Visiting Sonoma – A Day at Jack London State Historic Park

Disclosure: Discounts and comps were received throughout the Sonoma Valley road trip. All opinions are my own.

One of my favorite aspects of traveling is randomly coming across a new place. Seeing a restaurant, museum, park or shop and deciding to stop can sometimes become the highlight of a trip. That being said, I always have “must see” spots when I plan trips. For this vacation that place was Jack London State Historic Park. I’d been wanting to go for years and was determined not to miss it. Not even a punctured tire was going to stop me.

On our drive up from SoCal my tire pressure light came on and I discovered one of my tires was losing air. What were we to do? The next morning we were scheduled to take a tour of the park so I pulled up good ole Yelp and found a highly rated tire shop close by. Bright and early we rushed on over to McLea’s Tires in Sonoma. As soon as they heard I was on vacation and had a 10am appointment they got to work. They pulled three employees to work on my car to get me back on the road in record time. Thanks to them getting my tire replacement was just a footnote to an amazing trip. Awesome place.

Soon we entered Jack London State Historic Park and met up with Jeff, a volunteer docent, who was to give us a golf cart tour of the grounds. We strapped in and headed of to explore the beautiful space.

Wow. Just wow. The park is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Not only that, it’s also rich in the history of one of America’s most famous authors, Jack London. During his lifetime the park was his homestead and there are historic landmarks throughout.

Wolf House was to be the his and his wife’s grand estate. Sadly, it burnt down shortly before they were to move in. Now, all that remains is the burnt out shell to serve as a reminder of what might have been.

Near Wolf House is their grave. Their ashes rest under a Sonoma Valley stone – a humble memorial.

Jack London passed away at the young age of 40. His widow, Charmian, remained on the ranch until her death several years later. For most of those years she lived in a house she had built in 1919 – House of Happy Walls.

The house now serves as a museum with exhibits devoted to Jack London. There are also rooms restored to their former use in Mrs. London’s time.

I loved this house so much but before I could get too cozy it was time to move on to the cottage.

The cottage actually existed prior to the Londons purchasing the property (it had previously been owned by winemakers). It was their only shared residence on the ranch due to the fire at Wolf House. You can tour various rooms inside, including Jack’s office.

The entire day was a fascinating glimpse into the author’s life. Prior to this my only connection to Jack London was the required reading of Call of the Wild in school. Such a shame, because he was an amazing individual. Not only was he a highly successful author but he was an innovator as well. He lived on a fully functioning ranch where he was constantly coming up with new ideas and improvements. Take the Pig Palace.

This structure was designed by London to house and maintain his pigs in a most efficient and sanitary way. At the time it was built local farmer’s laughed at him thinking it was a waste of money. But it wasn’t. It had a multitude of innovations that ensured the pigs were fed, sanitized, and kept safe in the best way possible (for more info click here).

What a beautiful and fascinating place Jack London State Historic Park is. And to think it was almost closed. Yes, a few years ago when a portion of California State Parks were threatened with closure this park was on the list. But the community rallied and the park was kept open. It’s now run by a group of 300 volunteers including our personal guide – Jeff. Jeff, was a fantastic host providing us with a wealth of information and personal insight into this amazing space. It’s clear he is truly passionate about the park. With folks like him maintaining it you can be sure it’s in good hands.

At the end of our visit we were to have a picnic lunch provided by the Glen Ellen Market. Unfortunately, the rainy weather prevented this. Instead we took our meals with us to our next destination – Benzinger Winery where we enjoyed further adventures in Sonoma.

Stay tuned as our story continues…

Jack London State Historic Park

2400 London Ranch Road

Glen Ellen, CA 95442

The golf cart tour and picnic lunch are available to the public for nominal fees