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Castle Air Museum

4.6 (134 reviews)
Open 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

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Marco Z.

Very nice Staff, the tour inside of Air Force ONE it was amazing. All the airplanes in very good conditions, my favorite Black Bird

Former Air Force One to Carter and Reagan.
Jason D.

Absolutely fantastic place to visit! When you drive up you're greeted with an SR-71 - fastest plane in existence. Pay for tickets in the gift shop and walk around outside to your hearts content. There were 80 (I think) planes to wander around - all with info signs. We did the $10 extra VC-9 tour and it was fantastic. Got to see a former Air Force One for Carter and Reagan. It was super informative and exciting to be in such history.

Ken T.

After passing the signs for the Castle Air Museum every trip to Sacramento my son and I finally decided to plan a trip. We had a great time! 80 aircraft over 25 acres. There was a little of everything It was a bit much walking for my son but the periodic benches helped although I can't imagine visiting in the summer heat. The absolute highlight for me was the SR 71 and the Tomcat. So many aircraft to see. The little museum had a lot of memorabilia but felt like more of an after thought. It would've been nice for the entrance fee to already include the tour of Air Force One but maybe next time if we visit again. I've heard there is an Open Cockpit Day. That might be worth the drive.

Darci K.

Come fly with me ... What a great experience visiting Castle Air Museum. It's walking through history! The museum features aircraft from numerous decades, and these wartime birds have been lovingly restored to their original condition. The B52 is ginormous, but the B36... just wow! The titanium fighter jet that is probably displayed in the front of the museum near Air Force II, it's just astounding! If you ever thought about being a pilot, when you were a kid, walking through the Airpark, will bring back those memories. Parking is free, and admission is a few dollars, and the spending time looking at the collection of around 90 different airplanes is worth exploring! It's a great place to take your kids, the family, or even go on your own. You can take your time and read all of the historical plates and admire each one of the displays. It definitely is a lovely way to spend the afternoon!

Castle Air Museum Atwater, CA.  So many planes, helicopters to see.

Amazing museum! 70 to 80 planes outside. Lots of variety! Some you wonder how they flew! We took the tour of one of the retired Air Force One's. Nancy Reagan used it the most. So cool to see all of this. It was a hot day so we had to take breaks and drink water. They have a bench and very nice shade tree to do that. We'll be back again.

me and my mother enjoying the day at Castle air base
Margaret K.

It's a beautiful place to visit for the entire family! We're so blessed to have this so close to home

Museum Entrance
Josh L.

We took a trip to Atwater, CA to visit the Castle Air Museum and it was a great experience! If you love planes, history, or USAF then this is the place for you. There are many planes outside to see, an indoor exhibit and a guided tour of Presidential Aircraft VC-9C. Presidents Reagan & Clinton flew on it, along with many Vice Presidents and First Ladies. Fun for the whole family!

Heidi W.

We stopped in here to see the Air Force One plane they had on display. Turns out it was a super windy day while we were visiting so we opted just to see the one plane and we're charged $10 each to go through with a moderator who was awesome and answers all our questions and had some great stories! Full of information and history it was pretty cool. They have so many other planes to see here and for $20 you can view them all the Air Force One still is an add on if your visiting the museum so it's still $10 extra. Worked out for us since we didn't have that much time and with the wind and having visited before already this worked out nice. Definitely would be a place you need to spend some time at to see everything.

Fun for the whole family!
Tam E.

I use to visit a friend here when it was Castle Air Force Base, so I'm reminded of great memories when I visit the Castle Air Museum! It's a must see for anyone interested in aviation! Today I went for Open Cockpit Day and it absolutely did NOT disappoint! I'll have a YouTube video on my experience if you'd like to see more! https://youtube.com/@TripItUp Go visit the Castle Air Museum!!!

Jen C.

Woo hoo! An outside museum! It's 100 degrees, but so what?!?! There were no other visitors at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. That's a plus! I'm not a plane fanatic as my man, but it was still fascinating to look at and learn about different kinds of planes. There were planes from WWII, Korean War, and other military aircraft. You've gotta be a badass to fly one of those! The presidential aircraft was even there! Too bad we couldn't go inside when we were there. There was a gentleman who kindly gave us a tour of C-130 Hercules. I don't remember his story, but he flew it years ago. It's a cargo transport aircraft and it was HUGE. He showed us different parts of the plane while my sweat profusely dripped from my forehead. The kids' favorite part? Running through the sprinklers! I hope it wasn't recycled water!!! I'm glad there wasn't any other kids around or other people. I had to run through them too, after all all, it was 100 degrees outside. I noticed from the website they have fun events. You have to check it out if you wanna know what those are! There were a lot of interesting one like Fall Cockpit Day and Wine and Beer Festival. I wonder if events are still going on due to COVID. Better check first before you head out there!

SR-71
Tri N.

The Castle Air Museum is impressive with its huge collection of pristine military jets, planes, helicopters, and base history. There's even a decommissioned nuke on display. My family and I came here specifically for the SR-71, and we would have been satisfied just seeing that plane and going home, LOL. We had no idea the museum had Air Force One, F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18, WWII planes, transport planes, massive B-52, missiles and bombs. So when we saw those jet planes all in one place, it was a very pleasant surprise. The place is huge. Bring comfy shoes, water, and a hat. Would recommend paying the Air Force One fee to tour the plane. The tour guide was knowledgeable on the history of the plane as well as the base. Definitely check out Castle Air Museum, and fully immerse yourself in the most awesome jets in history.

Castle Air Museum
S F.

Lots of aircraft to see here! Wear comfortable shoes and enjoy a nice stroll around the grounds to view 72+ planes and other items. All the displays have nice signs with descriptions. At the Visitor Center you can also scan a code with your phone for a map with info about the planes too. Behind the Visitor Center is an indoor museum with many interesting displays and simulators. The Presidential Transport Plane is only open for tours on Saturdays, so we didn't get to see inside.

Air Force One
Michelangelo S.

Testament & Tribute To Our Military Supremacy In Air SITREP - "OPEN COCKPIT DAY!" Along with buddies Jeff R. and Rich K., we trekked Labor Day to get informed about our military aviation history. It's not long (only one century), but going to Castle Air Museum (ie. "Castle") - was an eye opener that all of us who love aviation can take pride in. THE SETUP "I feel the NEED, the NEED for SPEED!" *high five* Castle (located in sleepy town of Atwater) has collected most models of U.S. Air Force aircraft: * From America's first operational jet fighter, Lockheed P-80; * To amazing General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (from Korean War through Desert Storm) * ALL aircraft operated in combat theatres. AIR FORCE ONE AND SR-71 "Blackbird" The jet I truly wanted to see was the SR-71 "Blackbird", and that was realized this day - buddies Jeff & Rich bookend rear of this ferocious mechanized beastie!) https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/castle-air-museum-atwater?select=mb8GnsTY9cQ4-rEn6bOoEg&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w But little did I know at time there would be another absolute "Special Guests"-treat: AIR FORCE ONE! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/castle-air-museum-atwater?select=T2pCzEgAAexQAxF1ok5bFw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w TANKERS, BOMBERS & FIGHTERS, OH MY! There was much more than reconnaissance aircraft or transport jets like the above: an ENTIRE retinue of important aircraft and their specialized functions were on hand: * From Bombers * To Tankers * To Amphibious Rescue * To Radar & Espionage Detection * And, of course, to our Fighters! All realms of combat & support wings were here to study, climb aboard, and marvel at as we traced OUR military aviation from WWI to current day. [Note: very few foreign aircraft are present.] And questions? Answered by stewards who themselves were retired military pilots, and FLEW these aircraft, SEVERAL of them the VERY aircraft we were climbing on top of! (The knowledge of the aircraft doesn't get any more personal than that!) https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/castle-air-museum-atwater?select=ceMy_3qAjPDY3q7Urh07xA&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w MILITARY HISTORY THAT IS TRULY EFF'ED UP At this point in time, the most truly remarkable & effed up military story I had ever heard was when at height of WWII - even as Battle of Stalingrad was raging between Nazi Germany & Soviet Russia (no fewer than 3 million people were slaughtered in conflict, making it most bloody battle in human history), Merchant Trains were STILL taking raw materials from Soviet Union and crossing border into Nazi Germany. In return, same trains carried back finished products - and even war materials - from Nazi Germany into Soviet Union. If EVER there was a parable about absolute sanctity of business superseding even war, THIS had to be it. However, maybe next story supplants that: at the very least it comes close. At the height of Cold War in early 60s, U.S. was developing the SR-71 "Blackbird" because we needed a reconnaissance spy-plane to advance beyond the U-2. U.S. pilot Gary Francis Powers had been shot down in his U-2 as it spyied on Soviet Union, and he was being held captive by Soviets. U.S. thought that U-2 could outrun and go higher than Soviet missiles, but we were dead wrong. "THE ROCKET JET" Enter now SR-71 (and can you believe it was not only the fastest jet in the 60s, but it STILL remains the fasted clocked-jet to this day). But to make it fly higher and faster than Soviet missiles, it had to be constructed of strong materials/metals that survive atmospheric HEATS impacting it past Mach 3 (three times faster than speed of sound). "THANK YOU, COMRADE!" Titanium was THE metal it needed to be constructed with. Yet supplies from allies like Brazil, South Africa & Australia were dreadfully underdeveloped. =Question: So where WAS the world's most consistent Titanium deposits located? =Answer: INSIDE THE SOVIET UNION (*oh dam*) =Action Item: Thus the C.I.A. & M.I.6. (British Intelligence) set up a series of international dummy corporations all throughout Europe - ostensibly for purposes of getting Titanium from Soviets for medical tech purposes & tools, to make Titanium hip joints, organ valves, welding tips, etc. I'm sure SOME Titanium made it for those worthy goals, but don't fool yourself: most went to create a fleet of "Blackbirds", like the one I was standing upon. [Curious: anyone have a moral quandary with this?] And speaking of hearts, I can tell you mine skipped a beat to be on this jet. :) https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/castle-air-museum-atwater?select=cZvd6GWz94vHBUw98vtTAg&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w [Honestly? I pet the Blackbird skin as affectionately as I do my own pocket-panthers Jack & Bobby.] :D FACILITIES Gift shop, restrooms, learning centers for kids - including training Cessna aircraft - all available! THE LOWDOWN A must-see experience for any aviation buff!

Front view of an SR-71

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3 years ago

Great place to take kids. Always clean and organized. The clerks are friendly. Prices are reasonable.

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4 years ago

Great selection of rare warbirds, if your in the area you need to visit and check it out.

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2 years ago

Nice place to take the kids to explore. The education is the best one each plan. The rates are good too.

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3 years ago

Love the history here and all the cool old airplanes! Great to walk around if you haven't !

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3 years ago

Great museum!! Very friendly staff. Lots of planes to see along with information. Would go back!!

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Ask the Community - Castle Air Museum

Is there a cart that we can rent or bring our own bicycle? Its going to be tough having to keep my kids walking around for an hour in the sun.

I don’t think bicycles are allowed, but strollers or maybe a wagon can work. ?

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Review Highlights - Castle Air Museum

One nice addition that the museum has made recently is that they have placed QR codes at each aircraft.

Mentioned in 25 reviews

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Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

4.4(128 reviews)
41.5 mi

Railtown State Historic Park is extremely cool and fun for all ages! We got to stand on the caboose…read morebuilt for Back To The Future III, viewed the train smoke stack from Little House on the Prairie train, coal powered steam engines, and we saw the Well from the olddddddd show Peticoat Junction: We also were able to see some old trains including ones with wooden grates in the front, and lots of train parts!! He enjoyed explaining things to me.. For a very small fee you can take a ride on a train. Walk around the grounds and see old engines, workshops with all sorts of parts, machines of all sorts. A map is providing for easy understanding of the grounds. It is a trek to get across the grounds and would be difficult for someone with mobility issues. Both of my children grew up coming to not only this park, but to Columbia also. Our family has made many trips here over the years. We love combining, education, history and adventure. They host Christmas events here like the Polar Express train ride to North Pole. This was such a spectacular event I brought my daughter to when she was little. We watched the movie the night before. When we arrived in our pajamas for our VIP seat, we stood in line where we were lovingly harassed by actors. We boarding the train after getting a golden ticket! We sat in the back car. Actors were dancing and singing and chasing hobos off the train while we enjoyed a ride and spilled hot cocoa out of polar express keepsake mugs. Arriving at North Pile and seeing the elves and Santa pushed it over the edge for my young daughter. She was beyonnnnnd excited!! Will I return: We always do. There's something incredibly nostalgic about this place!

This review is for the polar express train ride. Let's cut right to the sleigh bells: At a cool $85…read morea pop, this ride definitely costs more than a lump of coal. For my family of three, we signed up for the holiday hype, and while it wasn't exactly perfect, it was certainly an event to remember! Singing Christmas carols was an absolute delight! My personal highlight? The hot chocolate scene. The performers were fantastic, and the cocoa itself was surprisingly delicious & paired with a yummy snickerdoodle cookie. The trip to the North Pole, while blessedly short, felt truly magical. Watching all the kids scramble to one side of the train to catch a glimpse of Santa's HQ was a sight. Now, for the "improvements" section. The train apparently needs a gallon of WD-40. Parts of the ride were punctuated by a noise I can only describe as "ears-piercing squeaky"--a sound that could shatter a candy cane. Also, when the classic Polar Express story was being read, those of us in the back were left playing a fun game called "Can You Hear Me Now?" (Spoiler: We could not). Finally, the outside scenery was less "winter wonderland" and more "passing landscape." It would have been brilliant if they had just added a few festive Christmas decorations along the route. Just a few! We aren't asking for a full-scale holiday village, just something besides barren trees. While our ride came with a few minor mechanical and auditory "features," we still had a magical time. It wasn't perfect, but what ever is?

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Railtown 1897 State Historic Park - In the cab of Sierra Railway locomotive  No. 28.

In the cab of Sierra Railway locomotive No. 28.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

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Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County - Mammoth

Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County

4.4(34 reviews)
29.8 mi

This is a really cool place to spend the day with kids. The staff was very kind and helpful. They…read moreplayed a short film for us that explained how the fossils were found in the area. There are many fossils and replica of fossils. You guide yourself on a tour, they give you a booklet to use to guide yourself. Each station has information on the fossils, history,etc. There is an outdoor area with replicas of the homes of the native Yokuts tribe that was originally in the area. There is also an outdoor pond with plaques in front of each different plant that surrounds the pond. It was a really cool learning experience. You can pay a bit extra for fossil digging. There are 19 fossils to dig up, that can take about an hour. We spent about 3 hours there. They also have a cool little gifts shop area.

I don't know how many I've driven by this place along the 99, saying I (we) need to stop and check…read moreit out... finally! After moving out of state , made the stop. So many cool fossils!! Colombian mammoths, sloths, dire wolves, and, yes!! Even American camels.. they were here at one time. Saber tooth cats also roamed the area. Most of this and it's still an active recovery, was started with the expansion of the dump site and widening of highway 99. Once they started hitting the fossils in what used to be a ponded wetland, they've not stopped. Lots of interesting fossils and now they're adding a Mammoth Orange food site, from the golden days of traveling up and down the 99, stopping for a burger and soda coming back to life. It's all definitely worth a stop and enjoying the sight of see a huge full size Colombian Mammoth... a little secret.. they are much bigger than the more famous wooly mammoth. Stop by and enjoy.

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Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County - Columbian Mammoth

Columbian Mammoth

Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County
Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County - Working station

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Working station

Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum - Library side(inside library)

Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum

4.8(11 reviews)
38.1 mi

We had to stop by somewhere to print out something on our way to Yosemite, and this was a perfect…read morestop! 15 cents for a copy! When was the last time they put this price up? won't find that here in the Bay Area! Library was friendly and helpful who is a local moved up there 20 plus years ago. Of course we had to use the bathroom since it was available! It was nice and clean. What caught my eyes were all those quilts hanging on the wall. Per the librarian, the them of the quilts will change each season! All those were made by the locals. There's a meetup weekly for quilters there! The museum side was closed at the time we were there.

An old friend from the Midwest came to California and we had decided to road trip to Yosemite. We…read morehad been driving for a couple of hours and decided to stretch our legs for a bit. We had pulled into a park setting parking lot and noticed the Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum! Ooooh! Inside this building to the right is the town library as well. As we entered the door, we were greeted with a big smile! They welcomed us and made us feel right at home! This is a small museum. Don't let that fool you!! They have amazingly collected a very large amount of history and strategically organized it in a way to tell a story!! This is a great place to bond with your kids/nieces/nephews to share/teach history in a fun way!! Ooooh! Heck!!! It was fun to see things as an adult!! They have managed to collect old firearms, coins, clothing, pictures, dinnerware, cameras, stuffed bears, and much more. BTW, did I mention this little piece of history tour was FREE??? Yep! It's free!! There's a donation container on the counter. Donations help with the upkeep and more. They do not pressure you to donate. However, please donate! It's very worthy.

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Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum - Library side(inside library)

Library side(inside library)

Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum - 7/30/24

7/30/24

Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum - Library side(inside library)

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Library side(inside library)

McHenry Museum - The front of the McHenry Museum on the day of the car show. Saturday, June 1, 2024.

McHenry Museum

4.4(16 reviews)
29.8 mi

Yesterday the McHenry Mansion had free entry as well as cradts at the museum, carroage rides and…read moremore! While visiting the museum, my family and I had a wonderful time getting info on the Stanislaus Libraries in the area, looking at Modedto artifacts and making crafts! The staff were very kind and helpful! Overall, we had a wonderful time!

I had always wanted to stop in at the McHenry Museum, but I never took the opportunity to go, until…read morerecently. The museum hosted an event right before Graffiti Night to kind of kick it off. It was a free event to go inside the museum, and outside were lots of classic cars, trucks, and a few bicycles!! I included lots of photos inside and out!! Well, they had another event last Saturday night! "A night at the McHenry Museum!" What a cute and fun idea!! It was great for all ages. We received a night guard evidence log when we checked in at the front desk! Right before that, we were welcomed by a greeter who opened the door for us. They had nine exhibits with stamps from the people dressed in period or historical costumes. They each gave a little demo or speech about the exhibit they were in. They were all so friendly, and interactive. It really made the scenes come to life! One exhibit was trying to get gold out of the clay rocks, to turn into the cashier for play money, which in turn one could "buy" real candy. I had such a wonderful time. I hope they do this activity again, sometime soon. It would be fun to know about it way in advance, so I could dress up too. That would be really fun! I did not find out about it until a few days before. However, I am so glad I went!

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McHenry Museum - One of the exhibits in the low rider section.

One of the exhibits in the low rider section.

McHenry Museum - The McHenry Museum Car Show event!  Saturday, June 1, 2024

The McHenry Museum Car Show event! Saturday, June 1, 2024

McHenry Museum - The band playing and all dressed up for a Night at the Museum.

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The band playing and all dressed up for a Night at the Museum.

Hilmar - Vanilla ice cream we made 8/12/2025

Hilmar

4.1(160 reviews)
15.5 mi
$

This was definitely a fun stop on our road trip! The first floor is the shop, where you can sample…read morea few cheeses or get something like cheese pie at the cafe. But definitely go upstairs, especially if you have kids, to look at the exhibits on dairy farms. We honestly would have missed the stairs if we didn't ask somebody how to get to the exhibits. It's not obvious! There's also a little movie about cheese making that you can ask the staff members to start for you. We also paid $4 each to do the ice cream making at 11:00 a.m. My only real complaint about the whole thing is that the kids weren't able to see what ingredients were in their can before they started the shaking process. The staff led them through all these different shaking exercises, and then they got to open their cans at the end and see some ice cream. But it really didn't mean anything to them because they had no idea what was in there in the beginning! I said something about it to the staff, just asking them why they didn't have the kids look in it at the beginning, and they said it's because they usually do field trips with hundreds of kids..... But our tour was just around 10 people! If I could do it all over, I would have had my kids unscrew the lids to see what was inside. But besides that little pet peeve, I appreciated the staff giving information and a little tour of the exhibits, and the movie is also included at the beginning of the event.

Very cute center! A lot of things to see and do. Ordered a warm sandwich , piglet pretzel sandwich…read more It was good, everything was fast. You can tell it was homemade. It's a cute place to visit

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Hilmar - Tour area on September 8, 2023.

Tour area on September 8, 2023.

Hilmar - Light & Tasty Meal, $7.49 prior to tax. Shown with cheese chowder

Light & Tasty Meal, $7.49 prior to tax. Shown with cheese chowder

Hilmar - Cheese !!!

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Cheese !!!

Mark Twain Cabin - cabin and chimney

Mark Twain Cabin

4.0(17 reviews)
44.1 mi

Unless you are a major Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) fan this is not somewhere you really need to…read morevisit. It's a little over a mile up a residential road that is somewhat steep and very poorly maintained (4wd not required but it's bumpy). The cabin itself is a replica that was built in 1922 and renovated in 2002. The only piece of the original cabin is the stone fireplace and chimney. Even the land around the property has been developed to an unrecognizable state as to when he stayed here. Yes, in this very spot he supposedly wrote "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" but it's more of an idea of what he lived like. There is parking in the lot for about 5-6 cars but even on a weekend you most likely won't see anyone else. You can't get in to the cabin, as there is a fence around it, which seems silly since it's not authentic. It is open sunrise to sunset. There are no seats, tables, or anything to do other than take a quick picture. It's an important footnote in the history of the American West but if you are looking for better preserved structures with historical significance it's better to explore nearby Columbia State Park.

Do you know who is Samuel Clemons? If you guessed him by his author pen name, Mark Twain... you…read moreguessed right. Did you know California's historic landmark #138 is no other than Mark Twain's cabin. Well, it's a replica with the original fireplace and chimney. It's in Tuttletown on Jackass Hill Road off Highway 49 in Tuolumne County. It's about one mile up the road. The replica was built in 1922 and again in 2002. The cabin is next to residential homes. I could imagine back in the day, the view must have been awesome! The lot has room for parking. The cabin itself is gated and not accessible. But the door is open and you can peek inside from afar. I couldn't see much because it was dark inside. There are a few information boards on site with historical information. There is not much to look at. I soaked up everything in less than 15 minutes. There are no seating or viewing platforms. From the info boards, I learned that Samuel Clemens happen to be traveling from Virginia City, Nevada, to San Francisco with some friends and stopped here in December 1864. He stayed until the end of February 1865. While there, he wrote "The Celebrated Story of the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". He got the idea after hearing the story of a jumping frog contest in a saloon in the nearby town of Angels Camp. I goggled this info.. In 1867, he went on to publish that story as the cover story for his book of collective short stories. The book included previously published stories. The book turned out to be a success with rave reviews about the "Jumping Frog". So some may say, his time spent in this area with the colorful townsfolk launched his career.

Photos
Mark Twain Cabin - Memories

Memories

Mark Twain Cabin - Cabin

Cabin

Mark Twain Cabin

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Castle Air Museum - museums - Updated May 2026

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