
- Live entertainment and DJs
Sample deals from the current venue list: Fat Tuesday at $10 daiquiris, $6 beers, and four jello shots for $11 with happy hour 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Whiskey Girl at $7 wells and drafts; Vybz at $6 wells before 10 p.m.; Swing Social at $6 drafts and $8 wells.
The Cut-Off Times Are the Strategy
This is the part people miss, and it's the difference between using the pass and wasting it. Most free entries expire during the night, not at 2 a.m.:
- American Junkie and Double Deuce — before 10 p.m.
- Sevilla, STK, Vybz, Wine Girl — before midnight
- Moxy — before 1:30 a.m.
So the pass is front-loaded. Start at 6, hit the early-cutoff venues first, and treat the late hours as the ones where you're paying cover or sticking to wherever you've landed. Arriving at 10:30 means a meaningful chunk of what you bought is already gone.
Participating Venues
More than 25, including American Junkie, AKA, Bang on 5th, Casablanca, Double Deuce, Fat Tuesday, Gaslamp Lumpia, Good Night John Boy, Greystone Steakhouse, Karina's, Moxy Hotel Bar, Myst Lounge, Omerta, Onyx, Panevino Osteria, Parq Nightclub, Prince Street Pizza, Romanissimo Cucina, Sevilla Nightclub, Smokin J's, Smoking Gun, Star Bar, STK, Swing Social, Timestead, Toro, Trailer Park After Dark, Vin De Syrah, Vybz Nightclub, Whiskey Girl, Wine Girl and ZAMA.
Good to Know
Buy early — tier 1 has already sold out on all four nights. The prices above are the current tier, and they climb.
Groups of eight get one free. Buy eight tickets and you get a ninth; text (619) 944-8900 to arrange it. Orders are capped at 10 tickets (six for October 23).
Costumes yes, fake weapons no. The promoter's guidance is "all characters and costumes are welcome, go all out" but explicitly says to leave faux weapons at home.
All sales are final — no refunds. Tickets can be transferred or resold free of charge.
Take the trolley. The Green, Blue and Orange Lines all serve downtown, with the Gaslamp Quarter station at Fifth and Harbor. If you drive, the $12 ACE lot at 707 Broadway with the free overnight option is the move — leaving the car until morning is the responsible play on a night built around eight free shots.
Everything's walkable and covered. It runs rain or shine.
For the scare-attraction version of the season, the Haunted Trail at Balboa Park is the one. If you're bringing kids instead, LEGOLAND's Brick or Treat is built for ages 2 to 12 and isn't scary at all.
