Autumn Festival at San Diego Zoo Safari Park 2026

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Kids raised in Southern California grow up without a real fall — no turning leaves, no frost on the window, none of the seasonal furniture the rest of the country takes for granted. So the Safari Park builds one for them, out in the open valley where the giraffes graze. Every weekend in October the grounds turn into a harvest: a walk-through maze, country dancing led by scarecrow hosts, live bluegrass drifting over the savanna, fall-themed food, and the strange delight of watching rhinos and cheetahs go about their day while a fiddle plays. It is autumn assembled on purpose for children who have never seen the genuine article, and it lands anyway — because the wonder was never really about the weather. Saturdays and Sundays through October, included with park admission. Come for the animals you expected and stay for the season you did not know your kids were missing. Some falls you have to build by hand. This is the one San Diego builds every year.