San Juan Bautista sits a few miles off Highway 101 between Gilroy and Hollister in San Benito County. It is a town that still carries the imprint of several centuries of California history. I used to come to San Juan Buatista on field trips from my nearby hometown of Salinas and I still love this historic small town. It is one of my favorite of California’s historic missions because there is more to San Juan Bautista than just an old church.
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Mission San Juan Bautista
Founded in 1797 by Franciscan missionaries, Mission San Juan Bautista was the fifteenth of California’s twenty-one missions. The mission was established to convert the local Mutsun band of the Ohlone people and to expand Spanish settlement inland from Monterey Bay. It was named for Saint John the Baptist. A modern statue outside the mission depicts the saint.
The mission’s whitewashed walls and red-tiled roof mark it instantly as part of the classic mission chain along El Camino Real, the Royal Road that linked outposts from San Diego to Sonoma. Inside the main church, geometric wall paintings and heavy timber beams have been restored to match early descriptions.
The Mission is located just about 100 feet from the San?Andreas?Fault, which means seismic vulnerability is always a major concern. The mission has gone through major resoration efforts over the years, including a project in 1975 which restored the side aisles of the main sanctuary.
A small museum displays vestments, tools, furnature, and religious art from the mission period.
Outside, a walled cemetery holds simple crosses and stone markers dating to the early nineteenth century. The site includes interpretive signs in both English and Spanish explaining how the Ohlone lived and worked at the mission.
mission songbook
The mission’s location made it a convenient setting for film crews as well. Alfred Hitchcock used it for scenes in his 1958 movie Vertigo, and the bell tower still attracts visitors who recognize the spot from the film.
El Camino Real
Next to the mission stands a bronze bell marking El Camino Real. Modern markers like this one trace the original travel route connecting all of California’s missions. The bell lists the chain from south to north and reminds visitors how closely tied these settlements once were.
A map at the site shows the mission’s position between San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel and Santa Clara de Asís to the north. The same route now corresponds roughly to U.S. Highway 101, though much of the old road passed directly through what is now San Juan Bautista.
San Juan Bautista State Historic Park
Across the open plaza from the mission lies San Juan Bautista State Historic Park, which preserves several mid-nineteenth-century buildings. Together they form one of the best examples of a surviving Spanish-Mexican and early American town center in California.
The Plaza Hotel
The two-story Plaza Hotel was built in 1814 as the barracks for the Spanish soldiers who were stationed at the mission.
Later it was s store, a home, and a bar. Itallian imigrant Angello Zanetta added a secon floor in 1956 and turned it into the Plaze Hotel. The hotel featured 18 rooms that cost from $1 to $2.50 a night. A bath was $.75 extra.
During the stagecoach era it served travelers moving between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Today the building operates as a museum managed by California State Parks. Sings are in English and Spanish.
Displays introduce you to some of the area’s families, the tools of the vaqueros (Spanish cowboys). The dining room seems ready to receive guests.
Part of the Plaza Hotel complex includes a restored saloon. The long bar, billiard table (not a pool table, no pockets), and small poker room illustrate the social side of life in a frontier town.
On one table, a deck of reproduction playing cards is spread around glasses and a whiskey bottle to depict a typical evening game. Period posters advertise brands such as Wieland’s Beer, linking the exhibit to the brewing wagon displayed elsewhere in the park.
The Town Jail
A few steps away, the small white Town Jail, built in 1870, once held local offenders. The sign outside describes it as a “holding cell for drunks and petty offenders.” It never had any escapes, but not because it was escape proof but because “the breakfast was too good to miss.”
The interior has a metal bedframe, a chair, and a water pitcher. According to the interpretive plaque, the structure originally stood on Fourth Street and was moved to the park for preservation. It remained in use until 1941.
The Plaza Stables
Behind the hotel stands the large wooden Plaza Stables, built in 1861. The collection inside covers transportation from the mid- to late 1800s.
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One carriage, identified as a baroche, once belonged to financier William C. Ralston, founder of the Bank of California and builder of San Francisco’s Palace Hotel. A bright yellow Studebaker water wagon and a red Hotel Hollister stagecoach represent the local commerce that kept San Juan Bautista connected with nearby towns.
A wooden Wieland’s Extra Pale Beer wagon carries twelve barrels, demonstrating how beer and other goods were delivered before motor transport. Each vehicle has an interpretive sign noting its manufacturer and approximate date.
The Blacksmith Shop
Behind the stables, the blacksmith shop shows the basic tools of the trade, bellows, anvil, forge, and racks of hammers and tongs. It interprets how blacksmiths supported both agriculture and travel in the region.
Next to it, a small firehouse display contains a hand-pulled hose cart and leather buckets. These pieces illustrate how early volunteer fire brigades operated with minimal equipment.
The Castro House
Next to the stables stands the Castro House, a restored adobe that once belonged to the prominent Castro family. This building offers a view into domestic life in nineteenth-century California. The bedrooms display iron and brass bedframes, washstands, quilts, and other domestic furnishings.
A children’s room contains antique toys and a doll house. The structure combines Mexican and early American architectural elements, illustrating how cultures blended during the mid-1800s.
Next to the Castro House is a bath house. I don’t know why you had to go outside to take a bath.
Settler’s Cabin
Other Historic Buildings
Additional buildings within the park include a settler’s cabin, plaza hall, and plaza kitchen, each staged with furnishings typical of the period. The displays cover domestic activities such as food preparation, laundry, and household maintenance.
Taken together, the park’s exhibits provide a timeline of daily life from mission agriculture to the arrival of the railroad era.
A Walk Around the Plaza
The town plaza itself remains an open green space bordered by picket fences and low adobe walls. From the mission steps, visitors can see the lineup of historic structures, the Plaza Hotel, Plaza Hall, Plaza Stable, and the town jail. Informational maps at each corner make it easy to navigate without a guide.
The layout helps illustrate how the town developed around the mission. The open square served as a market and meeting place, and the proximity of the hotel and stables shows how commerce and travel shaped the community’s growth.
Dining in Modern San Juan Bautista
After touring the park, I walked a few blocks along Third Street to The Smoke Point BBQ & Provisions for lunch. The restaurant serves barbecued meats, sandwiches, and sides prepared with regional ingredients.
I ordered the Dr Pepperonchi shredded short rib sandwich served au jus. The restaurant offers locally produced beverages, including ciders and beers from nearby breweries. Service was quick, and seating is available both indoors and on a covered patio.
Other dining options in town include Mexican, Italian, and American cafés, as well as small bakeries and antique stores that make San Juan Bautista a pleasant place to linger after a visit to the park.
Planning Your Visit
Getting There:
San Juan Bautista is located just east of Highway 101. From the north, take the Highway 156 exit at San Juan Bautista, from the south, use the same highway via Hollister.
Mission San Juan Bautista:
- Open daily from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Adult self-guided admission is $10; seniors (60+) $7; veterans $5; children under 5 free.
- The church remains an active parish and hosts regular services.
San Juan Bautista State Historic Park:
- Open 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m., except major holidays.
- Adult admission is $3, and children aged 17 & under are free.
- Docents often demonstrate crafts on weekends.
Parking:
Free public parking is available adjacent to the mission and along nearby streets.
Accessibility:
The park’s main paths and most buildings are accessible. Some upper floors require stair access.
Best Time to Visit:
Spring and autumn provide the most comfortable temperatures. Weekdays are typically less crowded than weekends, especially when school groups are present.
Nearby Attractions:
- Pinnacles National Park (35 miles south) offers hiking trails and opportunities to view California condors.
- Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park and local wineries lie about 20 miles north.
- Hollister hosts farmers markets and tasting rooms featuring regional produce and wine.
Mission graveyard
Why San Juan Bautista Matters
San Juan Bautista presents an unusually complete record of California’s transition through multiple eras, Indigenous homeland, Spanish mission, Mexican pueblo, and early American town. The mission and the surrounding plaza preserve not only individual buildings but also their spatial relationship, something rare among historic sites.
The park’s exhibits, coupled with the ongoing religious life of the mission, show how communities adapted over time rather than disappearing with each political change.
Visiting both the mission and the state park offers a clear understanding of how California’s economy, architecture, and culture evolved from the late 1700s through the 1900s. The experience is compact, everything sits within easy walking distance, but it covers nearly two hundred years of history.
Conclusion
A trip to San Juan Bautista combines accessible history with the quiet atmosphere of a preserved small town. The mission interprets the Spanish colonial era, while the state park portrays daily life in nineteenth-century California. Modern shops and restaurants extend the visit into the present day without overshadowing the historic core.
For travelers tracing the route of El Camino Real or exploring Central California between the coast and the Sierra foothills, San Juan Bautista provides a direct link to the state’s layered past.
Missions of California (with Map) – All 21 California Missions from South to North
