La Purisima Mission State Historic Park

The mission is such a pretty and scenic place to visit! There’s so much history and so many things to see and read about it. Plenty of trails for walking. Fun fact! It was also featured on the TV show «Ghost Adventures» due to its reputation for being haunted and having spirits. Check it out for yourself and see what you think!

I had the best time EVER!
I have never been to a mission before and it was the highlight of my trip. I honestly felt like a little child oohing and awing at everything. They have a HUGE bull in this fenced area that is so beautiful. But there is a little fear that the fence really wouldn’t be able to stop him if he decided to charge out.
The people that work there are so cute! They wear their uniform and have fun activities for everyone all ages. There is a station where they were making fresh tortillas and bread. They explained what tools were used to make tortillas, bread, butter,…etc. They even had a lady that was showing you how to make your own herb necklace.
I had such memorable day there and I will definitely be back.

Such a happy accident that we found this gem! So cheap to get in and kinda love that it is self guided. We could have been there for over half a day but only stayed 3 hours! Such a beautiful recreation of this mission. So much to learn. Everyone was so helpful and knowledgeable. Love love love.

This really is a well put together state park. The buildings are rebuilt by the CCC so they are not original but you would not know that if you had not been told.
A very good look at what life would have been like in 1823 California.

This is a great place to learn about history of our state. Beautiful original structures with displays of furniture and other objects from everyday life. Also good for kids — they can see all the animals on premises of the park, lots of place to run and play around.

Great mission wonderfully kept together with so much information about how priests, Indians, and Spanish soldiers lived on the land. We visited during one of the Mission People days so volunteers performed traditional candle making, tortilla making, weaving, and carving.
It’s completely free and a great place to take kids or just to learn about mission history.

We had such a magical experience at this mission. We went on Sunday for my 4^th grade son’s school mission project. Our tour guide was just wonderful. He was an older gentleman dressed up in a friar’s habit. He acted proud and happy that he had a 4^th grader in his group and made my son feel so special. He catered his presentation to the kids but it was interesting for the adults as well. He asked the group many questions and my son was so excited that he knew the answers to some of the questions. I was so impressed by both how knowledgeable our guide was and how good he was at interacting with the kids. If only my childrens’ teachers showed such excitement about teaching.
This is a wonderful mission because you really get to see how the Franciscans created a complete social, religious and economic community in the middle of a wilderness. The farm animals – particularly the impressive Mexican Longhorn steer – added to that understanding.
Thank you Mission staff – and particularly our guide (I should have gotten your name). You were just excellent!

The best mission I have ever been to. Lot’s of walking time and lots to see. I have been coming here since i was a kid in elementary school and still enjoy it. I still cant believe Arnold Schwartzenigger was thinking about closing this mission down to save money.

The Man & I have been to many historic sites; after a while they all begin to look alike unless you are really into architecture or history.
That said this site seems to be fairly well kept up. The grounds are very nice and there are abundant trails to walk, run or cycle or just sit and soak in nature.
The buildings are in good repair. As mentioned before after many, many similar types of historic sites they do begin to look much the same. If you haven’t been to many or never at all they are very interesting to peruse the buildings and see how they lived long or not so long ago.
The Man is always thrilled when he sees wildlife and there is an abundance from birds to bobcats and little bunny foo foo (rabbits).
It’s sad CA is in such an extreme drought as I’m sure the gardens are fabulous in good years.
The early usage of water pipes etc. is amazing and it’s too bad it’s not functioning it would be an amazing undertaking in our drought ridden state.
If traveling the Central Coast area this is a wonderful little historic site to stop in at.
Take your time relax its the Central Coast and life is relaxed.

Just an absolutely wonderful stop on the way from LA to Pismo Beach. Beautiful drive, beautiful place — if if you’re super super nice, they MAY let you ring the bell (be prepared, it’s shockingly loud).

Check this out, and this aint no BS most of us probably watched or maybe heard about the filming of Ghost Hunters out at the mission. In the filming of that episode that caught a full
body apparition between the corral and the mission bell tower. Clearly visible was an apparition of mexicano soldier wearing a skirt type thing and a bandolier… Well five years prior. at two am i was posted up on that bench against the corrals and i saw the very same apparition. no shit, but at my angle it appeard to be a lady in a dress. I told bout everyone. true story! Now get this about a year and half after the Ghost Hunter filming i took a friend out to the same location and BAM saw the apparition once more… Out there that 3^rd time WE saw it AGAIN… NOW on the third trip out there my buddy dropped his cell phone unknowingly and as we were departing in the moonlight… BAM! *My phone rings and upon answering a odd voice said. Wait you dropped this… the ghost used the damn phone! ok ok that last part about the phone call i made up. But hey you all wanna see it? Hit me up ok. Thinking about giving my own ghost tours out there.

My review is bias. What I mean is that I visited the mission during Mission day. What a fun day. Volunteers dress up and are posted throughout the mission. You have candle makers, tanners, quilt makers, black smiths, soldiers and cooks. It makes this mission come alive.
You are able to sample food, examine replica artifacts and even get your hands dirty with the blacksmith. The volunteers are well versed and knowledgeable of their trade.
I would give this place 3.5 stars on any regular day but mission day pushes it over the top. Recommended for anyone! It’s kid friendly as well.

Amazing Mission with many artifacts and information about Mission life. I’m a 4^th grade teacher and decided to stop here after a road trip to San Luis Obispo, and I’m so glad I did!
I loved the animals. They seemed well taken care of and had very large outdoor stalls. Signs said not to feed them as some are elderly and on special diets. That shows me the workers care about the animals as I’m sure at times the public fed them food that they weren’t supposed to eat.
This was an incredible trip and I’m excited to show my students pictures I took during our study of the CA Missions.

My fourth grader wants to visit as many California Missions as possible. So far we have visited 7 (only 14 more to go!), but this one stood out as really special. We visited on «Purisima People’s Day» when docents dress up in traditional Mission clothing and share information about what Mission life was like back in 1822. We got to talk with weavers, a carpenter, Father Payeras, and several Spanish soldiers. My son learned how to grind corn, he fed carrots to a longhorn bull, several mules, horses, and pigs, and we got to taste freshly baked wheat bread straight out of the Mission oven. It was sooo fun and the docents were so warm and friendly. I’m really glad we visited on People’s Day because it made our experience come alive. While it would have been nice to just walk around the Mission on a typical day, being able to chat with the docents and see demonstrations made it so much more educational and memorable! All the animals are super sweet, too. We fell in love with all of them:)
What I also loved about this Mission is its authenticity. Whereas the other missions I’ve visited inundate you with tons of information, signage, etc., this mission has simple signs and descriptions of each area. I liked that a lot. It allowed me to be more fully present and really take in the vibe of the place. The landscape surrounding the Mission is breathtakingly beautiful. We enjoyed just sitting in the grass, breathing in the fresh air, and admiring the gorgeous trees, hills, and mountains.
One of my favorite parts was the pink walls and bell tower… very unique! Their curvature made for some amazing photo ops, especially against the backdrop of the lush greenery of the hillsides. We got the hear the bells ringing just as we were leaving, which was the icing on the cake on a highly experiential visit! So lovely:)
We visited the gift shop after our tour and the lady working there was so sweet! She asked my son if he was a fourth-​grader and when he said he was, she brought out a small package of postcards for him to take home as a souvenir. Everyone there is just so kind and fantastic with the kids.
This place is a diamond in the rough. Thank you to everyone there for making us feel so welcome and for sharing your love and dedication to this amazing mission!

We didn’t explore the park, we just visited the Mission so this is all about that.
This is a SUPER WONDERFUL Mission! Fortunately, it is mostly preserved as far as space (not lost to surrounding city development like most of them) and it creates a wonderful opportunity to see what they were really like in their full glory.
Because much if it remains, it is large so plan the time to spend seeing everything properly.

Our family had a blast at the park. Paid the 6 $ parking fee (please don’t be miserly and park outside just to avoid the measly fee per car) and entered into 1820’s California. We didn’t make it to the visitor center so cannot comment on that but we walked around the old adobe buildings and beautiful grounds. My tots (4 and 2) loved exploring. The park is huge so plenty of area to cover. We knew it was set as a ‘working ranch’ but didn’t expect the friendly livestock. Come prepared with some carrots. The horses love them and are extremely friendly. I’d actually be worried that not so nice people could feed them bad stuff. In the 2 hours we explored we didn’t see any caretakers out. Take your time to see the grounds. We didn’t try any hiking trails but we definitely want to come back if we return to the area. (30 mins from Solvang and beautiful drive).

How can you not love this place when there are livestock present? Remember to bring a bag (or two or three) of cut up carrots to feed to the bull, sheep, mules, and horses after you stroll through the grounds. The gift shop always has a great selection of gifts/​souvenirs to choose from. The visitor’s center has a great premanent display on the history of the mission and area.

This is about as close as you will get to stepping back in history into California missionary life.
First, know that there is a large parking lot next to the new Visitor’s Center that was finished around 2006. Take the time to enjoy what displays and artifacts they have inside, and appreciate the bathrooms, because the mission itself is a small dusty hike away. And the proud docents are a talkative bunch if you let them. So much information, so little time!
You cannot see the mission very well from the parking lot, but once you follow the paths past the large trees it comes into full view. It is awe inspiring. It and the raw, expansive grounds with water channels, fruit trees and herb garden, fountains, animal pens complete with a longhorn bull, sheep, and donkeys, black smith, and so on, are all intact. There is no «picture perfect», well groomed landscaping as compared to the other renovated missions in this area, like Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, San Luis Obispo. This is the real deal.
It is dusty. I highly recommend wearing better shoes than I, as my insolent sandals kept picking up the dirt and stones as we wandered on the pathways. Weather was pleasant because it was overcast during our visit, however it can get downright hot, very little ocean influence, so a hat and water bottle is highly recommended. There are also benches and many ancient, shady trees to find respite.
Plan to spend a good 2 hours to get a full appreciation of this mission. And keep an eye out on their website for special re-​enactment days on weekends. The docents dress in full costume (both missionaries and Indians) and give talks as well as demonstrate day to day mission life in the 18^th and 19^th century.
This is a place that should definitely be on your bucket list for its beauty, authenticity and tranquility. And the kids will really get a kick out of it.

This place is an incredible look into history. It is absolutely HUGE compared to similar historical locations, and I love that you can enjoy the grounds as much as you can enjoy the preserved history.
I missed the memo on it being haunted, and didn’t even see the cemetery, but touring the main building and all its rooms as well as the animals and gardens was so nice.
This is a wonderful way to spend a couple hours with your family to enjoy being outside, learning a little history of the region and appreciating way of life back then. We will definitely be back again the next time we’re in town.

We made a stop here on our way home from wine tasting. I’ve been to a few California’s 21 missions and like them all. La Purisima is different from the other missions though. First, the location is a little more off the beaten path. It’s not as easy to get to as the other missions. La Purisima is located on a large lot that includes hiking trails.
There is a free museum that chronicles its history. As you make your way through the museum, you are looking at pictures, artifacts, and texts about La Purisima. You leave with a better understanding of this mission. A lot of the rooms were opened to the public. I entered the priest’s bedroom and office, soldiers’ quarter, dining room, kitchen, storage shed, and courtyard. All the rooms had artifacts and were staged like the way it would’ve looked in the past.
La Purisima seems to have maintained its original form. The museum doesn’t have the usual quadrangle shape found in most other missions. Instead, it’s long and pink. It was impossible for me to take a picture of the entire museum to show how long it really is. I like that when I’m there, it feels as if I’ve been transported back in time, to a time when life was a lot simpler and when everything we had was made. I also like that it wasn’t crowded there, so I was able to freely explore the mission and go into different rooms where, often, I was the only one in there.
La Purisima is definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re interested in learning about California missions, which is an important part of our past.