Things to do this fall in San Francisco

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in San Francisco, with plenty of things to do. Read on to find our top picks for feeling the fall spirit this October.

Photo: Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival

Apple picking

Apple picking is a classic American fall activity, and California is particularly famous for its deliciously juicy fruit, so why not try your hand at picking your own this fall? Most of the apple-picking ranches in the Bay Area are only accessible by car, but Chileno Valley Ranch is relatively easy to get to, just 11 miles outside of Petaluma. Chileno offers organic apples on its 600-acre ranch and is open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pumpkin picking

October is pumpkin-patch season, and San Francisco has a wide selection of pumpkin patches to choose from. Our favorite is Clancy’s, open from now until Oct. 31 daily, from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. This historic patch first opened all the way back in 1979 and has been providing SF natives with all varieties and shapes of pumpkins ever since. They even offer hayrides for a small fee (and no, you’re never too old for a hayride). Check them out at their new location at 2101 Sloat Blvd, right by the San Francisco Zoo.

Photo: Brews on the Bay

Brews on the Bay

Head down to Pier 45 for Brews on the Bay this Saturday October 19, an annual SF beer festival like none other. A celebration of local San Francisco beer, Brews on the Bay features a myriad of local vendors selling everything from pumpkin beer to IPAs to sours. This year, there will be 33 rare releases and 19 first releases, available exclusively for festival attendees to taste and ponder. The festival is all the more unique because of its location on a historic WWII ship, the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien, and the spectacular views it offers of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the bay. 

Lumpia Palooza

Celebrate Filipino-American heritage at Lumpia Palooza, a festival of Filipino culture and food at the ever-wonderful Soma StrEat Food Market. Enjoy a wide range of Filipino lumpia, including garlic, kare kare and chicken afritada lumpia, as well as weird and wonderful flavors like banana and cheeseburger varieties. You can even find lumpia rolling demos, a lumpia-eating contest, house-made sangrias and of course games and live music galore. Find out more and get tickets at the 

Photo: The Better Vacation

Halloween

We probably don’t have to remind you that Halloween is in a few days, but what you might not know is just how much there is going on in the Bay Area this year. Take your pick from a variety of Pub Crawls or take part in one of our favorite SF Halloween activities by taking a night tour of the historic Alcatraz prison, where you can really feel the history of our local monument come off the page.