Zoo Boo opens the week before Halloween, and downtown trick-or-treating falls on Halloween itself. What's different is the zoo: it has a new name on the sign, a rebuilt lemur habitat and three new meerkats. After the candy run, you can also eat dinner at downtown places that didn't exist last Halloween.
It all lands on the calendar in about ten days. Here's how the week fits together and what changed at each stop since 2025.
The week at a glance
Date | Event | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Fri., Oct. 23 and Sat., Oct. 24 | Zoo Boo, Central Coast Zoo | 4 to 7 p.m. | $16, $15 members, free for ages 2 and under |
Oct. 23 to 25 and Oct. 29 to 31 | The Curse of the Crimson Tide, The Haunt | Classic Haunt-Mare 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. | $24.66 per experience, $34 for both |
Sat., Oct. 24 and Sat., Oct. 31 | The Haunt behind-the-scenes tour | 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. | See ticketing page |
Sat., Oct. 24 | Día de los Muertos Festival, Paso Robles | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Free |
Sun., Oct. 25 | Pumpkin Smash, Central Coast Zoo | 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Included with zoo admission |
Sat., Oct. 31 | Trick or Treat Downtown | 4 to 7 p.m. | Free |
Same zoo at Atascadero Lake, new name on the gate
If your kids still call it the Charles Paddock Zoo, they have plenty of company. The City and the zoo revealed the name Central Coast Zoo on June 7, 2025, during the zoo's 22nd Ice Cream Zoofari. The city's announcement said the goal was to make the zoo easier to recognize and find across the region and to bring in more visitors. New Times reported that some residents didn't like the change, and that the City Council heard the new name as an informational item and took no action. The rebrand kept the oak-tree logo and included plans for a Charles Paddock Plaza entrance with a statue of Paddock and his opossum.
The address is still 9100 Morro Road. Two things inside are newer than the name:
- The Madagascar Habitat reopened on May 15, 2026. It has a returning red-ruffed lemur, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teals, a radiated tortoise habitat next door, new signs and themed landscaping, per the City.
- Three female meerkats named Bumble, Buzz and Honeycomb arrived in June 2026 and joined the two males already there, the City announced.
So this year's Zoo Boo is the first one held under the new name. It's also the first since the lemur area reopened and the first with five meerkats in the yard.
Zoo Boo, Friday and Saturday
Zoo Boo runs Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. The zoo bills it as family-friendly and not too scary. Expect decorations, carnival games, a costume contest, a haunted maze and barn, and tricks and treats. The City of Atascadero and the zoo put it on together. Tickets on My805Tix cost $16 a person per night, $15 for zoo members, and nothing for kids 2 and under. You don't have to buy ahead, because the gate also sells tickets after 4 p.m. both nights.
One pricing detail matters if you live here. A Zoo Boo ticket costs about the same as a regular adult visit. The zoo's standard admission is $15.50 for ages 13 and up, $10.50 for kids 3 to 12, and $13.50 for Atascadero residents with ID. Zoo Boo uses a flat event price, so the resident discount doesn't apply that night. For the regular rate, come back on Sunday.
Pumpkin Smash, Sunday morning
Pumpkin Smash is Sunday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Every activity is included with general admission, so Atascadero residents pay the $13.50 resident rate. The zoo's description asks what a spider monkey will do with a pumpkin. The listing photo on Visit Atascadero shows meerkats climbing into a carved pumpkin. The zoo hasn't posted the full smash schedule yet, so check before you go to see which animals get pumpkins and when.
The Haunt on El Camino Real, for the older crowd
For the 12-and-up crowd, The Haunt at 5805 El Camino Real is running "The Curse of the Crimson Tide" this season. Ticketed nights are Oct. 23 to 25 and Oct. 29 to 31. There are three ways to go:
- Classic Haunt-Mare is the full scare experience, with a show and every room. Start times are 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., and it's recommended for ages 12 and up.
- Night Terrors is the extreme version. Guests make their way out of a pitch-black house with nothing but a glowing red skull, and start times are 8:30 p.m. and later.
- Behind the scenes is a lights-on tour of the sets, creatures and effects. It's family-friendly for all ages and runs Saturday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
The Tribune's Halloween guide lists Classic Haunt-Mare and Night Terrors at $24.66 each, or $34 for both. It also says the season runs through Sunday, Nov. 1, with hours that change by date.
The behind-the-scenes tour on the 31st helps families with kids of different ages. Younger kids can see the creatures in daylight from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. That leaves time for a costume change before downtown trick-or-treating starts at 4.
Saturday, Oct. 31, downtown
Halloween is on a Saturday this year. Trick or Treat Downtown runs from 4 to 7 p.m. and is free. People and pets of all ages can trick-or-treat at more than 45 downtown businesses, and there are costume contests and what the listing calls "after dark fun." The Merchants of Downtown Atascadero host it.
If your calendar still has last year's timing, update it. The City's 2025 Halloween page listed the downtown event from 5 to 8 p.m. This year it starts and ends an hour earlier. The Tribune guide calls it the A-Town Halloween Block Party and lists it on "Saturday, Oct. 30," but the event listing has it on Saturday, Oct. 31.
A 7 p.m. finish leaves most of the evening open, and that's where downtown's 2026 openings come in.
Where to eat after the candy runs out
Three downtown spots on El Camino Real and Entrada Avenue opened this year. Here's how their hours line up with Halloween night.
Momotaro Ramen and Izakaya, 6405 El Camino Real, Suite A. Chefs and co-owners Brittney Yracheta and Mateo Rogers opened their larger Atascadero location in early July. They had outgrown their space in Paso Robles after five years there, New Times reported. The dining room is dark, with neon and lanterns. Tonkotsu is the top seller, and Rogers told New Times that the vegetarian yasai ramen is the real "flavor bomb." The restaurant's site lists hours of Tuesday through Thursday 5 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 to 9 p.m., with no Sunday or Monday service. That puts Halloween night and both Zoo Boo nights inside its hours. Pumpkin Smash Sunday doesn't line up.
Mabel Lounge at The Carlton Hotel, 6005 El Camino Real. The Carlton spent three years on a revitalization and joined Marriott's Tribute portfolio. Mabel, its restaurant and bar, held a soft opening on May 13, according to The Tribune. The hotel now describes its Carlton House Gin as small-batch and crafted on site. Mabel's page lists it as open daily from 5 to 10 p.m. It stays open the latest of the three and is the only one serving cocktails, so it fits adults heading out after the kids are home or after a late Haunt slot.
Nana's Ice Cream, 5990 Entrada Ave. Owner Adeline Carley opened on May 6 with ice cream, coffee drinks and baked goods, A-Town Daily News reported. Hours in that May report were 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The Tribune quoted Carley saying those hours could change, so check before promising a post-candy cone. If the May hours still hold, a family has an hour after trick-or-treating ends at 7 to stop on Entrada.
A daytime side trip on Oct. 24
Saturday, Oct. 24, is the busiest day of the week. Paso Robles holds its free Día de los Muertos Festival that day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Downtown City Park, with children's and educational activities, food, dance, music, cultural vendors and an ofrenda. Downtown Paso Robles Main Street and the Hispanic Business Association put it on. You could catch the festival in the morning, take the 1:30 behind-the-scenes tour at The Haunt and still make Zoo Boo when the gates open at 4.
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