"No prizes. No judges. No pressure." That is how the City of Redwood City describes Haunt Your Home this year. The contest is "taking a little dirt nap." What's left is a Haunt Your Home Tour Map, where decorated homes sign up to become part of a route for people who want to "cruise the boos."
For a hillside of winding roads like Farm Hill, Edgewood, and Jefferson, a driving map of decorated houses fits well. Emerald Hills also sits at a hinge. Downhill is the City's free, house-based Halloween. Uphill, past Edgewood Road and up Cañada Road, Filoli puts on a ticketed Halloween across an entire estate. Which one this neighborhood can actually join depends on which road you take and on a question the City's 2026 pages don't answer.
The Map That Once Named Emerald Hills
When Redwood City's Parks, Recreation and Community Services department started its first Halloween Home Decorating Contest in 2020, the rules were explicit. Walking Redwood City described them at the time: a house, apartment, condo, or even a window qualified "as long as it is located in Redwood City, Emerald Hills, or North Fair Oaks."
The 2026 wording is looser. The Haunt Your Home page talks about finding decorated homes "around town" and asks entrants to "send us the address." It doesn't say whether the home must be inside city limits. Emerald Hills is unincorporated San Mateo County land with Redwood City mailing addresses, so the 2020 rule is the clearest precedent available. It isn't a current guarantee. A short email to the department before you decorate for the map will settle it.
The City's two pages also disagree on timing. The Halloween Hub, marked "Updated 10/1/26," says registration opens October 1. The Haunt Your Home page says "Enter starting October 5, 2026!" Both pages agree on the date that matters most. Voting opens October 25, and the community picks its favorites. Entrants also allow the City to photograph their homes for its Parks, Recreation and Community Services social media.
The hillside has a public record in this category. In 2018, a Walking Redwood City tour of Halloween displays documented decorated homes on Farm Hill and Edgewood roads. The same tour found a metal T-Rex in a Halloween costume on Jefferson Avenue near Alameda de las Pulgas. That account describes individual displays from eight years ago, not an organized neighborhood event. Still, these are the same roads the 2026 map is built to send people down. For residents who would rather hand out candy than enter a poll, the Hub also links a Nextdoor Treat Map for homes that are decorating, carving jack-o'-lanterns, or greeting neighbors. Viewing it requires a Nextdoor account.
Downhill, in Date Order
Everything the City has scheduled below the hill is close to Emerald Hills and Woodside, and most of it is free or close to free. Here it is in calendar order, with Cañada College's gallery, the one stop on the hill itself, at the end:
- Friday, October 30: A costume party and Boo Bash for ages 10 to 17 at Red Morton Community Center.
- Saturday, October 31: Halloween crafts at the Main Library during regular business hours.
- Through October 31: The Mirror, a free student exhibition at the Cañada College Art Gallery, Building 9, Room 152, 4200 Farm Hill Boulevard. The gallery is open Tuesdays from 1 to 4 p.m.
The gallery is the only item on this list located on the hill. The rest of the City program sits down in the flats, in Redwood City proper.
Uphill, Past Edgewood and Up Cañada Road
Head the other way and the format changes completely. Filoli's Nightfall runs September 26 through November 1, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Filoli calls it "one story, told across an entire estate." Visitors move through a harvest party in the Meadow, a historic house "reclaimed by nature," a glowing woodland, and finally a witch's hidden village.
The routes are specific enough to plan around:
- The Meadow: Games, live music, food, drink, and pumpkins.
- The Historic House: A witch's curse, dinner-party guests who have vanished, animated dolls, crows, and mysterious rooms.
- The Redwood Trail: Scarecrows, glowing trees, giant slugs, and 1,000 glowing jack-o'-lanterns.
- The Witches' Village: A coven, tarot readings, magical brooms, and a giant cauldron.
- The Haunted Railway: New this year, with eight miniature trains looping across 1,000 feet of track.
Filoli runs two separate fall programs, and they suit different visits:
Nightfall | Autumn Days | |
|---|---|---|
Dates | Sept. 26 to Nov. 1 | Sept. 26 to Nov. 1 |
Hours | 5:30 to 10 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the community celebration |
Adult ticket | $45 on the sampled Oct. 6 booking page | $39 value, $45 regular |
Child ticket | $35 for ages 4 to 14; free under 4 | $25 for ages 4 to 14 |
Members | 20% off; Circle Members free | Free |
Signature draw | The estate-wide Halloween story | Pumpkins, the Autumn Railway in the Redwoods, apple cider |
Nightfall tickets are sold in half-hour timed-entry windows from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Filoli lists last entry as 8:30 p.m. on the event page and 8 p.m. on the booking page, so the earlier time is the safer plan. Parking is free, but you may be sent to one of three lots with a walk of up to 15 minutes on gravel. The route itself is about a mile over uneven ground. Costumes must be family-friendly. Scary masks and real or toy weapons aren't allowed.
At Helen & Brad Miller, we keep track of how Emerald Hills relates to the towns on either side of it, from a holiday map to a county road project. If you have questions about where your address falls, reach out today.
