California missions

Interested in visiting the 21 California missions? Check out this guide that shows you how to visit them all in 7 days and what to expect while at each one. It is a fantastic road trip along El Camino Real.

Beautiful sketches of the historic California Missions by artist Chandler O'Leary

A brief history of all 21 missions in California and why you should visit them to understand California History

Traveling in California will take you to countless historical sites, including the California missions. Here are 5 California Missions you'll see when driving El Camino Real from San Diego to San Francisco is non-stop beauty and history. 2traveldads.com

In 1769, one Pope resided in Avignon, and another one in Rome. The United States of America were not yet constituted, not even imagined. The West coast of what is now the USA, was not inhabited by…

The 21 Missions of California. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, the first mission, was founded on July 16, 1769. Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is a Spanish mission in Oceanside, California. It was founded on June 13, 1798, by Father Fermin Lasuen. It is the eighteenth of the twenty-one Spanish missions in California.

Did you know there are 21 Spanish missions in California? The majority are in southern California, which makes the few up our way even more special.

San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo is considered the most beautiful of the missions (founded in 1770). Its moorish tower holds 9 bells and above the church entrance is a star window. In front of its beautiful altar are the remains of Fathers Serra, Crespi (his life-long friend), and Lasuen. Padre Serra chose this as his final resting place because Carmel is a most scenic place along the California Coast. There is a library of about 400 very rare items, the oldest library in California!

The California Mission Trail offers visitors a bit of history an evocative look at California’s past, both real and imagined.