San Juan Bautista

The 15th California mission, founded in 1797 by Fermin Lasuen. One of the more successful missions in the 18th century. The resting place of Father Estevan Tapis, who led the mission system from 1803 to 1812, and later served as the mission's choir director, solidifying Bautista's reputation as the "Mission of Music". Construction of the current mission church building began in 1803. During secularization, the mission housed survivors of the Donner Party, and contains some of their artifacts to this day. Major restorations took place in 1884, 1949, and 2010. It was featured in the film Vertigo. The church is not part of the state park and charges a separate entrance fee.

The main attraction is the plaza, with adobe buildings built by the local Ohlone/Amah–Mutsun people in the early Spanish and Colonial Monterey styles. These have been turned into museums showing the Spanish and Mexican era. The four main historic building are the Plaza Hotel, the Zanetta House/Plaza Hall, the Plaza Stables, and the Castro-Breen Adobe. The old stable displays horse and buggy transportation. The Castro–Breen Adobe, on the corner of 2nd and Washington, was built in 1840, by the eponymous Commandante General José Castro, who commanded the Mexican army in Alta California during the Mexican-American War of 1846–1848. The park also features a blacksmith shop, the historic jail, and an early American settler's cabin. Picnic tables on gravel. Restrooms available, but not ideal for wheelchair access. Listening devices available for the Castro Breen Adobe tour. No dogs.