Come for the season
Davis is a university town that spends every fall overrun by the undead, and not just for one afternoon: schools, shops, and the City itself all lean into it. It is twenty minutes from Sacramento by train and two hours from San Francisco, and once you are here you will not need a car. Here is how to get in, where to sleep, and how to get a bike under you.
Every year people travel in for this weekend, and some stay the night. This page is for you: how to get here, where to sleep, and what to do with the rest of the weekend.
Davis was the first city in America to stripe a bike lane and the first ever awarded Platinum by the League of American Bicyclists. There are 108 miles of bike lanes and 63 miles of paths here, and the train station is downtown. You can step off a train, borrow a bike, and not need to touch a car all weekend.
Trains, buses, and how long it takes
Sacramento
About 20 minutesBy train. Capitol Corridor runs all day from Sacramento Valley Station to Davis (DAV) and takes about twenty minutes. The Davis station is at 840 2nd Street, in the middle of downtown, about a mile from Community Park and right on the Trick-or-Treat Trail. Capitol Corridor timetables.
By bus. Yolobus runs express services between Davis and Sacramento, routes 43, 43R, 230 and 44, 365 days a year. Yolobus routes and schedules.
By car. Straight down I-80 west. Give yourself extra on the day: downtown streets close for the Trick-or-Treat Trail from 3pm.
San Francisco and the Bay Area
About 2 hoursBy train. Capitol Corridor runs from San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Richmond and Martinez straight through to Davis. From San Francisco, take the FREE Amtrak Thruway bus from the Salesforce Transit Center to Emeryville, or BART to Richmond, and pick up the train there. Check the timetable and buy one ticket for the whole journey.
You can put your bike on the train. Capitol Corridor carries bicycles at no extra charge, which means you can arrive with your own and ride the parade on it.
By car. I-80 east over the Bay Bridge and through Vallejo and Fairfield. Traffic on a Saturday is unpredictable; the train is not.
Flying in
SMF is 25 minutes awaySacramento International (SMF) is the closest airport, about 25 minutes by road. Yolobus routes 42A and 42B connect the airport to Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento and downtown Sacramento, every day of the year. Yolobus routes.
San Francisco (SFO) and Oakland (OAK) both work if you would rather fly into the Bay: BART to Richmond, then Capitol Corridor to Davis.
Woodland, Winters, West Sacramento and the rest of Yolo County
15 to 30 minutesYolobus runs intercity routes across the whole county, including 42A, 42B and 138 between Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento and downtown Sacramento. Route map and times.
Visit Yolo keeps the full picture of getting around the county, including rideshare and taxi options, on their transportation page.
Unitrans runs the city buses, including the London double-deckers, and is worth riding for its own sake: unitrans.ucdavis.edu. Everything else is walkable or a short ride. Community Park is on F Street between Covell and 14th; the Trick-or-Treat Trail is downtown from 3pm; Mace Ranch Park, where the BMX stunt show is, is at the far end of the parade route.
Thirteen places to sleep in Davis
Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026 and it is also a UC Davis weekend, so rooms go early. Book before October. Visit Yolo, our tourism partner, keeps the live list with rates and availability, and posts lodging specials for the county.
Aggie Inn
Closest to downtown and the train
Best Western Palm Court Davis
In the middle of downtown, walk to the Treat Trail
Best Western University Lodge
Downtown, a few minutes from the station
Hilton Garden Inn Davis
F Street runs straight up to Community Park
Hi-Wheel Flats Davis
East Davis, near the Mace Ranch end of the ride
Holiday Inn Express Davis
South Davis
Hyatt House Davis
South Davis, kitchens in the rooms
Hyatt Place UC Davis
On campus, by the Mondavi Center
Residence Inn Davis
Suites, good for a family staying two nights
The Vine Inn Davis
Independent, right downtown
University Park Inn & Suites
Between downtown and campus
Visit Yolo
Visit Yolo promotes the whole county and has backed this festival as a partner. They keep the maintained lodging list, including properties in Winters, Woodland, West Sacramento and Dunnigan if Davis is full, and they publish seasonal lodging specials.
Hotel photographs are each property’s own, by way of their Visit Yolo listing. If you are a property and would like yours changed or removed, tell us and it comes down the same day.
Visit Davis also keeps a Davis-only list at visitdavis.org/stay.
You do not have to bring one
The parade is the centerpiece and it is on bicycles, but arriving without one is completely normal. This is the bike capital of America; getting a bike here is the easy part.
The Bike Campaign and their Bike Garage
The Bike Campaign co-hosts this festival. They are a Davis non-profit that has been getting people onto bicycles since 2011, and their Bike Garage is where a lot of that happens: good quality used bikes, professionally serviced, with the stock changing daily, plus repairs, free bike inspections and workshops that teach you to change a tube and fix your own brakes.
606 Peña Drive #300
Saturdays 8am to noon
Wednesdays 1pm to 5pm
First and Hays streets, at Douglass Middle School
Saturdays 9am to noon
They also run bike skills training in Yolo County elementary schools and Cycling Without Age, which takes older people and people with disabilities out on trishaw rides. Both want volunteers.
SPIN
Davis has a town-wide shared bike and scooter service. Download the SPIN app, unlock one, ride it, leave it. There are SPIN bikes at Community Park on the day. The City of Davis runs the program through its bicycle and pedestrian program.
Worth calling ahead on Halloweekend.
Davis Cyclery
Green Bicycle DepotAnd you can bring your own on the train: Capitol Corridor carries bicycles at no extra charge.
Where to leave the car
Bike parking is FREE and plentiful. Car parking fills early: use the lot at the Davis Senior Center and expect to walk a block or two. Community Park is on F Street between Covell and 14th.
Davis Downtown keeps the guide to car parks, street parking and the FREE two-hour lots: their parking page. Better still, leave the car at Community Park and ride or walk in, which is under a mile.
If you are driving in from Sacramento or the Bay with a rack on the back, park once at Community Park and do not move the car again all day. The parade starts and finishes there, the skydivers land there, and downtown is a short ride. A car with four bikes on it is the hardest thing to re-park in Davis on Halloween, and you will not need to.
Where to eat while you are here
There is food at the festival itself, on the food and drink page. For the rest of the weekend, these are the places that sponsor this festival or host part of it. They pay for the rally band, the permits and the port-a-potties, so if you eat anywhere in Davis, eat with them.
Woodstock's Pizza
Downtown, and the home of the Zombie Mash Afterparty from 3pm on parade day.
Steve's Pizza
A Davis institution.
Zia's Delicatessen
Sandwiches, and the right answer before an 11am parade.
Upper Crust Baking
Bread and pastry, for the morning of.
Acai Fresh
Acai bowls and smoothies.
Yoloberry Yogurt
Frozen yogurt, for after the ride.
Sudwerk Brewing
Beer and food at 2001 2nd Street.
TOMO Tea House
Tea and boba at Davis Commons, handing out sweets on the Trick-or-Treat Trail.
Bruxie
Fried chicken and waffle sandwiches at Davis Commons, on the Treat Trail.
Mom's Dumpling
Dumplings and noodles at Davis Commons, on the Treat Trail.
Mikuni Japanese Restaurant
Sushi at Davis Commons, on the Treat Trail.
Shabu Shack
Hot pot at Davis Commons, on the Treat Trail.
My Burma
Burmese food at Davis Commons, on the Treat Trail.
Sophia's Thai Kitchen
Davis' first Thai restaurant, downtown since 1995, and host to Davis Rave Co's free Halloween party on October 29.
Halloweekend is two days, and October is the whole month
Arrive and go out
Halloween starts early in Davis, with a downtown already full of people in costume. See what is confirmed for Friday on the schedule.
The festival, all day
Community Park from 11am, the parade out to Mace Ranch and back (riders line up by 10:30am), the skydiving finale at 2:30, then the Trick-or-Treat Trail downtown 3 to 5. Read the festival guide.
There is more than us
Haunted houses, block parties, pumpkin patches and a month of Halloween across Davis and Yolo County. See every event.
The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is FREE and open every day. Downtown Davis is small, independent and walkable. And the whole county is worth a detour: Visit Yolo has the wineries, the farm stands and the rest of it.
Open the issue
Zombies love the Dirt.
This festival covers all things Halloween. If you love Davis and Yolo County just as much the other eleven months of the year, The Dirt covers all things local: the people, places and events worth sticking around for. Free every month, in print and online.
