San Diego is a major metropolis that feels less like a city as it does a series of interwoven neighborhoods that simultaneously embrace the new, while paying homage to its roots. Perched along the coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and just 20 miles from the border, San Diego is an idyllic destination for anyone seeking a break from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. Next time you find yourself in this beautiful place, make sure to reserve some time in itinerary to visit Balboa Park, a 1,400-acre paradise of gardens and historical architecture. Or perhaps you are the type of person willing to go the extra mile for a beautiful view? If so, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is the place for you, and is sure to never disappoint. But if pure relaxation is what you seek, then Mission Beach is a must, with its white sands and gorgeous sunsets. Whatever your taste, just be sure to save some time to play San Diego’s incredible escape rooms, which are some of the best in all of California.

Nominee (2025)

Best of Morty (2024)

Nominee (2024)

Best of Morty (2023)

Nominee (2023)

Best of Morty (2022)

Save the man. Save the myth. Save the legend. Sherlock is being framed and he needs you to break into Moriarty’s Manor and find the evidence that proves his innocence before its too late! The game is afoot!

This game was a delight, it’s everything that is good about multiple generations of escape rooms. The set is polished without signs of wear and the puzzle flow and variation (type, difficulty, pay off) are excellent. There are also some very fun and novel elements and puzzles that keep the momentum of the room. We had a blast. Highly recommend.

MindFox Escape

Moriarty's Manor

Escape room

Nominee (2022)

Nominee (2021)

What started out as an ordinary day has become what you’ve only read in the pages of a book. You’re at your favorite café to pick up your usual order when, inexplicably, color disappeared from the world. It’s your objective to find the items that will activate the diamond prism before time runs out and you’re trapped in a colorless world forever.

The GM tells you up front that this is a single room so it was super neat to see how much was packed into one space. Great variety of puzzles. Absolutely adorable vibes- somehow they managed to make an escape room chill and cozy! Fairly easy room but highly recommend as it was very fun. The ending will put a smile on your face for sure! Plus this location has great GMs!

Black and White Cafe

Your mission was simple: befriend your neighbor. After five years your assignment has changed. He’s made his discovery and the corporation wants it! Break into his house. Steal the discovery. Escape.

Room was very well-made, it had really good variety of puzzles, and we had a very enthusiastic GM which made the experience great for our family of 4. Our kids are 6 and 8, and they were able to help even though it’s not really a kids room.

Steal and Escape

The Neighbor

Egypt has reawakened ! Deep inside the Pyramid of Giza, an ancient shrine dedicated to the Egyptian Goddess Bastet has been unearthed by your team. You have been obsessed with the story, The Heart of Bastet, ever since your grandfather whispered it to you at night while putting you to sleep. He disappeared years ago at the exact same site. Was it sabotage ? Did he just run out of air ? Or could more sinister forces be to blame ?

Your Grandfather was considered the best archaeologist of his day. How is it possible that you could complete what he could not ? Will you find what is left of him ? Will you make it out alive ? You only have enough air for your team to survive for one hour. You seek the Heart of Bastet !

This location isn't much to look at from the outside...but what is inside is well worth your time and money. 
Enjoyable flow of puzzles in a really expansive and thoughtfully decorated set. Great audio story elements as well as progress/puzzle indicators. Props were satisfying to use, both feeling and looking substantial. I'm so glad we made this location a stop during our few days out here.

Lara's Labyrinth

Heart Of Bastet [prev. Red Giant]

Finalist (2025)

Every year, Coach Robbie's legendary Summer Kickoff marks the end of another school year and the beginning of a well-earned summer break. This year, your grade finally has a shot at dominating the kickball game and being crowned school-yard champs. The catch? You have to actually finish your assignments before you can hit the field! Race against the school bell to tackle every subject, make straight A’s, and win it all!

This room is super great for a ton of people. There are a TON of puzzles, and they're mostly nonlinear. The theming is cool and the objectives are satisfying and click. There's some dexterity based puzzles which I think are just fun. The last puzzle is also fun and helped feel lots of comradery.

The Escape Game

Playground

Closing October 31 - Reopening for 2026. Hours, dates, and admission may vary — check official site for current details.

Last verified: 8/31/2026

Witness the menace and mystery of Jack the Ripper in this modern rock and rhythm spectacular. With electric choreography, powerful live singing, and explosive percussions that are sure to get your heart pounding, this marquee performance is sure to be as legendary as Jack himself. Located at Nautilus Amphitheater.

SeaWorld

Monster Stomp

Other 

Haunt

Closing November 1 - Reopening for 2026. Hours, dates, and admission may vary — check official site for current details.

Last verified: 8/31/2026

If you make it through the eXperiment Maze, you have earned the next adventure to embark upon the mile long journey through San Diego’s infamous Haunted Trail. Enter the Portal that transports to you a different reality, time and space. Along the path, feel your way through the dark dense fog of the ghost filled graveyard. Join the fellow dead mourners gathered in the cathedral as the deceased “Lady in White” rises and floats above you. Climb aboard the Ghoul Bus and share a horrifying ride with all the Freddy’s, push your way through the deadly smoke filled meat house. Experience the Fallout aftermath of a nuclear devastated town crawling with radioactive predators. And evade the Louisiana Zombies who have slithered up from the slime of the bayou to chase you through the barn with their screaming, smoking chainsaws… It’s definitely no “walk in the park”!!

The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park

Haunted trail

Closing November 1 - Reopening for 2026. Hours, dates, and admission may vary — check official site for current details.

Last verified: 8/31/2026

To earn your passage to the mile long Haunted Trail, you must first make your way through the terrifying 3,500 square foot eXperiment maze. The eXperiment Maze is just that, an eXperiment on the senses as you claw your way through confusing twists and turns with something new and sinister around every corner; perhaps you’ll encounter a coven of witches appearing and disappearing right in front of you, or “Moldy Locks” and her 3 Grizzly Bears coming out of hibernation looking for a tasty human morsel! Or other feared childhood favorites lurking in the dark corners waiting just for you, including 3 “not so little” drooling mutant pigs who circle you to make you dizzy, confused, repulsed and ultimately devoured.

The eXperiment Maze

Maze

Closing October 31 - Reopening for 2026. Hours, dates, and admission may vary — check official site for current details.

Last verified: 8/31/2026

The Haunted Amusement Park is a HAUNTED Scare Trail set on the desolate grounds of the iconic San Diego Amusement park Marshal Scotty's Playland. The once joyful sounds of fun and laughter are now replaced with screams of terror as visitors make their way through the remnants of the carnival rides from the 1960's.  The haunted scare trail takes you under the old Roller Coaster, around the Ferris Wheel and in to the Bumper Cars where you will put on 3D glasses to experience out-of-this-world visuals.  You will then have to find your way through the Circus maze before the side show freaks find you. But don't rest yet, you will still have to zig zag your way out of the sleep away camp cabin.  See the original haunted ride repair shop, and make your way through the old attraction Graveyard where you will see the broken down cars from the roller coaster, a race car, a ferris wheel gondola still waiting for repair from the undead fix-it crew. The haunted Amusement Park also features a house of curiosities, a truly Haunted House of Horrors, a cemetery, a slaughterhouse, and much more on your nearly 1 mile walk through the spooky grounds of The Haunted Amusement Park.

The Haunted Amusement Park is a HAUNTED Scare Trail set on the desolate grounds of the iconic San Diego Amusement park Marshal Scotty's Playland. The once joyful sounds of fun and laughter are now replaced with screams of terror as visitors make their way through the remnants of the carnival rides from the 1960's.  The haunted scare trail takes you under the old Roller Coaster, around the Ferris Wheel and in to the Bumper Cars where you will put on 3D glasses to experience out-of-this-world visuals.  You will then have to find your way through the Circus maze before the side show freaks find you. But don't rest yet, you will still have to zig zag your way out of the sleep away camp cabin.  See the original haunted ride repair shop, and make your way through the old attraction Graveyard where you will see the broken down cars from the roller coaster, a race car, a ferris wheel gondola still waiting for repair from the undead fix-it crew. The haunted Amusement Park also features a house of curiosities, a truly Haunted House of Horrors, a cemetery, a slaughterhouse, and much more on your nearly 1 mile walk through the spooky grounds of The Haunted Amusement Park.

The Haunted Amusement Park

The Haunted Amusement Park [prev. Scotty's Scare Trail]

Closing October 31 - Reopening for 2026. Hours, dates, and admission may vary — check official site for current details.

Last verified: 8/31/2026

Want to know what the future has in store? Step into this fortune teller’s tent if you’re brave enough, but you might not like what they hear as she spins tales of woe and anguish.

Misfortune

You and your friends planned a trip to another city, on the internet you found a companion with a van
Who was going to the same city to visit his relatives.
A friendly driver who turned out to be a rural doctor did not raise any suspicions from anyone in the group, and you set off for the road. Very soon, you started to get drowsy. One, by one, all of you lost consciousness. After a while, you came to a dark, damp place.
……..
Don’t sh*t your pants, I’ll be back very soon. Have fun !

Freaking scary! BUT I'm so glad you can opt for an experience W/O live actors! Whew! 😮‍💨 So then it wasn't too bad ... 😅 I guess it's more of spooky rather than scary ... although I was very sus in the beginning because they blindfold you and separate you from your group. The 1st 10 mins. or so I was vigilant for any live actor jumpscares. Overall, it kept me on edge, but not enough to cloud my thinking to solve puzzles. 😁

Cannibal

Escape The Curse
Your guild of treasure hunters has finally tracked down the lost treasure of Davy Jones. Will you find the treasure in time, or will the Curse of Davy Jones strike again and claim your souls?
Do battle on the high seas against a variety of spooky supernatural creatures
Great for Kids and adults alike!
Choose your own pirate and hunt for the long lost treasure of Davy Jones

Sandbox VR

Curse of Davy Jones [VR]

You spent nearly every school break in the 90s at your family’s cabin. When you weren't fishing, skiing, or raising your Tamagotchi, you and your cousins were playing Nintendo. After reading that a copy of your family's go-to Nintendo game just sold for nearly a Bitcoin, you realize the family's copy of the game should still be at the cabin. Unfortunately, your cousins realized the same thing too. Now it's a race to claim the cartridge! Will you get there first or will your efforts be as worthless as a Beanie Baby?

Lots to like in this 90s nostalgic room! Adorable throwback theme and good variety of puzzles. Excellent use of props, media, and other pieces of set design. The room is much more linear than it first seems. My main gripe is that there were timer screens in the room that also displayed hints- even if you didn't ask for any! My team was consistently progressing at a decent pace but we still got tips on the screens that unfortunately took away some of the problem solving fun. Our GM also acted very disinterested, which was a bummer.

Quicksand Escape Games

The Family Cabin

Uncover the Truth
As a special ops agent, covert investigations across the globe are nothing out of the ordinary. But your routine search of a spice market leads to an unexpected discovery…Now you’re left to combat an international crisis that threatens the state of the world as we know it. You’ll need to harness all your tactical skills and training if you’re ever going to put a stop to this global catastrophe. Through all the twists and turns you have to ask yourself…how deep does the conspiracy go?

This was an awesome room.  This may be my favorite from here, but it has been a long time since we did gold rush and the playground.  
   The story flowed very well and kept us very immersed.  Our group had a great time with a mix of 2 that have done over 100 rooms and 2 that had done 1 combined room before.

Special Ops: Mysterious Market

You’ve just barely survived the crash of a rusty propeller plane. But luck might still be on your side! You’ve landed deep in the Wei-nu jungle, home of the mysterious Ehlari Ruins. Somewhere within these centuries-old stone walls, a long-fabled fortune lies hidden. Generations of adventurers have tried and failed to claim it. Can you brave the dangers, navigate hidden chambers, outwit the temple traps, and uncover the legendary treasure yourself?

We have heard about the Ruins room in Nashville and have yet to make the trip out there. But this smaller version that Escape Game had exceeded my expectations that it definitely makes me want to go to Nashville even more. It’s an easier room than the other Escape Games (6/10 difficulty) but I enjoyed all the puzzles and found them intuitive. One of the production effects made me laugh out loud and depending on how jumpy you are, it could be a memorable experience  (warrior heads).

We had Angela as our game master and she went above and beyond for us. I was taking my younger sister to one of her first escape rooms and she made sure that we had a great time. I will be sure to recommend our friends to this location specifically. They have a Wall of Fame for individuals who finished all of the Escape Game rooms, which we happened to have done, so that is a nice touch! Great service and I would recommend no more than four people for this particular game.

Things to Do in San Diego: Escape Rooms, Haunted Houses and More

Top escape rooms in San Diego

Moriarty's Manor

Black and White Cafe

The Neighbor

Heart Of Bastet [prev. Red Giant]

Playground

Top escape rooms for kids in San Diego

Black and White Cafe

Playground

The Family Cabin

Special Ops: Mysterious Market

Ruins: Forbidden Treasure

Top haunted houses near San Diego

Monster Stomp

The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park

The eXperiment Maze

The Haunted Amusement Park [prev. Scotty's Scare Trail]

Misfortune

More cities

Irvine

Anaheim

Downtown Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Hollywood

West LA

About San Diego

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